Couscous & grains
Baddaz (Corn Couscous)
بدّاز · baddaz
Baddaz is corn couscous: instead of the usual wheat semolina, it is rolled and steamed from coarse maize meal, giving a golden, softer, faintly sweet grain. A country and Amazigh speciality of maize-growing regions, it is steamed like ordinary couscous and served with a vegetable or meat sauce, or simply with buttermilk, olive oil or <a href='/moroccan-spices/smen'>smen</a>.
- Origin
- Rural and Amazigh Morocco
- Type
- Steamed corn couscous
- Eaten at
- Everyday, rural family meals
- Key flavour
- Sweet maize, buttermilk, smen
What Baddaz is
Coarse maize meal is moistened and rolled, then steamed in a couscoussier over a broth exactly as wheat couscous is, several times, until the grains are separate, light and tender.
The maize gives baddaz a distinctive golden colour, a softer texture and a gentle natural sweetness that makes it especially good with tangy buttermilk or rich, salty smen.
Origin & story
Corn became an important crop in parts of rural Morocco, and baddaz is one of the ways country and Amazigh households turned locally grown maize into the everyday couscous format that structures the week.
As a humble, home-grown grain dish it is far more common in villages and Amazigh regions than in city restaurants, and carries strong associations of rural, self-sufficient cooking.
Key ingredients at a glance
- Coarse maize (corn) meal
- Water and salt for rolling and steaming
- A vegetable or meat broth (optional)
- Buttermilk (lben)
- Olive oil, argan oil or smen
- Seasonal vegetables or pulses
- A little butter
This is a flavour snapshot, not a recipe. For quantities and method, see the full recipe linked below.
When & how it's eaten
Mounded on a communal plate and topped with sauce and vegetables, or served plainer with a bowl of buttermilk poured over — a light, homely supper as much as a grand couscous.
Like wheat couscous, it is eaten from a shared dish, traditionally rolled into mouthfuls by hand or eaten with a spoon.
Regional variations
Baddaz can be dressed simply with buttermilk and smen or built up with a full seven-vegetable sauce like a standard couscous; some cooks blend maize with a little wheat semolina.
It sits within the wider Moroccan couscous family alongside wheat couscous and barley belboula, distinguished by its grain.
Where to try it in Marrakech
A rural and Amazigh speciality best found in the countryside, mountain villages or home kitchens rather than city menus; a Friday couscous food tour is a good gateway to the couscous family.
Learn couscous-steaming technique in a couscous cooking class and explore grains in the guides.
Frequently asked questions
What is baddaz made from?
Coarse maize (corn) meal, rolled and steamed like couscous instead of the usual wheat semolina, giving a golden, softer, slightly sweet grain.
How is corn couscous served?
Like wheat couscous — topped with a vegetable or meat sauce — or more simply with buttermilk, olive or argan oil, or smen.
Where is baddaz eaten?
Mainly in rural and Amazigh maize-growing regions of Morocco, as home cooking rather than a restaurant dish.