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Writer's pictureLiz

Moroccan Must-Eats

Updated: May 31, 2020

Morocco is known for many famous dishes from couscous to tagine to "khubz" (bread) and more! One of my favorite parts of my 9 months there was the food. I absolutely never got bored eating with my host family. The food there is so fresh and wholesome. I could really go on and on about my favorite foods! In this post I'll talk about the four meals of the day, eating customs, the most famous dishes, eating at restaurants, vegetarianism, and more.


Please note that Moroccan Arabic has it's own alphabet, so I'll do my best to write the words phonetically, but there are ultimately sounds that just don't exist in English. More on language will come in another post!


Shopping for Food

Whether you are in a city or a rural town, "souk" is where food shopping takes place. Think of it like a farmer's market and sometimes also a flea market, but way more packed and hectic. I never went without my host family because it is wild. In cities they can be more calm, as you'll sometimes have a street lined with stands, but in other places it is an open field filled with stands, leaving very little walking room. It is packed with sellers shouting out prices and buyers negotiating. They are often held on a specific day or days of the week, depending on the demand in the area.


At souk you can buy fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables, grains, meats, and more, all by the kilo. Prices vary based on the seasonality and quality of the goods, and are negotiable, making it a difficult situation to navigate as a tourist. In the pictures below you can see 2 different souks full of fruits and vegetables, a basket of snails for purchase at souk, a cookie shop with honey bees lining the glass (which is very common), and my souk purchases for one week. All of that fresh produce cost about 50 Dh, or $5!


In cities, you can find supermarkets or "supermarchets" which are pretty similar to what you would expect. Things will be priced and you can find a lot of packaged goods. I will admit, a monthly visit was great for me to stock up on Nutella and cheese.


In both cities and rural towns you can also find "hanuts." You can think of these like a corner store or a general store, where they sell many packaged goods along with other household items. You walk up to the hanut counter and the "mul hanut," or store owner, will bring you what you ask for. At the hanut you can buy packaged goods like cookies, canned corn, and ketchup, as well as loose items that you buy based on the price or weight like nuts and flour. You can also buy milk, eggs, butter, and other refrigerated items, and hanuts often have other goods such as laundry detergent and toothbrushes. You never know what your local hanut will randomly have in stock, but everyone has their favorite hanut that they visit almost daily. Parents will also often give their kids one dirham (Dh) for a handful of candy or gum.


Drinking Water

In Morocco as a tourist, don't drink the tap water! Your body will not be adjusted to it, and you will have...issues...afterwards. Bottled water can be purchased everywhere. You can ask for "ilma min kraa" when you go out, and they will bring you bottled water. At the very least, be sure to boil water if you don't have bottled water accessible. I tried adjusting to the water after living there for a while, and let me just say, it was not a fun month.


The 4 Moroccan Meals of the Day

Yes, in Morocco they eat 4 meals a day pretty religiously (and no, none of them are called "elevensies"). Only certain families skip the fourth meal, and meal time is always a big event in which everyone sits around the table together. Everything I write here is based on my experience, so while I did live with two different families in different regions of the country, my experience may not reflect that of others. Morocco is a country with a rich mixture of cultures.

So, the meals include:

  • Al-iftur- Breakfast

    • This is the first meal of the day, usually consisting of eggs, pastries, bread, and coffee or tea.

  • Al-lghda- Lunch

    • Like our lunch, this is mid-day and usually everyone goes home from work or school to eat, unless they live too far away. This is a meal heavy in vegetables with bread and sometimes meat. They usually finished it with a bowl full of clementines or another fruit.

  • Kaskrut- There is no translation in English

    • What is eaten for kaskrut can vary from family to family or even day to day. This takes place around our normal dinner time, from 5-7 ish. We love kaskrut. My host families usually treated it as tea time with cake, pastries, cookies, or bread. We'd also have homemade smoothies sometimes, and they loved to get creative with the sweet treats served. It is also common for families to invite guests over for kaskrut, and then they would really go all out with the assortment of goodies. That's what you can see in the picture below. Sometimes, if a family doesn't eat dinner, they treat kaskrut as such eating a bigger meal with salad, meat, and other dishes.

  • Al-aasha- Dinner

    • This is a late dinner by American standards, usually between 9-10 pm. I often skipped this meal and so did my host families. When they did eat it tended to be something light like noodle soup or milky rice.

  • Bonus- Parties

    • In Morocco, parties are all about the food, so I had to mention this. I went to countless baby showers, just to eat and leave, or to sit for 5 hours, then eat and leave. The women go all out preparing sweets for parties, and at more formal events they have a standard 3 course meal. This includes roasted chicken with various sauces, then beef with dates, and finally a dish of sugary noodles. Soda is also often on the menu, which is a very special treat. The pictures below show food from various birthday parties, baby showers, and school parties. You can also see the massive amount of meat that was prepared by my host family for a special event.


