Traditional Moroccan Ramadan Recipes

Looking for ideas of what to serve at a traditional Moroccan iftar or ftour, the meal offered to break the fast? The recipes here are all traditional offerings which are popular during the month of Ramadan. They typically accompany a spread of dates, hard-boiled eggs, fruit juices or milk shakes, and a soup such as harira.

For variety, consider adding some dishes from the list of Moroccan Ramadan Recipes - Finger Food and Other Dishes for Breaking the Fast.




Chebakia 
Halwa Chebakia is a Moroccan sesame cookie which is folded into a flower shape, fried and then coated with honey. It's very popular in Ramadan, and is also served for special occasions.







Harira 
Classic Moroccan Harira Soup
Harira is Morocco's famous lentil and tomato soup. Although eaten year round, it's especially popular in Ramadan, when many families serve it daily to break the fast.








Stuffed Dates 
Orange flower water and cinnamon are used to flavor the almond paste filling in this easy stuffed dates recipe. If you prefer, you can replace the orange flower water with lemon zest.












Makrout with Dates and Honey 
This is another special occasion sweet which is popular in Ramadan. A mild date paste is enclosed in a log of semolina dough, then cookies are sliced, fried and dipped in honey.









Hssoua Belboua - Barley Soup with Milk 
This classic Moroccan recipe for Hssoua Belboula combines barley grits with milk to yield a rich, creamy soup that's both nutritious and satisfying. Serve it for iftar or suhoor.









Semolina Soup with Milk, Anise Seeds and Honey 
This simple Moroccan soup is easy to prepare and can be served in the evening or for breakfast. Although it's delicious as-is, honey is offered on the side for sweetening the soup.


Moroccan Sellou 

 Moroccan Confection of Sellou (Sfouf). Photo © Christine Benlafquih
Sellou is a unique Moroccan sweet made from toasted sesames, fried almonds, and flour that has been browned in the oven. It is traditionally served in Ramadan and for special occasions.


Almond Briouats 
Photo © Christine Benlafquih
These popular Moroccan cookies are made by folding almond paste flavored with orange flower water and cinnamon within warqa dough. The pastries are fried and then soaked briefly in honey. Almond Briouats are commonly served at both special occasions and casual tea times.


Spinach and Cheese Briouats 
This simple but incredibly tasty version of briouats features a melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese and spinach filling. Herbs or hot peppers can be added for more flavor, but my family loves them plain.


Moroccan Mint Tea 
Mint tea is incredibly popular throughout Morocco. Many Moroccans consider it a must after a day of fasting.


MOROCCAN PANCAKE LAYER CAKE

Happy pancake day United Kingdom!! How are you guys celebrating?! I thought the best way would be with a gorgeous baghrir layer cake. Because why have one pancake when you can stake them all up and make every single bite magical?

Baghrir is traditionally enjoyed in Morocco with a honey and butter syrup that is often flavoured with orange blossom water. For this reason, I chose to make a Moroccanized version of the crème patissière to layer my baghrirs with honey and orange blossom water!

The consistency of the crème patissière is perfect for this cake because it’s not too runny like a custard and not as dense a buttercream. This crème patissière is definitely a winner and it so yummy you are going to want to eat it with the spoon, so be careful and make sure you keep enough for your cake!

I also added pistachio and pomegranates seeds to add some crunchiness and bring out the flavour of the crème patissière. That said, feel free to use any other crunchy topping of your choice such as, sprinkles, chocolate chips, ground almonds, walnuts, etc.

Enjoy!

Café Lounge Marrakesh

Visit the far-away golden land of Morocco without ever having to leave Prague at Café Lounge Marrakesh, a popular restaurant and hookah lounge in the pretty neighborhood of Vinohrady. Step into Café Lounge Marrakesh and feel yourself being instantly transported to an exotic land – the interior boasts authentic decorative arts handmade in Morocco including carved wooden furniture, carpets and kelims (including the ever-interesting Wedding Blankets/carpets made with sewn-in sequins for some extra shine), a variety of intricate-looking hookahs, leather stools, and of course lit up metal lanterns that make the atmosphere oh so romantic. The authentic feel of leaving Prague and stepping straight into Marrakesh is made all the more real by the traditional Moroccan music floating through the air from a stereo system and the wonderful smells wafting from the kitchen. The menu is small but features all the classic Moroccan dishes you know and love (Couscous, meat Tajines, Moroccan sweets, etc.); food is prepared by order so be prepared to wait. The tea menu is extensive and includes, of course, the ubiquitous Moroccan mint tea. Should you wish to partake in smoking a hookah or Shisha, the establishment offers a variety of high quality flavored tobacco. Café Lounge Marrakesh offers entertainment in the form of exotic belly dancers that weave their magic movements into the minds of patrons regularly there; also small gifts and souvenirs are available to purchase should you wish to spice up your Prague home. Visit Café Lounge Marrakesh today and experience the wonderful land of Morocco and the fabled city of Marrakesh.


