Moroccan Cuisine Emblematic & Tastiest Dishes

Moroccan Cuisine Emblematic & Tastiest Dishes

If you are a foodie and like trying new dishes and interesting mixes of flavors, you will probably LOVE Moroccan food.

Moroccan cuisine is certainly one of the most diverse and delicious cuisines you can try. It is known for offering one of the finest and most flavorful dishes in the world. The Moroccan Couscous, the Moroccan chicken tagines or Moroccan mint tea, are some of Morocco internationally known and cherished dishes, but there are so many other as delicious and worth your try.

Best Moroccan Food to Try

Whether you already had the chance to taste Moroccan dishes or know completely nothing, here is a list of Morocco most emblematic and delicious traditional food.

Couscous

Couscous is one of the most known Moroccan dishes around the world. In Morocco, it is a popular dish usually made every Friday and eaten after mid-day prayer.

Traditional Moroccan Couscous is made of steamed semolina cooked for hours in a special pot and served with a delicious stew combining spicy vegetables, chickpeas and tender, and flavorful meat.

Depending on Moroccan regions and occasions, Couscous can be either salty or sweet and salty. Salty versions include Couscous with vegetables and meat as well as Couscous with fish. The sweet and salty version is often served during ceremonies and made of caramelized onions and raisins. The most popular couscous in Morocco is the 7 vegetables Couscous, cooked with at least 7 different vegetables.

Moroccan Tagines

Tagines are a slow-cooked stew made with aromatic spices, meat, vegetables, and dried or fresh fruits. The slow cooking results in a heavenly delicious sauce and tender meat that melts in the mouth.

Tagines are almost an everyday meal in Morocco. They are called tagines because they were originally cooked in tagine clay pots. That is still the case on special occasions, weekends and in traditional restaurants.

Each Moroccan city is known for a special type of tagine. In Chefchaouen for example, the specialty is goat meat tagines, as the region is known for its healthy and good quality goats. There are also vegetarian tagines, salty tagines, sweet tagines, and even tagines mixing sweet and salty ingredients like the famous tagine with prunes. So make sure to try as many tagines as possible as you will for sure fall in love with at least one of them, if not all!

The Moroccan Harira

Harira is a traditional soup in Moroccan cuisine often served with dates after Ramadan fasting. Authentic Moroccan Harira is made of chickpeas, lentils, tomato, broth, onion, ginger, and other spices. Some families add beaten eggs, meat or lemon, and the result is a very hearty and nourishing soup.

Harira is one of the cheapest Moroccan dishes you can order in Moroccan restaurants. So if you are traveling on a budget, you can have some Harira and dates for dinner and save some cash.

Moroccan Pastries

I may need a whole book to talk about Moroccan pastries but I will try to be brief and to the point. Traditional Moroccan pastries are widely popular, loved for their flavors which usually include orange blossom water.

They are made with nourishing ingredients like almonds, pistachios, peanuts, coconut, and honey. Gazelle corns, Ghriyba and Briwates are some of Morocco high-end pastries characterized by their crispy outside and a super tender stuffing. More popular pastries
like Baghrir, Fakkas or Harsha are regularly served in Moroccan houses with Moroccan mint tea.

Moroccan Mint Tea

There is a big chance you already heard of Moroccan Mint tea as it is probably the most famous Moroccan drink.

In Morocco, Moroccan mint tea can be served at any time of the day, alone or with sweet pastries, and remains the symbol of gathering and welcoming.

The ingredients are fresh mint, gunpowder tea, water, and sugar. Depending on Moroccan regions, Moroccan tea can be mild or strong. In Southern regions, for example, they like Moroccan tea super sweet and bitter.

Moroccan Sheeps Heads

Well, this you may like or it might seem to you a little bit extreme. But if you enjoy stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new and bizarre recipes, this is a great opportunity. Chances are you might love this dish, as most Morocco’ visitors do.

In Morocco, sheeps heads are prepared in a specific stew and enjoyed with the family, promptly during Eid Al Adha celebration, or occasionally.
In this dish, the meat texture and flavor are very different from the ones of the meat in tagines or couscous. The meat is very tender, and once cooked has an interesting taste combining multiple spices as well as an aftertaste of smoke, as sheeps heads are roasted prior to cooking.

Moroccan Salads

Salads in Morocco a part of every meal. They are made using either raw or cooked vegetables like carrots, eggplants, and potatoes. The taste changes depending on the spices used and believe me, they are anything but boring. My favorites are Moroccan carrot salad and Moroccan Eggplant salad, but all Moroccan salads are different, delicious and worth the try.

Tangia

Oh my, my mouth is watering just thinking about this dish. The Tangia (also called Tanjia, or Tanjia Marrakchia) is a Moroccan dish that is Marrakech food specialty.

Tangia is a meat stew cooked by male locals in a special clay pot, with a bench of spices. What special about the Tangia is that it cooks slowly in the ashes of Marrakech traditional ovens, for more than 6 hours. The result is a tender and aromatic meat and a stew that is unbelievably delicious.

The technique of cooking, the long cooking time and the use of the Tangia pots make it hard to replicate the recipe at home, so make sure you don’t miss this awesome Moroccan dish.

Moroccan Pastilla

This is a fancy recipe that is mostly served on special occasions and during wedding receptions in Morocco. The Pastilla is a sweet and salty pie made of crispy layers of a super thin crêpe called warka, savory meat cooked in special spices and a crunchy layer of ground toasted almonds, sugar, and cinnamon.

The original Moroccan Pastilla is cooked with squab meat, but there are versions with chicken, turkey, and seafood. There is also a sweet version called Jawhara (which means in English jewel) which is Fez culinary specialty. Jawhara is made with a milk-based cream, orange blossom water, and is served as a dessert.

Moroccan Bread (or Khobz)

When I first came to the US, I was really frustrated to not find good bread to accompany my Moroccan homemade dishes. Bread is essential in every Moroccan meal. It is what Moroccans eat to accompany the Tagines, Harira, Tangia, for breakfast and even for dinner. In other words, it is as important as rice is in Asian cuisine.

Moroccan bread is super nutritive, made with whole grains and fresh yeast. It’s one of the most delicious bread types out there, so make sure you give it a try!

Moroccan Street Food

If you are currently in Morocco, in addition to Moroccan cuisine emblematic dishes, don’t forget to try Moroccan street food. From Hammas Kamous, the cherished Mille-feuilles, or the Moroccan snails’ stew, there are other interesting and delicious foods to try in Morocco at street level. Enjoy!