Through the arabic language,Morocco received from the Orient an important artistic heritage.He was enriched after that with the Andalus culture(hispano-maurish).
Nowadays,a part of the musical tradition of this precious heritage appears in the countries of the Maghreb under the name of ala,çan'à gharnati maluf and recently the andalus music. Cordoba, Sevilla, Granada all shared in the boost of the language,the poetry and the andalus music .
The andalus music reigns as master of all events, weddings, romantic evenings...etc.
Despite of the beautiful melodies of the instruments it is the singing that prevails in this art and it is made of two genre :
*The melismatic solo with a free and improvised rythm backed up by a single instrument.
*The syllabical singing,whose melody is set and predetermined,sang by a choir sometimes punctuated by solo performances.
Our group was formed within the "Al Moussilia Association",it is made of 16 members divided into instrument players and singers (male and female),our group has dedicated itself to the spreading of this music throughout Morocco.
The Al Gharnati music,which how is called the music coming from the Andalus,forms the main basis of our repertoire that also includes other types of Moroccan and arabis music types.
Our group has taken part in several events and festivals national and internationnal: Greece; Holland; Spain; Portugal; Syria, Jordan; Algeria
Sincerely
HASSAN B
One of the richest aspects of Morocco’s culture is its music. Made up of more than twenty-five different types, Moroccan music reflects the richness of its diversity and echoes its present and past history. Depending on which region of the country you visit, you will be sure to hear the sounds of Andalusian, Berber, Raï, Chaabi or Gnawa permeating the air.
Andalusian music, as its name indicates, comes from Al-Andalus or Andalusia. It is a blend of Arab and Spanish music which Moroccans call El-Ala and is considered to be Morocco’s classical music and sung in classical Arabic. Andalusian music dates back to the 9th when the famous Persian singer and musician Ziriab made this type of music famous. It uses many musical instruments such as the violin and lute, among others. In Morocco, Andalusian singers and musicians are mostly men who perform in traditional clothing. Moroccans usually listen to Andalusian music during religious ceremonies.
The second type of music is Berber music. The three different Berber regions in Morocco each possesses their own language and, in turn, their own Berber rhythms. Berber music has survived thanks to a few Berber musicians and poets. Many Arab Moroccans do not listen to Berber music since most do not speak or understand Berber. The main instruments of Berber music are the round drum or Bendir, and the banjo. Berber music has undergone many changes during the past twenty years, notably the presence of more and more women performing it.
Another type of Moroccan music is Rai. With its origins in Algeria, it has been adopted by Morocco and is associated to the eastern region of the country, especially the city of Oujda. Rai music gained a lot of popularity in Morocco in the 90s with the death of the famous Algerian Raï singer Cheb Hasni. Since then, Raï has blossomed in the North East of Morocco.
Chaabi is probably considered pop music since it is indeed the most popular music listened to in Morocco. It is another form of Moroccan music that is widely listened to because it is sung in Darija, Moroccan Arabic. In the 70s it was the music that was used to express people’s overall political views and feelings via groups such as Jil Jilala and Nas El Ghiwane. Chaabi can be heard at weddings and other festive occasions or group gatherings.
Even if you speak Moroccan Arabic, do not be surprised if you cannot understand the lyrics of Gnawa music. For Gnawa music is a fusion of Arab, Berber, and African rhythms. It is powerful trance music that goes back to the 16th century and has gained international popularity over the last few years. If you are in Morocco during the month of June, don’t miss the three-day Gnawa festival in the city of Essaouira, in the south of Morocco. The main instruments of Gnawa music is the double-headed drum or tbal, and metal castanets or qerqbat. Gnawa has also gone through changes and can be heard mixed with different musical styles such as Jazz.
If you are planning to visit Morocco, be sure you get informed of the music festival taking place during your visit. There are many of them in different cities and it is most likely that your visit coincides with one of them. There are, for example, a festival of Rabat called Mawazin, another in Fez called sacred music (or la musique sacrée), and another one in Chefchaouen called Allegria, among others.
Dr. Chouki El Hamel received his doctorate from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in January 1993. His training in France at the Centre de Recherches Africaines was in precolonial African History. His interest has focused on the spread and the growth of Islamic culture and the evolution of Islamic institutions in Africa. His research is evidenced in his published articles and a book concerning intellectual life in precolonial Islamic West Africa. He taught courses in African History at North Carolina State University in Raleigh and at Duke University from 1994 to 2001. In 2001-2002 he was a scholar in residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City and in 2002 he joined the History Department at Arizona State University. He is currently finishing his book entitled "Ethnicity, “Race/Color “and Gender in Moroccan Slavery." He contributed this essay to Afropop Worldwide for the program African Slaves in Islamic Lands.
Westerners who have visited Morocco have likely encountered Gnawa musicians. In the coastal Atlantic town of Essaouira, where an annual festival of Gnawa music takes place, and in Marrakesh, at its spectacular central square called Jamaa el-Fna. The colorful gowns and caps of Gnawa musicians, covered with cowry shells, coupled with the distinct sound of their instruments - metallic castanets, heavy drums and a three-stringed bass lute (guembri) – provide both visual and audio confirmation of the Gnawa presence.
Some of the best known genres of music to all Moroccans come from the classical Andalusian legacy, and reflect Morocco's historic relationship with Spain. Andalusian music is recognized as a national music and is repeatedly featured on national audio-visual media. By contrast, the Sephardic music and folksongs from the Jewish communities in Morocco are unfortunately vanishing because Morocco lost its Jewish population to help create the state of Israel. Another important but often neglected genre of music is that of the Gnawa, who came from West Africa to Morocco by way of migration, both voluntary and forced. Although the Gnawa are now fully integrated in Moroccan society, the Gnawa still remain a cultural and a social distinctiveness.
The term Gnawa has three important meanings. First, it refers to black people who were enslaved in West Africa. It is commonly believed that Gnawa of Morocco were originally black slaves and who over time had become free under various historical circumstances. Historians believe that the Gnawa population originated from black West Africa - from Senegal to Chad and from Mali in the north to Nigeria in the south. Many of these enslaved people are thought to come from Old Ghana (a kingdom north of Mali) in the 11th through the 13th century. These enslaved groups were called “Gnawa.” There is also some historical evidence that a large enslaved population came from the great market of Djenne in Mali, and that Gnawi is a slight deformation of Jennawi. The term Gnawa is thus a color designation. It historically means “the black people.”
Second, it defines both a religious/spiritual order of a traditionally Black Muslim group. The Gnawa are traditionally a mystic order which marks their exclusiveness within Islam and the religious and spiritual components of Gnawa practice incorporates references to their origin and their enslavement.
Third, it denotes the style of music associated with this order. The ancestral memory (turath) of the displaced and enslaved people that were brought to Morocco is preserved mainly in their songs and dances.
Not all blacks in Morocco were slaves that originated from black West Africa. Some blacks were actually native to southern Morocco. Some sources suggest that groups of black people were indigenous of the Draa valley. They were sedentary agriculturists. With the advance of the Romans into the Moroccan interior in the 3rd century B.C.E., the Berbers, who inhabited the coastal areas of the Maghreb of North Africa, may have been forced to move towards the south and competed with the blacks inhabitants in the oases of the Draa, entering into an interdependent or clientele relationship with the Blacks, with the Berbers assuming the patron role.
Etymologically speaking, the meaning of Gnawa likely derives from the Berber word aguinaw, which is connected with skin color. It means “black man” in contrast with the white Berber. This word could be itself the origin of the name Guinea because akal n-iguinamen in Berber means the “land of the black men” just like the Arabic term bilad as-sudan, which means, “land of the black people.” The term was also adopted by the Portuguese and appeared mainly as “Guinea” on European maps dating from the 14th century.
Arabic sources indicate that there was a steady flow of human trafficking across the Saharan desert from the 10th to the 19th centuries. Since the Almoravid dynasty in the 11th century, enslavement, conscription and trade brought people from West Africa (mainly from the area of present-day Mali, Burkina Fasso and Senegal) to the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). These enslaved groups were usually called `abid or sudan, both Arabic words, or else haratin or gnawa, Berber words. We can thus name among the ancestors of the black Moroccans of today the Soninke, the 
Bambara, the Mossi, the Fulani, and the Hausa. Archival sources indicate the use of blacks in the armies of the Makhzen, the central authority of Morocco, and in many cases, entire garrisons consisted solely of black soldiers. Many dynasties relied on black soldiers to maintain their power.
The first ruling dynasty in Morocco to use a large number of black slaves in the army during the Islamic era was the Almoravids (al-Murabitun). During the Almoravids, the ruler Yusuf Ibn Tashfin “bought a body of black slaves and sent them to al-Andalus.” With the additional troops provided through the slave trade, Almoravids defeated Alfonso VI of Castile in 1086 A.D. at the crucial battle of Zallaqa (near Badajoz). Arabic sources indicate that 4000 black soldiers participated in this famous battle. During the succeeding Almohad dynasty, the rulers had a private garrison of black soldiers, who also served as royal guards and during the rule of Muhammad an-Nasir, around 1200 A.D., their numbers reached 30,000. During this dynasty, the recruitment of enslaved blacks in the government became institutionalized, known as `Abid al-Makhzen, meaning “servants to the government.”
A third dynasty that used a large army of blacks was the Sa‘dis, who under the rule of Mawlay al-Mansur, invaded the Songhay Empire (in present day Mali) in 1591 A.D., which allowed them direct access to acquiring more black slaves for military purposes. In the late 17th century, Mawlay Isma`il gave orders to enslave all blacks including free black people to create his own army. Of course an act completely against the Islamic law, but he did it anyway.
In addition to the conscription of the blacks in the army, enslaved Black West Africans were assigned numerous occupations, including tasks in the home, farm, mines, oases, and ports. In many towns, slaves were primarily women who performed domestic labor or were concubines to the affluent class, while rural slaves were mainly male and worked in farming. Gradually, enslaved black people were freed either by manumission, by running away, or because their masters were forced to grant them freedom under different circumstances. After many generations, these freed black slaves eventually formed their own families and communities, such as those of the Gnawa mystic order.
Elements of pre-Islamic West African animism such as the belief in the spirit world are fundamental to the Gnawa order. For the Gnawa, the spirit world is inhabited by ancestral spirits who, among other spiritual creatures, can be used for either good or evil purposes. Ancestors are believed to act as intermediaries between the living and the supreme god, and the Gnawa communicate with their ancestors through prayer and sacrifice. The spirit world is also invoked through special ceremonies, constituted by drumming, clapping, the sound of the castanets, and dances, all designed to enlist the aid of ancestral saints to protect human beings from evil spirits and other predicaments, such as helping persons recover from an illness or a misfortune. These rites often involve spectacular trances through which contact with and appeal to ancestral spirits may be gained.
Even while adopting Islam, Gnawa did not totally abandon their animist traditions but rather continued to observe ritual possession. They combined Islamic tradition with pre-Islamic African traditions, whether local or sub-Saharan West African. After their conversion to Islam, while probably still in their country of origin, the Gnawa adopted Bilal as their ancestor and saint patron. Bilal was the first black person to convert to Islam and to become a companion of the
Prophet Muhammad. Claiming Bilal as a patrilineal figure was not only to emphasize the nobility of belonging to Bilal but also an attempt to legitimize their identity in Islamic terms.
Historically, as a racial minority, the Gnawa suffered much discrimination and injustice at the hands of the Arab-Berber majority within the regions that the Gnawa inhabit. Conscious of their difference and their blackness, they chose Bilal a black man as agnate. Bilal was a special man. Originally from Ethiopia, he was born into slavery. He converted to Islam while still in captivity and was tortured for his conversion by his master Umayya b. Khalaf. When Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, a very close friend to the Prophet Muhammad, heard about the valor of Bilal, he bought him and set him free in the name of Islam. Bilal became the personal servant/assistant of the Prophet. He was also the first muezzin—meaning “caller to prayer”—of the newly established Islamic community in Medina. This special relationship with the Prophet brought Bilal a special Baraka (a divine blessing). The Gnawa have constructed their Islamic identity by emphasizing a privileged status among Muslims - they converted to Islam even before Quraysh, the tribe to whom Muhammad belonged. Hence, it is not surprising to find the name of Bilal in many Gnawa songs. Additionally, to honor their spiritual and emotional link with Bilal and Islam, the Gnawa built a unique shrine in Essaouira dedicated to Bilal: the Zawiya Sidna Bilal, a place to celebrate their culture. Bilal is the symbol of the dialectic between Diaspora and homeland.
The Gnawa are a diasporic culture and one finds artistic and spiritual parallels between the Gnawa order and other spiritual black groups in Africa such as the bori in Nigeria and the stambouli in Tunisia, the sambani in Libya, the bilali in Algeria, and also outside Africa as in the case of the vodoun religion practiced in Caribbean countries (vodoun is a mix of Roman Catholic ritual elements and traditional rituals from Dahomey). The similarities in the artistic, spiritual and scriptural (e.g. related to Abrahamic written traditions) representations seem to reflect a shared experience of many African diasporic groups. The belief in possession and trance is crucial to Gnawa religious life. Music has served a patterned function in this belief and it is intrinsically linked to the Gnawa religious rituals and to their specific historic and cultural memories. It is their specific historic and cultural memories celebrated and invoked in songs, dances and musical chants that the Gnawa claim to provide access to the spiritual realm.
