Ingredients
Measuring Without Scales in Moroccan Cooking
Most Moroccan home cooks have never weighed an ingredient in their lives. Recipes are passed down in handfuls, pinches, glasses and 'enough' — and the food is none the worse for it. Understanding these traditional measures, and why they work, frees you from the tyranny of the kitchen scale.
At a glance
- Pinch (three fingers) = roughly a level teaspoon for spices
- Palm of grain = about 80 g, enough for one person
- Tea glass = about 100 ml; coffee cup = about 80 ml
- Moroccan cooking relies on taste and adjustment, not precision
Guide
The pinch (between thumb and two fingers) is the standard spice measure. A pinch of saffron, a pinch of pepper, a generous pinch of cumin — these are not vague; they are calibrated by repetition. A Moroccan cook knows by feel how much cumin a tagine for four needs: about a level teaspoon, delivered as a generous three-finger pinch. Two pinches of turmeric. A scant pinch of saffron. These are consistent measures once you learn what they mean in your own hand.
Larger quantities use the palm, the handful and the glass. A palm of rice is about 80 g — enough for one person. A handful of almonds is what fits comfortably in a cupped hand. A Moroccan tea glass holds about 100 ml and serves as the default liquid measure: a glass of water, a glass of oil. A coffee cup (the small ones used for café noir) holds about 80 ml and is used for smaller quantities of liquid, sugar or flour. These measures are approximate, and that is the point — Moroccan cooking is flexible, not formulaic.
The deeper principle is that Moroccan cooking relies on taste and adjustment rather than precision. You add spices, taste, and correct. You add water to a tagine until the meat is half-submerged — the exact millilitres don't matter. You cook until it looks and smells right. This approach works because the cuisine is forgiving: a little more cumin or a little less onion does not ruin a tagine, it makes a slightly different one. Learning to cook by feel, adjusting as you go, is learning to cook the Moroccan way.
Practical tips
- 1
A three-finger pinch of cumin is about a level teaspoon — practise and calibrate.
- 2
Use a Moroccan tea glass (about 100 ml) as your default liquid measure.
- 3
Add water to a tagine until the meat is half-submerged — exact amounts don't matter.
- 4
Taste and adjust as you go: more cumin, more salt, a squeeze of lemon. That is the method.
- 5
If converting a recipe for someone else, measure your pinches and handfuls once, then note the equivalents.
Frequently asked questions
How do Moroccan cooks measure spices?
By pinch — a three-finger pinch (thumb, index, middle) is the standard unit. A generous pinch of cumin is roughly a level teaspoon. These are consistent measures calibrated by daily repetition.
What is a 'glass' in a Moroccan recipe?
A Moroccan tea glass, which holds about 100 ml. It is the default liquid measure for water, oil and milk. A coffee cup (café noir size) is about 80 ml and used for smaller quantities.
Can I use scales instead?
Of course — but you may find it liberating to learn the hand measures. Moroccan cooking is flexible and relies on tasting and adjusting. A little more or less of most things changes the dish slightly, not catastrophically.
Try the recipes
Put the tip into practice with these free step-by-step recipes: