One strong reason for me to visit Morocco was food. I live in London where we have restaurants and delis from every corner of the world. I have dined at several Moroccan places from fine dining to having moroccan lunch box at Leather Lane which is the street next to my workplace. And I can confidently say I am a converted Moroccon when it comes to food. Rather more of Mediterranean, love for which is evident from my recipes.
Over our 8 days stay, we ate 100% local food, no fast food joints. We ate in our Riads where we stayed, we ate in the local markets, in Jemaa El Fna, from hole in the wall places, some of them were so small and dingy that the pictures of the food have come very unpalatable. But trust me, food on the whole in Fes and Marrakech has been nothing but stellar.
Now one cannot eat everything and try all dishes in a week. But given the foodie I am and accompanied by my equally food loving sister, we really maxed out our appetite and trust me we were in a happy food coma. So here are some of my recommendations, which you can easily try without breaking the bank.
Tagine
Now first to establish some clarity, Tagine is not the dish, its actually the pot in which it is cooked; over centuries its not got the synonyms name. Dating back to 8th century with its disputed origins, Berber vs Romans, Tagine is a one pot dish made with meats and vegetables slow cooked in embers over hours; the juices of the meats and vegetables along with the fat and spices comes together to make the most delicious and warming dish.
You will find tagines almost everywhere, it’s like the most omnipresent food with varying prices depending on where you are having it. The local street food shops will serve tagine, the Riads will and all fine dining places too. There are quite a lot of options, like Chicken, Lamb, Vegetables; they are usually served with Couscous or Khobz bread. Before I visited Morocco, I used to think Tagines are served with Rice; On my first 2 days I was asking rice everytime we ordered Tagine, and no where was it available. The folks serving us mentioned they serve it only with Bread and if we want we can order couscous. In hindsight I think its a complete meal and needs no accompaniment. Of course the breads help to mop up those delicious juices and give a carb kick.
So on my list this would be a no brainer must try dish straight from the earthen pot. And my favourite of all was Chicken with Lemons and Olives Tagine.
Where to try : The Ruined Garden Fez We had some fo the best Tagines here and fortunately we even stayed in the Riad housing the Ruined Garden. Highly recommend a visit here if you are visiting Fez.
Tangia
The folks at the food stalls in Jema El Fna will shout out loud to us “Madam come here for Tangia”. And me and my sister thought that they are just mispronouncing tagine or maybe its a shorter version of already short “Tagine” 😀 😀
It took us a day to understand after googling that Tangia is totally another dish.
So Tangia is an earthen pot which is used to slow cook the meats. So the ones we saw in the Square they were of 2-3 sizes. Smaller ones and then ones with a longer neck. The small ones had smaller quantities of meat in it. The ones who ordered it, they would open the lid of the tangia pot at the table and empty the pot in your plate.
We had tangia in a restaurant. And they served it to us like a dish in a bowl not in the earthern pot. The flavours are very simple i think it was salt cumin and red meat. The main selling point of this dish is that it is cooked in the pot in the furnace or embers. And the slow cooking releases the flavours and juices which really needs no spices. If you have ever had “Namkeen Gosht” in any Indian or Pakistani joint, this dish absolutely resembles it.
Where to try : Chez Lamine in Marrakech is an undisputed king who have hosted celebrities from around the world. We also went there but did not get a table.
Other than this you an try it in Jema El Fna square OR other food joints in the Medina
Couscous
I am sure couscous needs no introduction. It’s a global food from Morocco. Its my personal favourite which I eat often back in London, as its so easy to make and hardly takes time. We had couscous at several places, its like having rice which is an accompaniment to several main course dishes. However couscous can be a complete meal when it is served with vegetables and meats.
At Riad Irissy in Fez where we were staying, they organised a cookery class where the Chef shows how to make fresh couscous. Apparently most of these places make their own couscous; quite contrary to us buying from the supermarket. If you can sign up to one of such courses, it will be a good way to explore the culinary scene and history of Morocco. This picture is of a restaurant in Meknes where we went for a day trip from Fez. We ordered a chicken couscous and it came in this beautifully arranged dome. Inside was a pocket of surprise. Two large pieces of succulent chicken is hidden beneath the couscous cone.
Where to try : Any restaurant or eating joints in Medina
The large Moroccan Breakfasts
We had exceptionally large breakfasts in Morocco. At Riad Idrissy in Fes, the breakfasts was something we used to eagerly look forward to. They would serve us fruits, and then freshly squeezed orange juice which is also kind of omnipresent, yogurt and granola, eggs the way we wanted. And then it would be something which we fell in love with, the Moroccan pancakes, mainly Baghrir. These semolina soft pancakes were divine. We would lap them up with honey, marmalade or soft cheese. Another pancake or like crepe is Msemmen which is made in souks as well, was also served. It was exactly like Indian paratha but with semolina.
With these breakfasts, we would have little space for lunch. So we would set out to walk in the souks for rest of the day to make space to savour more delights (Greedy us!)