The Gnawa have influenced other Berber/Arab mystic orders or brotherhoods, as in the case of the Issawiya (16th century) and Hamdushiya (17th century). These brotherhoods added new elements to the usual sufi devotional rituals, such as trances and contacts with spirits, most likely influenced by contact with the Gnawa order. But these Zawaya and other sufi Berber or Arabic orders have been far more socially accepted within the regions where they are found than that of 
the Gnawa. The Gnawa, as a spiritual order within Moroccan Islamic society, was marginalized and is still marginal. Through their musical ceremonies and trances, they claim to cure insanity and free people from malign influences. They believe that God is too powerful for bi-lateral communication and direct manifestation and thus God can only be reached through spiritual manifestations in our world. Hence, the Gnawa are generally not considered a mystic order proper because they do not seek the conventional personal union with the divine but rather contact with the spirit world which acts as an intermediary through which contact with the divine may be accomplished.
The Gnawa have found legitimacy for their cultural distinctiveness within the regions and societies they inhabit even given their unusual and often marginalized religious rites, ceremonies, and musical practices. The images conveyed in their songs construct a coherent representation of displacement, dispossession, deprivation, misery and nostalgia for a land and a former life kept alive through their unique musical and ceremonial practices. The historical experience of the Gnawa sketched in this essay is very similar to those found in all forced diasporas. Through their ceremonies, their songs and gatherings, these people made restitution not of an "imagined community" but a real one to reconcile a fragmented past. The Gnawa provide a fascinating story of how they re/constructed their identity against a broken cultural continuity.
The Gnawa have, over many generations, productively negotiated their forced presence in Morocco to create acceptance and group solidarity. Unlike the conventional question in Black America, "Who are we?," the Gnawa ask, "Who have we become?” Similar to the model of “creolization” – the integration of freed black slaves into the French cultural landscape of the American state of
Over the past fifty years in North Africa, Gnawa music, like the blues in America, has spread and attracted practitioners from other ethnic groups, in this case Berber and Arab. Although most present-day Gnawa musicians are metisse and speak Arabic and Berber, some West African religious words and phrases do survive even though their meaning is lost. In Morocco, Gnawa music is found mainly where black people live in a relatively large number; large enough to form a distinctive community like the ones in Marrakech and Essaouira. These two cities are known 
historically to have had slave markets connected to the trans-Saharan slave trade.
Gnawa people have created a distinct space in Moroccan society. They play a social and spiritual role and in recent decades have become well-known public performers. Public, non-ceremonial performances outside the Gnawa mystic order is a recent development. In order to survive, the Gnawa have turned the mystical aspect of their music into a musical art. In the 1970’s, when the only popular music available was the Middle Eastern type, some Moroccan artists start to look into other Moroccan traditions. Some of the best examples are Nass al-Ghiwan who were inspired by the Gnawa mystic order to create an original Moroccan pop music. One of the members of the band was Abd er-Rahman Paco who was himself a Gnawa master musician from Essaouira. Gnawa music has engendered a popular style of pop music for mere entertainment such as Nass al-Ghiwan and Jil-Jilala. These two bands were the most listened to in Morocco in the 70’s and 80’s. In the 90’s, other groups emerged such as Nass Marrakech who blend traditional music with new songs that connect with contemporary themes and audiences. Yet, for the Gnawa, their music is primarily spiritual and used for healing purposes.
However, curiously, Gnawa music, similar to jazz in America, is not recognized as a national music. The national Moroccan music is the Andalusian music, which developed, in "Muslim" and came to with the expulsion of the Moors in 1502 A.D.. Gnawa music has inspired the development of popular Moroccan music in general and is analogically similar to the African-American spirituals, gospels, and eventually the genre known as “the blues,” also founded by former slaves. Gnawa music provides a perspective through which we may view the history of blacks in . It is a medium to discover and recover the African roots that still live on in Morocco.
Recently, Western musicians interested in African traditional music, have “discovered” the music of the Gnawa. As a result, many collaborations have ensued with famous jazz artists such as Randy Weston. The Gnawa are modernizing their style to make it more secular and with more commercial appeal. With these recent developments and their appeal to tourists, the Moroccan government in 1997established The Gnawa and World Music Festival in Essaouira.
Q&A with Banning Eyre
B.E: What do we know about slavery in Morocco before the Arabs came, even before the Romans came?
Chouki el Hamel: There was always slavery. Berbers were slaving blacks. Blacks were also enslaving other people. But before the coming of the Arabs, black West Africa was not perceived like a huge pool of slaves. It did not have great slave markets. That was a development that came with the Islamization of Africa. So with the Islamization of Africa there was an increase of the trans-Saharan trade. It is the conquest, actually, that stimulated this need 
for black soldiers. So there was a huge demand for enslaved people from West Africa. And why? It is because, legally, you can slave only people perceived to be “pagan.” And the area that was perceived to be “pagan” was the area of the Sudan and beyond that.