Budečská 1005/12 Praha 2, +420 734 373 425, +420 734 101 876, http://marrakesh.cz

Moroccan Pastries You Have To Try

Perfect with a cup of mint tea and shared amongst friends new and old, Moroccan pastries are ideal for those with a sweet tooth. Using local ingredients including orange blossom water, rose water, almonds and dates in many of the recipes, the sweet treats here are irresistible and plentiful. Served during special occasions – including weddings and Ramadan – but also during tea time, travelers are sure to sample a few varieties during their stay in Morocco.

M’hanncha






Flaky and sweet, this coiled filo pastry is stuffed with almond frangipane with a subtle hint of rose water. It may be prepared in a large coil and cut up into smaller slices, or as mini m’hanncha coiled to create individual pieces.

Date cookies

Shortbread pastry filled with dates and sweetened with orange blossom water and even cinnamon before receiving a dusting of icing sugar, date cookies are pure goodness. With dates a regional product, they are often made with only the finest ingredients.

Cornes de gazelle (gazelle horns)
Crescent-shaped like a gazelle horn as the name suggests, cornes de gazelle are one of the most popular treats you may be served and one you mustn’t miss out on. Stuffed with almonds and cinnamon and wrapped in a soft pastry, this crumbly biscuit should be moist with a subtle after taste provided by orange blossom water.

Fekkas

The Moroccan version of biscotti, these biscuits are also twice baked and include almonds and sesame seeds, and the pastry is often sweetened with vanilla. The main difference between fekkas and biscotti is that the Moroccan biscuits are often cut thinner than the Italian equivalent, making them exceptionally crunchy.

Chebakya
Popular during Ramadan when sweet chebakya graces every ftour table after a day of fasting, shops set up specifically to sell this popular treat during the holy month. But it’s available year round as it is also a popular side to a bowl of harira soup (lentil soup with a tomato base). This fried pastry – completely covered in honey and rose water with sesame seeds sprinkled on top – oozes goodness with every bite. Just be careful not to indulge on too many; one or two is often enough.

Moroccan Clothing For Women



Moroccan Clothing For Women

Traditional Moroccan clothing. We have a wide variety of Moroccan clothes, from Djellabas, Gandoras to Barbouches. All our Moroccan clothing comes direct from Morocco …
I would like to present you the traditional dresses of Morocco for women !! We call
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Essaouira’s Excellent Cooking Class at l’Atelier Madada

Alyson gave me a horrified look when I asked her how long the dada (a term often used to refer to female chefs at Moroccan hotels) had been teaching Moroccan cooking classes. “Don’t call her that! She’s a chef! I’ll explain later,” she whispered, glancing worriedly at Mona to make sure my question hadn’t been overheard.

Alyson, who is English, has been with cooking school L’Atelier Madada in Essaouira for over five years and provides translation and prep assistance to the students. More than that, she is an amazing encyclopedia of Moroccan culture and history. And Mona (pronounced “Moona”) is the undisputed queen of her domain, a chef with a pedigree: Her mother, now retired, was a chef at La Mamounia Palace Hotel in Marrakesh. Mona has been with the L’Atelier Madada since its inception in January, 2009.
Everything was explained in great detail, including why they could not give us exact cooking times. Though this is frustrating to some people, the reality is that everyone’s kitchen is different and cooking time can vary tremendously from home to home. More important is how the food should look when it’s done. We started our chicken bone-side down. After about 30 minutes, we turned it to give the top a chance to brown a bit.

Alyson taught us how to shop for a tagine and how to use it. She told us to select the plate and top separately, even if they’re displayed as sets. If you don’t have a good seal, your tagine will take forever to cook; it’s like a clay pressure cooker when the parts fit well, sealing in moisture for tender meat. Make sure there are no holes that go through, for the same reason. Never soak it in water or it will either get moldy in storage or crack the next time you use it. And if you want to use a stewing pot instead of a tagine, it’s perfectly fine – just don’t call the dish “tagine.” Alyson claims that any good Moroccan cook can tell the difference.

When she was done explaining tagine ins-and-outs, we turned our chicken bone-side down again to finish cooking because if you leave it bone-side up, it will fall apart and look bad when it’s time to serve. If you take too long, it will lose heat and take much longer to cook. “Quick, quick!” Mona yelled.

While our tagines were in their final hour of cooking, Alyson took the group to visit a spice shop. As we walked, she explained her concern regarding the word “dada.” Although many riads use it when referring to their chefs, it’s actually a relic from Morocco’s slave-trading past: the dada was a female slave who served as nanny and cook for a family, and Mona wants nothing to do with that. Once, a drunken Moroccan man stumbled into her class, reached his arms out toward Mona and loudly exclaimed “DADAAA!” She reacted angrily to the offense while the class watched, stunned. It was not an experience Alyson wanted to repeat.

Mohammed, the owner of the spice shop, is one of a dying breed, a master who knows the medicinal purpose of every herb and spice he sells. With French-speaking Mohammed as backup, Alyson explained everything you would ever want to know about spices. Cumin is an amazing, fast-acting anti-microbial for your upset digestive system. Ras el Hanout, the famous Moroccan spice mixture, literally means “head of the shop,” and more generally, the “top spices of the shop.” It wasn’t originally intended merely as a culinary enhancement and Mohammed doesn’t sell Ras el Hanout out of a jar like other spice shops. In the old days if you were ill, a master like Mohammed would ask questions and diagnose your underlying health problem. Based on that, he’d assemble a “ras el hanout” intended just for you. You might make it into tea, or add it to your food, or even rub it on your body in the hammam, the traditional Moroccan bath.