Where to try : At your Riad or Hotel; Cafe Clock Fes The Ruined Garden Fes Cafe des epices Marrakech
Baghrir
This was outrightly a winner in my eyes. We loved it so much.
Baghrir is a pancake. It was like a dosa. Made with semolina and yeast. Its a breakfast staple across Morocco. Fluffy, with a thousand holes and so soft. It was always served with honey, soft cheese, marmalades.
Where to try : You will most likely get as part of your breakfast in your Riads or Hotels. If you are in Marrakech you can try it in local markets too.
Pastilla
Now this one has been all over TV in may food shows. Pastilla is a savoury pastry made with filo pastry. Interestingly its half sweet and half savoury. Traditionally there is one made of pigeon meat which was all over the internet but we hardly found any place selling it with pigeon meat. Most sold with chicken. We had pastilla at a cafe with some mint tea. It was a very unique pastry which was dusted with powdered sugar and was stuffed with savoury chicken inside.
Where to try : Local markets in the medina
Unstoppable fresh fruit juices
the country is blessed with abundance of fruits and Orange and Pomegranate is probably leading the pack. A freshly squeezed glass or orange juice would always make an appearance in the breakfast spread. We had our daily does of fresh juice at Jemma El Fna every evening. The boys running the fruit stalls would shout out to come to their shop and offer you like a juice taster for free (and i never got the free ones, they were ugly).
Where to try : Almost everywhere in the local markets. Special mention of Jema El Fna square if you are in Marrakech
Khobz Bread
The omnipresent breads which you will find everywhere from streets to bakeries to every meal which is served in Morocco. Round, fluffy but rather coarse, its the perfect accompaniment to the tagines and the soups which you can break with your fingers and tuck it in. Even if you dont ask for it, you will get Khobz with your meal. I loved these breads and usually we would polish them off with Harissa even before our main course arrived. And then we asked for more bread. By the end of the trip we had so much of these breads that we were resembling the bread, ROUND and ROTUND 😀 😀
Where to try : Local shops or bakeries, restaurants
Briouat
Briouat are like Moroccan samosas made with filo pastry and a sweet or savoury filling. The sweet ones seemed more common as they were sold on streets and appeared in the dessert section of almost every eating joint. But we did find a savoury street food stall in Marrakech and had these amazing meat and chicken ones. They were delicious; albeit a little oily. We also had sweet briouats in Fez.
Where to try : Le Palais Des Gouts Fassie. Near Blue Gate in Fez, this shop is like a candy shop with so many sweets and halva. Most of the briouats we had there were delicious.
Harira Soup
This soup had become our unsaid detox option when we were go overboard in having meats and tagines. Harira soup is a real humble and delicious preparation. Its a soup made of lentils, chickpeas and tomato. Broken vermicelli is added to it which in my opinion makes it very unique. Mostly vegetarian but Non vegetarian options may be there too.
Where to try : We had it in the medina in very small food joints and it costed us 10 MAD per bowl. Probably the cheapest and healthiest food we had on our trip.
Selection of Meats
There are loads of tandoors and meats cooked on fire places. Given that Morocco is largely a meat eating country, I highly recommend you try some of the skewers, grilled meats, shawarmas, kebabs while you are here. We ate mostly at the local small places in the Medina where its cooked fresh and in front of you. May not be the best fine dining ambience but the food certainly is the best.
Where to try : Local places in the medina or any restaurant. This picture is of our last day in Marrakech and we visited Cafe Zeitoun at Jema El Fna square. Main reason of going here was the views and sunset as it overlooks the square. However we didn’t get a place for a while and it was dark by that time.
Moroccan Mint Tea
Morocco stands for Mint tea. It defines this place. I find it so alluring and warm, it always changes my mood. You will find min tea everywhere. From the Riad to the shops to literally every place serves mind tea. Mostly its for free but in high end places we have paid 30-40 MAD for this humble tea.
And highly recommend picking up a moroccan tea pot souvenir to take it home.
Where to try : Everywhere in Morocco. And cats come free with it 🙂
Final thoughts on Foods to try in Morocco
I can assure you Morocco is made for the gluttonous. And if you aren’t one, you may become one.
While its a personal choice and tastes differ, for me, this food was close to my palate and I loved almost everything here. Tagines have been an absolute favourite. I bought so many spices and now recreating some of these back in my kitchen in London. The food is pretty healthy maybe if cooked in less oil or smen. They mostly eat meats and vegetables, the basic real food. The fruits and juices are an icing on the cake.
Apparently I didn’t eat too many sweets on my trip. We did try few in Fez but unlike other european trips where baked sweets make most percentage of the carb intake, Morocco was ruled by Tagines, Mint tea and fruits.
I know I am going back to Morocco 100% without any doubts. There is still do much to try there. I hope you will find a similar gastronomical experience when you visit Morocco and I would love to hear about it.