The race question came during the Crusades where Europe emerged as a strong power, and basically, the enslaved people who came from areas in Europe were diminishing. So the Arabs and Berbers dynasties that ruled North Africa turned, of course, south. And then slowly it became color slavery. So that is why I have said that in many dynasties, that ruled Morocco for instance, they relied on black soldiers. And during Mawlay Isma`il, it went even further because he enslaved all blacks, including the free ones, including the Muslims. That is an act that is actually outright illegal in Islam, but he did it. But the muftis, judges and scholars of Islam in Fez were against that. They went against the voices that had influence on the society, they were sometimes killed. We have evidence that one of them was killed. His name is Gassus. He was a very strong voice against the enslavement black Muslims.
B.E: How, ultimately, did slavery disappear from Morocco?
Chouki el Hamel: I don't know of any text that formerly and officially abolished slavery. Slavery just went away with the coming of the colonization in 1912. Slowly, and gradually, slavery just died. It stopped existing because it was no longer needed. For instance, I'll give you just one example. In the south of Morocco, until recently under colonialism, the black people, especially Haratin in the southern oases, in the area of Aqqa or Tata, blacks did not own land. The Berbers owned the land. Some were not slaves, but they worked as sharecroppers. And they were called khammasin. They worked as farmers on the land that belonged to the Berbers, and they got a fifth of the harvest. But they never owned the land. And it is through colonization, when the capitalist system was introduced, and cash was introduced, some of these black people who worked as sharecroppers went to Europe. They were able to have enough cash to buy the land. So it was through colonialism and the general capitalist system that these people who were marginalized, who were not entitled to own land, they suddenly had cash. And cash of course is power. So they bought land, and this has created a social mobility in the south of Morocco.
B.E: When Afropop Worldwide went to Morocco in 2004, we found the very first two 
CDs by Nass el Ghiwan. They were just bootlegs, but rare stuff?
Chouki el Hamel: Nass el Ghiwan emerged, actually, from very poor neighborhoods. Their songs were what we call engaged, engaged for social causes. They were singing basically for the voiceless people. They represented them, their oppression and their misery and also subjects that were taboos. Some of them actually suffered for that. They went to jail because of that. They really reflect the cultural legacy in a way of the Gnawa. Because of the times, when there were Egyptian songs playing on the radio all the time, and these people came along, and said, we have to look at Moroccan traditions, what is authentic. And they looked into the Gnawa. And some members of Nass al-Ghiwan and Jil-Jilala were actually Gnawa.
B.E: They were widely influential also. I remember interviewing Khaled in Algeria, and him saying that Nass el Ghiwan really inspired him when he was young. To hear this local sound elevated to this level of high popularity. That's an interesting collateral effect that you would not necessarily predict?
Chouki el Hamel: And now, there is a step even further, because we have westerners involved, right? You have a lot of jazz and even popular music artists they come and collaborate with the Gnawa. Randy Weston comes to mind, but he is not the first one. Dizzy Gillespie went to Tunisia, right? So they all look for this, the African roots. Even in the early sixties. They were aware of this Diaspora. I think the artists were onto something. The artists, they are pioneers in making the other Diaspora actually known to the world. By the “other Diaspora,” I am talking 
about the internal African Diaspora, which is the Diaspora of black Africans in North Africa and the Mediterranean.
B.E: So it was not so much historians and writers who led the way on this. It was musicians?
Chouki el Hamel: If you like, hearing music is more powerful, more influential, than reading books sometimes.
…Just the same, if books are your cup of tea, here’s Chouki el Hamel’s Selected Bibliography:
Abu, Madyan, and Vincent J. Cornell. The way of Abu Madyan : doctrinal and poetic works of Abu Madyan Shuayb ibn al-Husayn al-Ansari (c. 509/1115-16-594/1198), Golden palm series. Cambridge, U.K.: Islamic Texts Society, 1996.
Brunel, Rene. Essai sur la confrérie religieuse des 'Aissaouas au Maroc: Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1926.
Diène, Doudou. La Chaîne et le lien : une vision de la traite négrière, Mémoire des peuples. Paris: Editions Unesco, 1998.
Diouf, Sylviane. Servants of Allah : African Muslims enslaved in the Americas. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
El Hamel, Chouki, “Blacks and Slavery in Morocco: The Question of the Haratin at the End of the Seventeenth Century,” in Disaporic Africa. A Reader, ed. by Michael Gomez, New York University Press, 2006.
Ennaji, Mohammed. Serving the master : slavery and society in nineteenth-century Morocco. 1st ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999.
Laroui, Abd Allah. The history of the Maghrib : an interpretive essay. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977.
