This spiced Moroccan red tea is a warming, tingling elixir

This past December - amid a sunset crowd of vendors selling pomegranates, spices and snacks of steamed snails; henna tattooists, snake "charmers” with all the charm of used-car salesmen, fez-twirling dancers, curious tourists and hungry locals; and likely pickpockets taking advantage of everyone’s distraction - I tasted one of the best nonalcoholic drinks I’ve had in a long time.

My sister, Molly, and I took a long-planned trip through Morocco, going from Rabat to the Western Sahara, passing through the Atlas Mountains and ending in Marrakesh. With all the cultures, religions and histories that have intersected in the country over centuries, it is a destination I cannot recommend highly enough, especially as presented by our guide, Ibrahim Laarif, a native Moroccan who served rotating roles as cultural and religious interpreter, translator, historian, blocker of hawkers, and procurer of stamps, local snacks and stomach medicines to treat their effects.

In Morocco, mint tea is ubiquitous, a green gunpowder tea served hot, with fresh mint and often other herbs steeping into it. "If couscous or a tagine symbolizes Morocco on the plate, then mint tea does so in the glass,” Jeff Koehler wrote in the "North African Cookbook.” "Mint tea starts and ends a day, is sipped as a midmorning and afternoon break, precedes and finishes a meal.”

We drank it daily on our trip, and I could taste the variations in the herbs added from one place to the next. I had expected the mint tea. I had not been prepared for khunjul. But given Marrakesh’s centuries of history as a stop for spice traders, maybe I should have been?

On one of our nights in Marrakesh, Ibrahim took our group around to a few select food and drink vendors in the Djemaa el-Fna, the ancient square near the labyrinthine market. Big copper pots were steaming at several stalls, but Ibrahim told me that he always goes to No. 69, because its vendor, Mustapha El Bahja, was the first to start selling it in the square decades ago. Ibrahim presented the drink almost as a dare, hot in a glass teacup. Deep red, its fumes were a punch in the face - partly, I found out later, because Ibrahim added a sliver of crystalized menthol from the herbalist we’d visited in the souk.

Under that blast of minty vapors, it was sweet, tart and pungent. The flavor reminded me a bit of Angostura bitters, that deep, rich baking spice, but with more chile heat, florality and fruitiness. My eyes watered. My taste buds whooped.

The stall had posted a list of the ingredients, nearly 20 different spices that included galangal, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorn and many more. I snapped a shot of the list and did some more digging on khunjul later, and Ibrahim was kind enough to tell me about drinking it growing up. His family would have it every Thursday in the winter - it’s a drink people turn to warm themselves when temperatures dip, as well as to treat various respiratory ailments and colds. It’s also considered an aphrodisiac. People make it at home, and the spice roster varies based on what conditions they’re trying to remedy. Like so many drinks, what I was experiencing as a source of pleasurable intrigue started out, and continues to be used, as medicine.

I realize that suggesting you pop over to Marrakesh for the real deal may not be realistic. With some online reading, Ibrahim’s tips and that precious posted ingredient list, I attempted a version. It is, no doubt, a shadow of the Moroccan quaff. I’m but a tourist dipping my toe - or tongue! - into this complex vat of spicy goodness.

I suspect some folks will find the roster of ingredients overwhelming, but to be fair: I scaled back their number significantly. I did keep one of the listed components that Ibrahim said is unusual for khunjul - dried hibiscus flowers, which were instrumental to the flavor and color that I experienced, and which made me wonder about possible connections between khunjul and sorrel, the spicy hibiscus drink with roots in West Africa. If you play around with the recipe, let me know if you land on a spice ratio you like.

Khunjul (Moroccan Spiced Red Tea)

Active time: 10 mins. Total time: 25 mins

Servings: 4-6 (makes about 5 1/2 cups)

Though khunjul (sometimes spelled khoudenjal) gets referred to as a "tea,” it’s really a roster of heady spices, most prominently the ginger-like galangal root, without any actual tea leaves. The intensely aromatic drink is served hot and often taken as an herbal cold remedy in Morocco. Locals adjust the ingredients to their preferences, and you can dial in the heat and the sweet by adjusting the amount of pepper, chilies and sugar. You’ll need cheesecloth or a nut milk bag to strain the spices. The hibiscus flowers are not common in preparations of the drink, but were a key component in the version Spirits columnist M. Carrie Allan was introduced to while on a trip to Morocco.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 1 week; reheat until hot before serving

INGREDIENTS

6 cups water

1/2 cup dried hibiscus petals

1 whole star anise

3 dried pequin peppers

1/2 tablespoon ground galangal

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 cup brown sugar (any kind), plus more as needed

DIRECTIONS

In a medium pot over medium-low heat, bring the water to a near-simmer. Add the hibiscus petals and star anise, and stir to saturate the petals. Add the pequin peppers, galangal, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg, and stir to thoroughly saturate the spices. Cook, uncovered, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a simmer and tasting the mixture occasionally until the desired spiciness is reached, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Line a fine-mesh strainer set over a heatproof bowl with a nut milk bag or a double-folded piece of cheesecloth. Pour the liquid through the cloth and discard the solids. (Don’t press on them or the resulting drink might become grainy.) Add the sugar, stir to dissolve, and taste again, adding more sugar as desired. Ladle the drink into tea cups and serve hot.

Substitutions

Ground galangal >> ground ginger.

Pequin peppers >> pinch of cayenne pepper.

Nutritional Facts per serving (scant 1 cup), based on 6 | Calories: 33; Fat: 0 g; Saturated Fat: 0 g; Carbohydrates: 9 g; Sodium: 4 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Protein: 0 g; Fiber: 0 g; Sugar: 9 g

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.

From columnist M. Carrie Allan.