How to Rehydrate Dried Ingredients for Moroccan Cooking

Guide

Chickpeas and dried fava beans need an overnight soak in cold water with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda. The soda softens the skins and reduces cooking time significantly. Use plenty of water — they absorb a lot and should stay fully submerged. Drain and rinse before cooking. Lentils (red, green or brown) do not need soaking — rinse them and add directly to the pot.

Dried fruits (prunes, apricots, figs) benefit from a thirty-minute soak in warm water or tea if they are very hard. Soft, moist dried fruits can go directly into the tagine. Save the soaking liquid — it is flavoured and can be added to the sauce for extra depth. Dried chillies need a twenty-minute soak in hot water to soften before blending into a paste.

Dried herbs (thyme, oregano, bay) go directly into the pot without soaking — the cooking liquid rehydrates them. Dried rose petals for ras el hanout can be ground directly in a spice grinder without soaking. The general principle is: hard, dense dried foods need pre-soaking; light, delicate dried foods can be rehydrated during cooking. And never throw away flavoured soaking liquid — it is a free ingredient.