Pâques, Viviana. L'Arbre cosmique dans la pensée populaire et dans la vie quotidienne du Nord-Ouest africain, etc, [Université de Paris. Travaux et mémoires de l'Institut d'Ethnologie. no. 70.]: pp. 702. pl. XVII. Paris, 1964.
Pâques, Viviana. La religion des esclaves : recherches sur la confrérie marocaine des Gnawa. Bergamo: Moretti & Vitali, 1991.
Willis, John Ralph, ed. Slaves and Slavery in Muslim Africa. Vol. 1: Islam and the Ideology of Slavery. Totowa, N.J: Frank Cass, 1985.
Contributed by: Banning Eyre
Mint tea
 | 300ml (1/2 pint) water 5 tsp sugar 1 tsp Maroque mint tea blend OR 300ml (1/2 pint) water 5 tsp sugar 1 tsp green tea bunch of fresh mint leaves |
1. Bring the water to the boil. Put the sugar and the mint tea (or green tea with fresh mint leaves) in a small traditional Moroccan tea pot, and add the boiling water.
2. Leave to steep for 5 minutes, serve hot.
Makes enough for 2 glasses
Minus their most famous ingredient
 | 250g (9oz) blanched almonds 125g (4oz) walnuts 250g (9oz) raisins 125g (4oz) clear honey 65g (2oz) butter 5ml (1 tsp) Ras el Hanout 5ml (1 tsp) ground ginger 60-75g (4-5oz) sesame seeds |
1. Finely chop the almonds, walnuts and raisins in a food processor or blender until they form a coarse, slightly sticky mixture.
2. Melt the butter in a large heavy pan and stir in the honey, Ras el Hanout and ginger.
3. Add the nuts and raisins and stir over a gentle heat for a few seconds until the mixture is thoroughly combined, firm and sticky.
4. Cool a little, then shape into about 30 balls.
5. Roll the balls in sesame seeds to coat completely.
6. Serve as an after dinner sweet with strong coffee.
Makes about 30 balls
A creamy luxuriant dessert with subtle flavours reminiscent of Morocco.
 | 600ml (1 pint) milk 115g (4oz) sugar, plus 4 tsps for caramel Good pinch of saffron threads 2.5ml (1/2 tsp) cardamom seeds 5-10ml (1-2 tsp) rose water 4 eggs lightly beaten 60ml (4 tbsp) boiling water |
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Heat the milk, sugar, saffron and cardamom in a pan until the milk is just about to boil.
2. Set aside to cool. Add the rose water, the gradually pour the mixture into the eggs, beating all the time. Set aside.
3. To make the caramel, heat 60ml/4tbsp sugar in a small heavy pan until melted and dark brown.
4. Stir in the water, holding the pan at arm's length as the caramel will spit. Let it bubble before tipping it into individual dishes. Swirl the dishes to coat the base and sides evenly. Leave to cool.
5. Strain the cooled custard, pour into the dishes and stand them in a roasting pan. Pour cold water around the dishes to two-thirds of the way up.
6. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour, or until the custard has set.
7. Cool, then chill for several hours or overnight.
8. To serve, run a knife around the edges of the creme caramel dishes and invert on to plates. Serve immediately.
Serves 4-6
This recipe was kindly given to me by a very good Moroccan friend, and has become a firm favourite in our house. It's a fantastic way to have broad beans.
 | 500g (1 1/4lb) broad beans (frozen are fine) 1/2 preserved lemon, chopped Good handful of fresh coriander, chopped Vegetable stock enough to cover the beans 4 gloves of garlic crushed 1 tablespoon olive oil Pinch of paprika Pinch of cumin |
1. Add the olive oil to a pan and very gently fry the garlic, just enough to remove the raw taste.
2. Add the beans, preserved lemon and coriander to the pan and stir to coat
3. Pour in enough stock to cover the beans.
4. Simmer gently until beans are done, this should only take a few minutes
5. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with a pinch of paprika and cumin
6. Serve with lots of bread to soak up the lovely juice
Serves 4
You will need a large shallow pan or pot that can go on the table. In Morocco the cooking is finished in a shallow earthenware tagine, which goes on top of the fire (although we do not recommend placing our tagines over a direct heat source).
 | For the meatballs: 750g (1 1/2 lb) minced lamb or beef 1 onion finely chopped 3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley salt & pepper a pinch of chilli powder to taste 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon of ground cumin sunflower oil for frying For the tomato sauce: 2 onions chopped 2 tablespoons of olive oil 2 garlic cloves crushed 750g (1 1/2 lb) tomatoes, peeled and chopped (I used tinned) 1-2 teaspoons of sugar 1 small fresh chilli pepper, seeded and chopped (optional) 3 tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf parsley 3 tablespoons of chopped coriander 6 eggs |
1. For the meatballs, mix all the ingredients together except the oil, and knead into a soft paste (I whizzed the onions, herbs and spices until chopped finely and then added the meat and gave it another quick whiz: it saved all the chopping finely).