Eating Customs

In Morocco, eating is a bit different than here in America. I didn't often eat at restaurants, but they had more similar eating patterns unless you are in a homestay or a small, local restaurant.


Here's what you need to know:

  • Before eating, Moroccans say “Bismillah” which is saying thank you to Allah for the food. Everyone around the table should repeat it before eating.

  • Everyone commences eating at the same time- wait to dig in until others do.

  • Moroccans eat with their hands. ALWAYS use your right hand to eat, because the left hand is reserved for...taking care of business in the bathroom. A few exceptions to the no utensils rule include salad and sometimes couscous.

  • Always wash your hands before eating.

  • Bread is eaten with pretty much every meal, and it is used like a utensil. There is an art to it that it just takes practice to master.

  • Most foods are eaten from a large shared dish. You are to eat from the triangle that is in front of you and not pass into the unspoken section that your neighbors eat from. Especially with guests, they will not invade your space in the shared bowl.

  • Just like meals, there is also usually a shared cup of water. I would not advise you to share the cup because it is likely tap water, just have your bottle at hand. Tea, juice, and other drinks aren't usually shared.

  • Meat is eaten in way smaller portions than we have here. It is always at the center of the dish and eaten last. At least in my host families, one person would break up the meat to ensure an equal portion for everyone, after the rest of the meal was finished.

  • They do not eat pork or anything from a pig. In the Qur'an, it is talked about as an unclean animal so it is not to be eaten.

  • It varies by family, but sometimes the men eat separately from the women. My host families did not do this, but some more traditional ones do.

  • Moroccans take pride in their hospitality. If they tell you to keep eating, do it! At least eat a few more bites before you say you are full.

  • In the same vain, if you are offered food, accept it. At least take a few bites.

  • To tell the host how delicious the food is, say “al makla binina.” To tell them you are full, say “shbaat.” And to say thank you, say “shukran.”

Famous Moroccan Foods

Like I said, I could go on and on about the delicious food options in Morocco. I'll just give a brief overview of the ones that require an introduction, and then in the gallery you can see the names of some other foods.

  • Tagine- This meal is a national dish and also the name of the ceramic pot it is cooked in. Tagine consists of vegetables and meat, slow cooked over fire in a blend of spices. It is a dish many young Moroccans learn to cook first, and I find it to be one of the easiest to replicate. I even brought a Tagine home with me to recreate the dish!

  • Couscous- Pretty much across the country, Sunday is for Couscous. Cooking couscous the Moroccan way is a labor of love, one that the women of every household begin early on Sunday morning. Usually it is eaten a bit later than their normal lunch and it will have you full for the rest of the day. The couscous is steamed multiple times until it is so soft and fluffy. It is topped with a mixture of vegetables, chickpeas, and often chicken. Couscous is so delicious, making Sunday my favorite day when I lived there! Many families eat it with their hands, which truly is an art. They managed to roll it into a neat little ball, meanwhile when I tried I made a mess all over! My host families preferred spoons. Many families also drink “libin” with it, which I think is close to buttermilk. It is sour milk that many volunteers said was an acquired taste, but I chose to pass on it.

  • Bread- Bread, called “khubz,” is a staple for every Moroccan meal, which can be dangerous because it is so delicious! It is homemade multiple times per week in the home, delivering fresh, soft, warm goodness to make the perfect accompaniment to every dish. It soaked up the broth that is in many dishes perfectly. The picture below shows my host family's outdoor bread oven, which was highly sought after. Many times, women from other families would bring their dough to cook in each other's outdoor ovens. The other picture is from a project I did with some youth. I asked them to create crafts from recycled materials to represent their culture. A group of boys made a mosque, and a clay bread oven. Bread runs the world!

  • Tea- In Morocco this is called “atai.” Moroccan tea is the best! They prepare a simple black tea with loads of sugar and usually add fresh mint, or “naanaa.” Another herb sometimes used in tea was called “louisa,” and it was my favorite but harder to come by. I think it may be lemongrass, but I was never completely sure I found out the correct translation. Below you can see tea at home, and tea with cookies at a restaurant.

  • Harira- This is a Moroccan soup most famous during Ramadan, in which they drink it every night. However, my host family had it from time to time throughout the year, too. From what I know, it is a tomato based soup with chickpeas and noodles, and it is delicious. The pictures show harira being prepared in a large clay pot, as well as two different table settings during Ramadan, both with bowls of the delicious soup.


