Morocco Travel Guide

Moroccan

Snacks

» » fresh or dried fruit
» » roasted almonds,
chickpeas, and
pumpkin and sunflower
seeds
» » hard-boiled eggs
with fresh cumin
» » roasted corn fresh
off the brazier
» » sandwiches of
brochettes or merguez
with cumin, salt and
harissa
» » escargot (snails) in
hot, savoury broth
» » ice cream
» » patisseries
(Moroccan or French)

»   »   Marrakesh   Bessara (fava   beans   with    cumin,  paprika,    olive   oil and salt); tanjia (crock-pot    stew    of  seasoned    lamb    cooked

for eight   to  12  hours   in  a   hammam)

»   »   Meknès  Kamama  (lamb   stewed  with    ginger, smen,   saffron,    cinnamon    and sweet   onions)

»   »   Southern    Coast   Amelou  (argan-nut  paste   with    honey   and argan   oil)

»   »   Tangier Local   variations  on  tapas   and paella

Street Eats

Sidewalk cafes and kiosks put a local twist on Continental breakfast, with Moroccan pancakes
and doughnuts, French pastries, coffee and mint tea. Follow your nose and rumbling stomach
into the souqs, where you’ll find tangy olives and local jiben (fresh goat’s or cow’s milk cheese)
to be devoured with fresh khoobz (Moroccan-style pita bread baked in a wood-fire oven until
it’s crusty on the outside, yet fluffy and light on the inside) . Khoobz can be found wrapped in
paper at any hanout (cupboard-sized corner shops found in every neighbourhood).

In  the souqs,  you can’t   miss    vendors with    their   carts   piled   high    with    fresh

fruit,  singing their   own praises.    They’re right:  you’ll  never   know    how high

oranges can be  stacked or  how delicious   freshly squeezed    aseer   limoon

(orange juice)  can be  until   you pay a   visit   to  a   Moroccan    juice-vendor’s

cart.   Drink   yours   from    a   disposable  cup or  your    own water   bottle, because

the vendor’s    glasses are rinsed  and reused  dozens  of  times   daily.

One savoury southern    breakfast   just    right   for chilly  mornings    is  bessara

(a  steaming-hot    fava-bean   puree   with    cumin,  olive   oil,    and a   dash    of

paprika),   best    when    mopped  up  with    khoobz  still   warm    from    the communal

oven    right   down    the street. For a   twist   on  the usual   French  breakfast

pastries,   try rghaif  (flaky, dense   Moroccan    pastries    like    flattened

croissants),    typically   served  with    warm    honey,  apricot jam,    or  if  you’re

lucky,  nutty   tahalout    (date   syrup). The truly   adventurous can start   their   day

with    a   rich    stew    of  lamb’s  head    or  calves’ feet,   generously  ladled  into    an

enamel  bowl    from    a   huge    vat precariously    balanced    on  a   makeshift   Buddha

gas burner.

Breakfast of Champions

As a guest in a Moroccan home, you’d be treated to the best of
everything, and the best guesthouses scrupulously uphold this Moroccan
tradition each morning. You’ll carb-load like a Moroccan marathoner, with some combination of
the following to jumpstart your day:

Ahwa (Coffee) Ahwa is one option, but also café au lait, thé b’na na (tea with mint) or thé wa
hleb (tea with milk), wa (with) or bla (without) sukur (sugar).

Aseer limoon (Orange juice)

Bayd (Eggs) Cooked in omelettes, with a dash of kamun (freshly ground cumin) or zataar
(cumin with toasted sesame seeds).

Beghrir Moroccan pancakes with an airy, spongy texture like crumpets, with honey or jam.

French pastries Croissants, pain au chocolat and others.

Khoobz Usually served with butter and jam or olive oil and zataar .