2. Roll into marble-sized balls and fry them briefly in batches in shallow oil, shaking the pan to colour them all over. Lift out with a slotted spoon.
3. In a large shallow pot, which you will bring to the table, prepare the sauce. Fry the onions in the oil until soft. Add the garlic, tomatoes, sugar, salt and chilli pepper and simmer for 20 minutes until reduced.
4. Add the parsley and coriander, put in the meatballs and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Break the eggs over the sauce and cook until the whites are set. Serve with plenty of warm bread.
Serves 6 (easily reduced)
This tagine is a firm favourite in our house.
 | 1kg (2lb) shoulder of lamb, in 4cm (1 1/2 ") cubes 2 spanish onions, coarsely grated 3 plump garlic gloves, crushed 4 tablespoons of olive oil large pinch of dried chilli flakes 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon paprika pinch of crushed saffron threads 2 x 400gm (13oz) cans of tomatoes 1 strip orange rind 2 cinnamon sticks bunch of coriander, chopped 24 large ready-to-eat prunes 3-4 tablespoons clear honey 75gm (3oz) toasted blanched whole almonds pepper mint leaves to garnish |
1. Put the lamb into a bowl. Add the onions, garlic, oil, chilli flakes, ginger, cumin, paprika, saffron and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the meat well. Cover and leave to marinade in a cool place for at least 2 hours, or in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Heat a large, heavy frying pan. Add the lamb in batches and brown evenly. Transfer to a tagine or heavy casserole. Put the marinade into the frying pan and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes then stir in the lamb. Add the tomatoes, orange rind, cinnamon and half of the coriander. Mix well then cover and cook in a preheated oven, 160C (323F), gas mark 3, for 1 1/4 hours.
3. Meanwhile, put the prunes into a saucepan with the honey and just enough water to cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add the prunes and the cooking juices to the tagine and cook for 15 minutes, adding the remaining coriander after about 7 minutes.
5. Scatter almonds over the tagine, garnish with mint leaves and serve with couscous.
Serves 6
Quinces were popular with the Moors for their perfume and are still abundant in Morocco today (as well as my garden in Suffolk). In medieval times, to give a quince to a lady was a declaration of love.
 | 750g (1.5lb) lean lamb cut into large chunks 2 onions, finely chopped 60g (2.5oz) butter 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/2 tsp saffron strands 1 cinnamon stick 600ml (1pt) vegetable stock or water Sea salt 2 large quince 2 tsp runny honey 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon |
1. Place the lamb, onion, butter, ginger, pepper, saffron and stick of cinnamon either in a tagine on the hob (if your tagine is suitable) or in a heavy based pan and fry gently in the butter or about 10 minutes, until the spices give off either aroma.
2. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Transfer to a tagine or transfer your tagine to the oven for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the meat is tender, topping up the water if necessary.
3. Cut the quince into 8 pieces and remove the core but don't peel. Place the quinces in the tagine and stir in the honey and ground cinnamon, add water if necessary the quinces should be just covered. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes until the quinces are quite tender. Add salt to taste
4. Serve with warm bread.
This is a fresh spring dish full of Moroccan flavours.
 | 1kg (2lb) lean lamb, cubed 2 tbsp sunflower oil 1 onion chopped Salt and pepper 1 tsp ground ginger Pinch of chilli powder, optional 1/4 tsp of saffron threads, lightly crushed 1kg (2lb) fresh peas, shelled weight 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander Peel of 1 preserved lemon, cut into pieces 12 green olives |
1. Put the meat in the pot with the oil, onion, salt and pepper, ginger, chilli and saffron.
2. Cover with water and cook covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat is very tender, adding water to keep it covered in the sauce.
3. Add the preserved lemon peel and olives and cook uncovered for 10 minutes or longer, until the sauce reduced.
4. Add the peas and coriander, and warm through.
5. Serve with bread or couscous.
Pre-heat oven to 180C (gas mark 4). Serves 6-8.
