Yennayer (Amazigh New Year) menu
Moroccan New Year Menu — The Amazigh Yennayer Feast
Yennayer, the Amazigh new year around 12-13 January, is marked with a generous meal built from the last of the season's stores — dried fruit, grain and whatever vegetables are on hand. A hidden date stone or almond is sometimes tucked into a couscous or porridge, said to bring good luck to whoever finds it in their portion. This menu gives the traditional grain dish, a chicken tagine to go with it, and the small ritual that makes the meal more than an ordinary dinner.
The menu
Main grain dish
Tagoulla or a barley porridge with dried fruit and butter
A thick, warming porridge traditionally eaten to mark the turn of the farming year, made from stored grain and whatever dried fruit is on hand.
Alternative main
Seven-vegetable couscous with a hidden almond or date stone
Some families prefer couscous for the occasion, tucking in a lucky charm for whoever finds it.
Side dish
Chicken tagine with raisins and almonds
A slightly sweet tagine served alongside the grain dish, using up dried fruit stores much like the porridge itself.
Bread
Warm khobz
Served as with any Moroccan meal, for scooping the porridge or sauce.
To finish
Dried fruit and nuts
A simple end to the meal, tying back to the season's harvest and stores being used up before the new farming year begins.
To drink
Mint tea
The usual close to the meal, poured once the family has eaten together.
Shopping list
- Barley or wheat for tagoulla, or couscous as an alternative
- Dried fruit — raisins, dates, dried figs — and nuts
- Butter or olive oil
- A whole chicken, or chicken pieces
- Cinnamon, saffron and ginger
- Onion and a little honey for the tagine
- An almond or clean date stone, if including the hidden charm
- Bread or flour to bake khobz
- Seasonal dried fruit and nuts to finish
- Gunpowder green tea and fresh mint
Prep timeline
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Day before
Soak the grain if making tagoulla, and prepare the dried fruit and nuts you plan to use in both the porridge and the tagine.
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Morning
Start the chicken tagine, letting it cook slowly with the dried fruit and spices.
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Midday
Cook the grain porridge or steam the couscous, tucking in the hidden almond or date stone if you are keeping that tradition.
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At the table
Serve the grain dish and tagine together, with bread, and let whoever finds the hidden charm enjoy the good-natured attention.
Host's tips
- The hidden charm is a light-hearted tradition, not a strict rule — feel free to skip it if you are cooking for young children who might not spot it.
- Use up the last of any dried fruit and grain stores for this meal; it is traditionally tied to clearing out the old season before the new one begins.
- Tagoulla can be made with whatever grain is on hand — barley, wheat or a mix — rather than one fixed recipe.
- Serve the chicken tagine and grain course together rather than as separate courses, since neither is meant to be the sole centrepiece.
Questions about this menu
What is Yennayer and when is it celebrated?
Yennayer is the Amazigh (Berber) new year, celebrated around 12-13 January based on an agricultural calendar older than the Islamic Hijri year. It is marked with a generous family meal rather than religious observance.
What is the hidden charm tradition at Yennayer?
A date stone or almond is sometimes tucked into the couscous or grain porridge before serving, and whoever finds it in their portion is said to have good luck for the coming year — a light, playful custom rather than a formal rule.
What is tagoulla?
Tagoulla is a thick porridge made from barley or wheat, cooked with butter and often dried fruit, traditionally eaten at Yennayer to mark the turn of the farming year using stored grain from the previous season.
Is Yennayer celebrated the same way across Morocco?
Traditions vary by region, especially between Amazigh-speaking areas and cities, but a shared, generous family meal built around grain, dried fruit and a tagine is common across most Yennayer celebrations.
Learn to cook this menu with a local in Marrakech
Every dish here is taught, hands-on, in a Marrakech cooking class — or taste them across the medina on a guided food tour.