When we returned to class, our tagines were ready, our briouates perfectly baked. We had labeled our dishes with our names so that we’d be sure to eat our own, for better or worse. We sat at a table in the café and relaxed while our creations were brought to us. The tagine lids were lifted, revealing steaming, aromatic deliciousness. I took a bite, savoring the best part of my tagine – the knowledge that I know how to make it again when I get home.
This is about as professionally-run a cooking class as you’ll find anywhere in Morocco. The owner of the school, a Belgian man who goes by the name of Pacha, moved L’Atelier to its current location in January, 2017. The huge, modern kitchen can comfortably handle up to 8 people for a Moroccan cooking class at a time. Adjoining it is a café and boutique.

Like most cooking classes in Morocco, the menu is chosen by the first person to sign up. Ours was chicken tagine with caramelized carrots and tomatoes and 2 kinds of savory briouate, small samosa-like pastries: one with goat cheese and mint, the other with sautéed carrots, zucchini, and spices.

Each of us had our own station which was perfectly organized – a paper towel was even in place for wiping down our cutting boards after chopping onions. Mona showed us what she wanted done and Alyson added details as needed. As we worked, Mona came around inspecting, looking humorously exasperated at my ineptitude. My onions weren’t chopped fine enough, so she demanded “more chopping!” My briouatewas folded incorrectly. She unfolded it and had me do it again. Alyson jokingly offered to show us the whipping scars on her back. Mona’s exacting demands were tempered with a lot of laughing and warm smiles.

Journey Beyond Travel’s Morocco Gift Guide

The souks of Morocco are chalk full of the perfect gifts for your special someones. Whether you’re looking for something small for a stocking stuffer or something a bit larger to toss into Santa’s sleigh, the likelihood of you making a big holiday splash with unique, often handmade gifts is assured.

At first glance, one might mistake the misty, rolling hills outside of Asilah for the rugged highlands of Scotland. On a rainy, blustery winter’s day — where the only thing standing in your way is perhaps a massive muddy puddle or an enormous bull that looks a bit like a shaggy Shetland cattle — it’s easy to see why you might confuse the two beautiful landscapes. It’s even easier to see why you might confuse them when Karim Ben Ali, a Scottish-Moroccan, begins talking to you with his soft Scottish lilt.

Asilah is a sleepy fishing town in the North of Morocco, just one hour south of Tangier. While not completely off Morocco’s well-beaten path, it’s often missed by travellers bound inland for Fez or Chefchaouen, yet has a uniquely alluring charm. With an immaculately restored medina that’s re-painted vivid shades of blue & white each summer, Asilah has the feel of being Morocco’s own Santorini – a great spot to see the more chilled out, seaside town life in Morocco.

The town lies in the middle of a fascinating history in historical, architectural and artistic terms. It’s 3,600 year old history that includes a varied range of occupiers, involving Roman, Arab Portuguese, Spanish and French colonisation. Many famous writers and artists have spent time here; in ancient times is it reported Hercules did a tour of the area and, more recently; Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams, Edith Wharton, Jean Genet (who is buried in the nearby town of Larache), William Burroughs, Jimi Hendrix and Henri Matisse have all found the area inspiring. The Portuguese ramparts remain fully intact and a full day can be spent wandering through its old gates and the ever narrowing medina streets inside the walls.



So you’ve seen the snake charmers in Marrakesh, you’ve gotten hopelessly lost in endless souks in Fez, and you’ve rocked all the casbahs around Casablanca. Check, check, and check. But what if you’re just not a checklist traveler? What if you want more than just a Facebook photo, but an experience to last a lifetime? Here’s our 5 places in Morocco that you should visit (but probably haven’t!).

asilah moroccoIn the ancient trading town of Asilah, Raissouni Palace is a towering symbol for the area’s renaissance. Until about 30 years ago, Asilah crumbled under centuries of neglect. Fortunately, hometown hero Mohammed Benaissa inspired others to take an interest in the community’s beauty and heritage, sparking a flood of rehabilitation efforts that have created the cultural capital seen today.

Asilah’s Raissouni Palace serves as an unofficial “palace of culture,” and it is a magnet for all things artistic, creative and historical. Yearly festivals, including a prominent string of events in August, let Raissouni become the town’s centerpiece.

Located in the northwest corner of Morocco, Asilah has strong Spanish and Portuguese influences, with a refined Mediterranean feel. Beaches (including the popular Paradise Beach) and pleasant city streets would probably attract appreciative fans even without the community’s impressive cultural aims. The 15th-century Portuguese ramparts surrounding the town have been painstakingly restored, and the town’s natural harbor is far more placid than the region’s legacy of piracy might have predicted. Conservation projects from the 1980s onward have pulled together a town with historical charm and some of the most festive cultural celebrations in the Muslim world. (more…)