Some more delicious, popular foods:

Top row, L-R: sfunch, baghreer, mlwii ma khudra

Bottom row, L-R: mlwii, shlada (salad), and aasir (juice/smoothie)


I don't have any photos, but I have to mention my favorite meals of "lubia," beans, or "laadis," lentils. They are a vegetarian's dream in Morocco! #veryveggie


Eating at Restaurants

As a tourist, you will most likely be eating at restaurants. In cities you can find a wide range of places to eat, from fancy Moroccan restaurants to food options from around the world. There will be McDonald's and as Peace Corps Volunteers, our beloved Pizza Hut. Cheese was very difficult to come by, so we would always indulge on cheesy crust personal pizzas when we got to a city, and then of course regret it after.


However, if you want the authentic experience, my recommendation is to find small, hole in the wall type places. For example, in Fez's Old Médina, among the shops you will sometimes come across small restaurants that might not look like much, but they are where you'll find the best food. Additionally, if you go to a larger/more high-end restaurant, be sure to order meals that are truly authentic. After all, when in Morocco, you want to try Moroccan food! In that case, ask your waiter for recommendations. And, if you want food to go, ask for it "emporté"- a French word. The photos show a meal of "kefta" or beef, "papas frites" or French fries, "shlada" or salad, and of course "khubz." To the right is a traditional Ramadan kaskrut from a restaurant.

Cafés

As far as café's go, these can be very intimidating in Morocco. They are often the hang-out spot for Moroccan men, who will line the outdoor seating, facing the street. If you are a male tourist, any café should be fine, but female tourists should be more selective about which café to go to. This is generally to avoid stares of men questioning a female presence in their space, which can feel uncomfortable, especially in a foreign country. My strategy was to choose a café that was less busy, or if there was another female, it was a go! I'd usually sit outside or just away from any other patrons. In small, rural, towns, if you are female, I wouldn't recommend going at all, as no other women will be. And beware, there may be cats roaming around the café, but I never minded too much.


Master your beverage order

While there are places like Starbucks around Morocco, don't expect to find a caramel latte on every corner. A simple coffee order will look very different in a Moroccan café, even in cities. Coffee is called "kahwa," and it comes in a small glass, about a third the size of a tall coffee at Starbucks. Here's how to order coffee:

  • Kahwa kahla- Black coffee, which they will serve with sugar cubes on the side.

  • Espresso- Espresso, like you would expect it, which they will serve with sugar cubes on the side.

  • Kahwa ma halib- Coffee with a splash of milk, which they will serve with sugar cubes on the side.

  • Kahwa nus nus- Half coffee, half milk (this was my go-to since Moroccan coffee is pretty strong), which they will serve with sugar cubes on the side.

At cafés you can also get tea-"atai", juice/smoothies- "aasir," and water- "ilma". They also often serve pastries like croissants (this one is the same in Moroccan Arabic), and sometimes food like pizza!


The Cost of a Meal

Like everything else, this can vary depending on where you are in the country, the actual place you are eating, and whether in a big city or not, but here's rough estimates of what I remember.

  • Coffee- 5-10 Dh

  • Tea- 5-10 Dh

  • Juice/smoothie- 20-30 Dh

  • Pizza- 40 Dh

  • Croissant- 2-5 Dh

  • Beans with bread- 15-30 Dh

  • Small salad- 10-15 Dh

  • Tagine- 35-50 Dh

  • Couscous- 40-60 Dh

Eating Vegetarian in Morocco

In Morocco, you won't find many vegetarians. In restaurants, I could usually get by just fine by ordering tagine without meat, beans, or salad. However, in a host family setting, it is considered rude to refuse food that is offered to you, so I often ate meat. Remember that Moroccans eat way less meat than Americans, often only having it once a day. And, when they did, it was only a few bites except for on special occasions. Eventually I explained to my host family that I didn't like to eat it so they gave me even smaller portions, but they insisted I needed to eat it. I heard other volunteers say they were very strong in their vegetarian convictions, and they successfully explained their preferences to their host families or even called it an allergy. Just know, it might not be the easiest conversation to navigate.


The meat industry in Morocco is very different than it is here. Since meat is eaten so much more here, we have a giant industry that traps animals in confinement, pumps hormones into them, creates tons of pollution, and so many more issues. In Morocco, meat is largely still locally raised just like most of the other food. The animals are respected and even thanked for giving their life when they are slaughtered. Most meat purchased is from an animal that has just been killed, so it is fresh and meant to be eaten quickly. In the souk, you often even pick your chicken while it is alive, and then they kill it and prepare it right in front of you. I had a conversation with a Moroccan friend about this, and she talked about how Moroccans have a deep appreciation for the animals that they eat. There could still be moral or other issues with this system, but it does not compare to how terrible the meat industry is in America. As a vegetarian, when I ate meat in Morocco, I felt very differently about it than I would if I ate it here. My host family had their own chickens that they raised for eggs, and eventually, meat.


I hope this guide will help you to navigate eating in Morocco if you ever have a chance to visit! The food culture there is very special to experience. It is full of foods that are lovingly prepared to be good and wholesome, and the communal nature of eating is tied to so much history.

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