Sboue (Naming Ceremony) menu
Sboue Naming Ceremony Menu — The Seventh-Day Celebration
The sboue marks the seventh day after a birth, when the baby is formally named in front of gathered women relatives. Food here is sweet and symbolic rather than heavy — seffa or a sweet couscous, warm milk with dates, and sugared almonds pressed into every guest's hand as they leave. A family lunch, usually a chicken tagine, often follows the ceremony itself. This menu covers both the ritual sweets and the meal around them.
The menu
Ceremony sweet
Seffa with cinnamon, sugar and almonds
Served warm during or just after the naming, one of the dishes most associated with celebrating a new baby.
For the baby and mother
Warm milk with dates
Offered as part of the ritual itself, tied to wishes of sweetness and health for the child's life ahead.
For guests to take
Sugared almonds (dragées) in small paper cones
Handed to each guest as they leave, a small sweet token of the celebration rather than a course eaten at the table.
Family lunch
Chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemon
The more substantial dish, usually served once the ceremony itself has finished and the wider family sits down together.
Side
A simple green salad or cooked carrot salad
Something fresh alongside the tagine to balance the sweetness of the ceremonial dishes.
To drink
Mint tea
Poured throughout the visit as women come to see the new baby and offer their congratulations.
Shopping list
- Couscous, cinnamon, sugar and almonds (for seffa)
- Dates and a jug of warm milk
- Sugared almonds and small paper cones for wrapping them
- Chicken, preserved lemon and green olives
- Carrots or salad vegetables for a simple side
- Saffron and ginger
- Gunpowder green tea and fresh mint
- Bread
- Fresh flowers or a small table decoration for the gathering
Prep timeline
-
Day before
Buy or prepare the sugared almonds and wrap them into small cones ready to give out.
-
Morning of the sboue
Steam the seffa and prepare the chicken tagine so both are ready once the ceremony itself concludes.
-
During the naming
Have the warm milk and dates ready at hand for the ritual moment when the name is given.
-
After the ceremony
Serve the family lunch, keeping tea and any remaining sweets circulating as guests continue to visit.
Host's tips
- Prepare the sugar almonds and cones well ahead — they are a small but expected detail for every guest leaving the sboue.
- Seffa can be steamed a little in advance and finished with a quick reheat and a final dusting of cinnamon and sugar.
- Keep the family lunch relatively simple; the emotional centre of the day is the naming ceremony itself, not an elaborate spread.
- Expect a steady stream of visitors through the day rather than one seated meal, and plan the food to suit that pace.
Questions about this menu
What is a sboue in Moroccan tradition?
The sboue is the ceremony held on the seventh day after a baby's birth, when the child is formally named in front of gathered family, usually women relatives, accompanied by sweet dishes and small gifts for guests.
What food is traditionally served at a sboue?
Sweet seffa, warm milk with dates, and sugared almonds handed to guests as they leave are the most traditional elements, often followed by a more substantial family lunch such as a chicken tagine.
Why are sugared almonds given out at a sboue?
They are a small symbolic gift marking the celebration of the new baby, given to each guest as a sweet token to take home, similar in spirit to favours given at other Moroccan celebrations.
Is the sboue only for women?
The naming ritual itself is traditionally attended mainly by women relatives and close family, though the wider family, including men, often joins for the lunch that follows the ceremony.
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.