Moroccan gastronomy, a rich cultural heritage

 

Gastronomic tours with a thousand flavours

The art of cooking in Morocco is characterized by its diversity and richness, as it reflects the cultural heritage of the country. Couscous, tagine, pastilla, merouzia, or rafisa, for example, are the distinctive dishes of Morocco that attract lovers of distinctive cooking. Moroccan cuisine is made up of a variety of surprising flavors and aromas, and derives its authenticity from a mixture of Berber, Arab, Andalusian and Jewish culinary traditions. With its rich cultural heritage specific to each region, Morocco enjoys an indisputable reputation on the world stage.

Features of traditional Moroccan cooking

The main feature in Moroccan cuisine is the use of fruits with meat in cooking, such as using quince with meat, and apricots with chicken.

The second characteristic is the abundance and diversity of the ingredients used in cooking. Morocco produces Mediterranean and tropical fruits and vegetables, as well as sheep, poultry, cattle and fish.

The third feature is the widespread use of spices in cooking, including cinnamon, cumin, turmeric (turmeric), and ginger (skinjure).

Black pepper (Lipzar), red pepper (Tahmeera), anise seeds, sesame, coriander (coriander or coriander), parsley (Madonus), thyme, celery, saffron, and mint.

And required the traditions of Moroccan cooking, when serving a main meal, to start by serving hot and cold salads, followed by the tagine.

Bread is used with every meal, and the next dish is often lamb or chicken. Then, couscous with meat and vegetables is served, and at the end of the meal, mint tea is served.

Moroccan main dishes

The main traditional meals spread in Morocco are: couscous, chicken, red meat, lamb, marouzieh, tagine, tanjia, and rafisa.

Below, we learn about the main meals with pictures, videos, and links explaining the method of preparation:

Couscous: Couscous is made from wheat or corn flour. It is eaten with spoons or by hand. It is cooked with steam and meat, vegetables, chicken, or other things are added to it.

There are many types of couscous, including couscous with vegetables, couscous with whale (fish), couscous with sandwiches (dried meat), and couscous with sausage.

Moroccan tagine: It is a method of cooking inside earthenware pots, as the name is given to the pots themselves. The Moroccan tagine pot consists of two pieces, a base and a conical dome.

Chicken tagine: Moroccan chicken tagine can be prepared with chicken and vegetables easily and has many forms in cooking methods and varies from country to country.

Meat and plum tagine: How to make a Moroccan tagine with meat and plums is one of the forms of tagine cooking. We explain the ingredients and the method of preparation in the following links.

Moroccan Marouzia: One of the distinctive dishes in Moroccan cuisine, and the method of preparing Marouzia was originally done using the tagine, and it is served on occasions, especially on Eid al-Adha, as it is often considered a sacrificial meat.

The Marrakech Tanjia: It is a Moroccan food that is prepared in a special pottery pot called the “tanjia”, in which food is prepared, then closed and placed in hot ashes.

Moroccan Rfisa: It is a type of porridge that is well-known in the traditional Moroccan dish.

Moroccan pastries and baked goods

Pastilla: It is a type of pastry, and its meaning in Spanish is “the little pie.” It is a dish of Andalusian origin, and it is famous in the countries of the Maghreb.

Harcha: Moroccan Harcha is a type of pastry. It is a hearty meal in the morning breakfast. It is made from semolina, oil, salt and yeast, and cooked over a hot frying pan.

Malawi or Malawi: It is one of the types of Moroccan pancakes and is called in other Arab countries as pie or feteer meshaltet. It is easy to prepare and does not require many ingredients.

Baghrir: It is a pie with a thousand holes, and the way it is made is easy and fast. It has a round shape and a spongy texture. When cooked properly, it is full of small holes.

Briwat: a type of pastry or pie, which is made of pastilla paper (chips) and placed in the oven or kept in oil. The following is the method of making Briwat with almonds.

Al-Qarashil: or Al-Kirs or Al-Qarsheel, is a famous Moroccan pastry whose texture is as brittle as cotton and requires a special method in its work in order to be successfully prepared.

Soups

Moroccan Bisara: It is bean soup or bean soup, which is common in the cities of northern Morocco and contains high nutrients that give the body warmth and energy.

Moroccan Harira: It is a famous soup in Morocco that is distinguished by its ingredients and health benefits for the body, and its ingredients differ from one region to another.

Harira consists of skewered meat, chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, butter, vermicelli, and flour.

Moroccan appetizers

Zaalouk in Dangal: It is a Moroccan dish that is classified as an appetizer or as a base dish and is very popular in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Moroccan sweets

Kaab el-Ghazal sweets: or deer antlers are sweets stuffed with almond paste.

Moroccan cakes: There are many forms of cake making in different countries, and they are similar to each other in aspects and differ in others. We review the method of making traditional Moroccan cakes.

Chebakia: It is one of the oldest sweets in Moroccan cuisine. It is similar to the well-known dumplings in the Levant. It is one of the honey sweets that are skillfully woven and decorated with sesame (Jaljalan), and scented with star anise, rose water and fennel.

Coca-Cola candy: Coca-Cola candy or coconut candy is an economical dessert that is easy to prepare and rich in nutritional values.

Slaw or Sfouf: It is a famous Moroccan dessert that is usually served on Ramadan occasions, weddings and holidays. It is made of a mixture of roasted flour, almonds, sesame, sugar and butter.

Ghriba: It is spread in the Arab world, and is similar in the way it works, with a slight difference in the way it is prepared and in the pronunciation of its name.

Al-Faqqas: A Moroccan dry dessert made of flour, sugar, eggs and yeast. It is very popular in Morocco due to its low cost. It is usually served with tea.

Maskouta: Moroccan maskouta is widespread in Morocco and Algeria, and it is cake sweets that are usually prepared with flour, sugar and eggs, with other ingredients such as cocoa or fruits, etc., and in this article we explain the Algerian method of maskouta with chocolate.