The Moroccan dishes encyclopedia
Page 2 of 4 · Showing dishes 25–48 of 85
6 dishes
Couscous & grains
Steamed semolina in its many forms, from the Friday couscous mountain to sweet seffa and the shredded-pancake trid.
Steamed corn couscous
Baddaz (Corn Couscous)
بدّاز · baddaz
Couscous made from coarse maize meal instead of wheat — a golden, faintly sweet Amazigh grain steamed and served with vegetables, buttermilk or smen.
- Eaten at
- Everyday, rural family meals
Barley porridge
Tagoula (Amazigh Barley Porridge)
تاكولا · tagula
A thick High Atlas porridge of barley meal cooked in water or buttermilk, eaten with a well of argan oil, smen or honey — mountain comfort food.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, winter, rural meals
Sweet wheat-berry porridge
Herbel (Wheat-Berry Milk Porridge for Ashura)
الهربل · l-herbel
Whole wheat berries simmered slowly in milk until creamy and sweet — the soft, comforting porridge traditionally eaten around Ashura.
- Eaten at
- Ashura, winter breakfast
Sweet steamed couscous
Mesfouf (Buttered Sweet Couscous)
مسفوف · mesfuf
Fine couscous steamed and dressed simply with butter, sugar and sometimes raisins or dates — a light, sweet couscous eaten for supper or Ramadan.
- Eaten at
- Light supper, Ramadan, buttermilk meals
Semolina porridge
Aïche (Semolina & Buttermilk Porridge)
عيش · 3aych
A soft semolina porridge loosened with buttermilk and enriched with olive or argan oil — plain, nourishing Amazigh everyday food.
- Eaten at
- Everyday, breakfast, rural meals
Roasted grain paste / energy food
Zmita (Roasted Barley & Argan Flour)
زميتة · zmita · tazemmit
Toasted barley ground with almonds, argan oil and honey into a dense, nutty flour paste — an Amazigh energy food, cousin of sellou.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, postpartum, with tea
9 dishes
Soups & starters
The bowls that open a meal or break a fast — Ramadan harira, silky split-pea bissara and Jemaa el-Fnaa snail broth.
Spiced snail broth
Babbouche (Snail Soup)
ببوش · babbūš
Small snails simmered in an intensely herbal, medicinal broth of a dozen spices — the cult night-time cup of Jemaa el-Fnaa.
- Eaten at
- Evenings, cold weather, on the square
Light tomato-vegetable soup
Chorba
شربة · shorba
A lighter, vermicelli-and-vegetable cousin of harira — the brothier soup of Morocco's east and a common everyday starter nationwide.
- Eaten at
- Ramadan, everyday starters, cold days
Braised white bean stew
Loubia
لوبيا · lūbiya
White beans simmered soft in a garlicky, cumin-spiced tomato sauce — a thrifty, filling stew sold hot from street-side pots across the medina.
- Eaten at
- Cheap lunch, home meals, street food
Braised lentil stew
Adas (Moroccan Lentils)
عدس · ʿads
Brown or red lentils simmered down with tomato, cumin and garlic into a thick, warming stew — cheap, plain comfort food across Morocco.
- Eaten at
- Everyday meals, cheap lunches
Milk-cooked grain porridge
Tchicha
تشيشة · tchicha
Cracked wheat or barley simmered slowly in milk or buttermilk into a warming, mildly sweet porridge-soup — a gentle winter breakfast.
- Eaten at
- Winter breakfast, gentle home food
Blended saffron fish broth
Moroccan Fish Soup
شربة الحوت · shorba l-ḥūt
A saffron-and-tomato broth built on the day's smaller catch — the fisherman's soup of Morocco's Atlantic port towns.
- Eaten at
- Coastal lunches, fishing communities
Smooth barley soup
Hssoua Belboula (Barley Cream Soup)
حسوة بلبولة · ḥssuwa belbula
A smooth, milky barley soup enriched with olive or argan oil — a soothing Amazigh breakfast and cold-weather soup from the south.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, winter, Ramadan suhoor
Herb and grain soup
Askif (Amazigh Wild-Herb & Barley Soup)
أسكيف · askif
A green mountain soup of barley or semolina cooked with wild herbs and greens — a rustic, warming Amazigh everyday soup.
- Eaten at
- Everyday, winter, rural meals
Ritual starter / fast-breaker
Hlib w Tmar (Dates & Milk — the Ftour Opener)
الحليب والتمر · l-ḥlib w t-tmar
The simplest and most symbolic Moroccan starter — a glass of milk and a few dates, the traditional first taste that breaks the Ramadan fast.
- Eaten at
- Ftour (iftar) during Ramadan
9 dishes
Salads & cooked mezze
The cooked and raw small plates that crowd a Moroccan table before the main dish arrives.
Cooked salad / dip
Zaalouk
زعلوك · zaʿlūk
A smoky cooked salad of aubergine and tomato mashed down with garlic, cumin and paprika — the star of the Moroccan mezze table.
- Eaten at
- Starter, mezze, with bread
Cooked salad / dip
Taktouka
تكتوكة · taktūka
A cooked salad of grilled green peppers and tomato with garlic and cumin — zaalouk's inseparable partner on the mezze table.
- Eaten at
- Starter, mezze, with bread
Fried potato cake
Maakouda
معقودة · maʿqūda
Spiced mashed-potato cakes, crumbed and fried golden — a medina street snack often tucked into a bread sandwich.
- Eaten at
- Street snack, Ramadan, sandwiches
Cooked wild greens salad
Bakoula (Khobiza)
بقولة / خبيزة · bakoula / khobiza
Wild mallow greens simmered soft with cumin, paprika and preserved lemon — an earthy cooked salad with deep Moroccan Jewish roots.
- Eaten at
- Starter, mezze, Shabbat and family tables
Cooked sweet salad
Moroccan Carrot & Orange Salad
سلطة الجزر بالبرتقال · slata l-khizzu bi-l-limun
Cooked carrots dressed with orange, cinnamon and orange blossom water — a bright, faintly sweet salad on the mezze table.
- Eaten at
- Starter, mezze table
Cooked root salad
Moroccan Beet Salad
سلطة الشمندر · slata sh-shmandar
Cooked beetroot dressed with cumin, orange blossom water and a little sugar — the deep-red staple of the mezze table.
- Eaten at
- Starter, mezze table
Cooked salad / dip
Moroccan Courgette Salad
سلطة الكوسة · slata l-koussa
Courgettes simmered down soft with garlic, cumin and paprika — a lighter, greener cousin of zaalouk on the cooked-salad table.
- Eaten at
- Starter, mezze table
Raw chopped salad
Shlada (Moroccan Tomato & Cucumber Salad)
شلاضة · shlada
The raw, chopped tomato, cucumber, pepper and onion salad dressed with oil and lemon — the fresh counterpart to Morocco's cooked mezze.
- Eaten at
- Starter, every meal, mezze table
Cooked salad / dip
Batata Mchermla (Potato Salad with Chermoula)
بطاطا مشرملة · baṭāṭa mcharmla
Boiled potato dressed warm in garlicky, cumin-spiced chermoula — a hearty, everyday cooked salad on the Moroccan mezze table.
- Eaten at
- Starter, mezze table
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