Moroccan · Dessert
Seffa (Sweet Steamed Couscous or Vermicelli)
Seffa is Morocco's sweet couscous — fine grains or vermicelli (seffa medfouna) steamed until fluffy, then folded with butter, cinnamon, icing sugar, raisins and toasted almonds. It is served as a sweet main or celebration dish, often mounded into a dome and decorated with cinnamon stripes, sometimes hiding shredded chicken beneath.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 70 min
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Medium
Ingredients
- 500 g fine couscous (or broken vermicelli for seffa medfouna)
- 60 g butter, plus extra
- 100 g raisins, soaked
- 150 g whole almonds, blanched, fried and crushed
- 3 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra to finish
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra
- 1 tbsp orange-blossom water
- Pinch of salt
Method
- 1
Prepare the grain
Moisten the couscous with salted water and a little oil, rubbing to separate the grains. For vermicelli, moisten and oil it lightly.
- 2
Steam three times
Steam the couscous (or vermicelli) uncovered over boiling water for 15 minutes, tip out, sprinkle with water, rake with a fork, and repeat twice more until fluffy and tender.
- 3
Fold in flavour
While hot, fork through the butter, soaked raisins, orange-blossom water and a little icing sugar until glossy and light.
- 4
Build the dome
Mound the couscous into a tall cone on a platter. Press crushed almonds and raisins around it.
- 5
Decorate and serve
Dust the whole dome with icing sugar and pipe cinnamon lines down the sides in a lattice. Serve warm, with extra sugar and cinnamon on the side for each guest to adjust.
Chef's tips
- Steam, don't boil — three steam-and-rake cycles give the light, separate grains that soak up the butter.
- Fry the almonds before crushing; the toasty flavour is what lifts seffa above plain sweet couscous.
- Serve extra sugar and cinnamon alongside; Moroccans like to sweeten their own portion to taste.
Frequently asked questions
Is seffa a dessert or a main course?
Both, depending on the occasion. It is often served as a sweet course or celebration centrepiece; seffa medfouna, with chicken hidden inside the sweet couscous, is a full sweet-savoury main.
What is seffa medfouna?
'Medfouna' means buried — a version where spiced shredded chicken is hidden beneath the mound of sweet vermicelli or couscous, a striking sweet-savoury combination served at feasts.