Best Couscous in Rabat — The Capital's Friday Tradition

In Rabat, as across Morocco, couscous is the Friday dish — the weekly family lunch gathered around a single platter after the midday prayer. The classic is couscous with seven vegetables (carrot, turnip, courgette, pumpkin, cabbage, chickpeas and more) mounded over tender lamb or chicken and moistened with the spiced broth it steamed above. Being a coastal capital at the mouth of the Bou Regreg, Rabat also knows a fish couscous, made with the fresh Atlantic catch, a lighter, seaside variation on the tradition.

The magic is in the grain and the steaming. Real couscous is hand-rolled semolina steamed in stages over the simmering stew in a couscoussier, fluffed and separated with butter or oil between steamings until each grain is light and distinct — never boiled into a wet lump. A good plate is fragrant with saffron, ginger and onion, and may be finished with sweet caramelised onion and raisins (tfaya) for a sweet-savoury version with chicken.

Because it is a Friday dish, that is the day to seek it out: restaurants and canteens across the medina and the modern districts put couscous on as the plat du jour on Fridays, freshly steamed rather than reheated. On other days a well-made version is harder to find. A home-style couscous, cooked for the family table, remains the finest of all, and Rabat's refined restaurants also plate elegant versions of the classic.

Eat it the traditional way if you can — from the shared platter, rolling a small mouthful with the right hand, or with a spoon — and go easy beforehand, since the platter is generous. Order one between two, try the fish couscous for a coastal twist, and make Friday your couscous day in the capital.