This simple dish is a great recipe to try, the complex flavours of the Ras el Hanout are very different. Not a quick dish, but not difficult.
| 2 tbsp of olive oil 500g (1lb) lean lamb cut into bite sized chunks 2 large onions chopped 2 garlic cloves chopped 30g (1oz) sliced almonds toasted 2 tsp Ras-El-Hanout spice blend 2 tbsp honey 1 pint of vegetable stock salt and black pepper |
1. Add the oil to a large saucepan or deep-sided frying pan and fry the onions and garlic until brown. Set aside.
2. Fry off lamb until coloured, add onions and garlic back into the pan.
3. Add Ras el Hanout, salt and pepper stir well to coat everything.
4. Add vegetable stock and bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes.
5. Add the honey and continue to cook for 30 minutes, until the lamb is very tender.
6. Serve with rice and scatter the toasted almonds over as you serve it.
Serves 4
 | 4 chicken breasts grated rind and juice of a lemon seeds from 6 cardamom pods, roasted and crushed 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground coriander 1 garlic clove crushed 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion finely chopped 450 ml (3/4 pint) chicken stock bunch of coriander salt and pepper rice or bread to serve |
1. Put the chicken breasts into a shallow glass or pottery bowl. Pour over the lemon rind and juice then add the cardamom, cumin, coriander and garlic. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning occasionally.
2. Heat the oil in a large, flameproof casserole. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Arrange the chicken on the cooked chopped onion. Rinse the bowl with some of the stock and pour over the chicken. Add the remaining stock and the coriander and season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat to simmering point then cover the casserole and poach the chicken, turning it over twice, for about 40 minutes until the juices run clear when the thickest part is pierced with the point of a sharp knife.
4. Remove chicken to a warmed serving platter, boil the cooking juices if necessary to concentrate them, then serve with the chicken, accompanied by rice or bread.
Serves 4
This originated from an observation that all Moroccan chicken dishes seem to contain lemon.
 | 1 tbsp of olive oil 2 chicken breasts chopped into bite-sized bits 1 large onion chopped 2 garlic cloves chopped 1 red pepper diced a large pinch of saffron strands a large shake of cumin seeds 1 tsp of ground coriander 1/2 tsp of chilli powder 1 pint of chicken stock salt and a generous amount of black pepper |
1. Add the oil to a large saucepan or deep-sided frying pan and fry the onions and garlic until brown. Set aside.
2. Fry off the chicken until coloured, return the onions and garlic to the pan.
3. Add saffron, cumin seeds, coriander, chilli, salt and pepper, and stir well to coat everything.
4. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Reduce to a strong simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until you have a nice consistency to the sauce. Serve with rice.
Serves 2, easily doubled
A Moroccan friend advised me that once you start using preserved lemons you use them in everything. I'm not there yet, but this adds a great twist on the traditional roast chicken: Anglo-Moorish fusion cooking
 | 1 medium free range chicken 2 small preserved lemons, quartered pinch of saffron, lightly crushed 1 tbsp olive oil 300ml (1/2pt) of chicken stock flour to thicken gravy salt and pepper |
1. Wash the chicken and wipe away excess water. Place the quartered lemons in the cavity of the chicken. Put in a medium sized roasting tin.
2. Rub the skin with the crushed saffron and season liberally with salt and pepper. Drizzle the oil over the chicken rubbing well into the skin and the saffron.
3. Roast for 20 minutes per pound plus 20 minutes (45 minutes per kilo plus 20 minutes). Basting every 1/2 hour.
4. When cooked, remove the chicken from the oven, wrap in tin foil and place on a warmed plate, make sure all the juices from the chicken are left in the roasting tin to flavour the gravy. Leave the wrapped chicken to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
5. Skim any excess fat from the roasting tin, leaving about 1/2 tablespoon behind to mix with the flour. Add the flour to the tin mixing well to form a paste. Place tin over a hot plate and slowly add the chicken stock to make the gravy. Season to taste.
6. Carve rested chicken and serve with the saffron and lemon flavoured gravy.
Oven at 200C, gas mark 4. Serves 4.
reserved lemons gives a distinctive flavour to this famous Moroccan dish.
 | 1 large chicken 3 tbsp sunflower oil 1 onion finely chopped 2 garlic cloves crushed 1/4 tsp saffron strands crushed 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon salt & pepper good bunch of fresh coriander finely chopped good bunch of fresh parsley finely chopped peel of 1 to 1 1/2 preserved lemons, cut into quarters 75g (3oz) green olives soaked in 2 changes of water for 30 minutes |
1. Put the chicken into a large saucepan with all the ingredients except the preserved lemon and olives.
2. Half cover with water (about 300ml or 1/2 pint) and simmer, covered, turning if necessary, for about 45 minutes.
3. Throw the lemon peel and drained rinsed olives into the sauce and cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken is so tender that the flesh pulls off the bone and the liquid is reduced.
4. Serve hot with couscous.
Serves 4
Chermoula (a Maroque recipe)
Chermoula is a highly flavoured Moroccan marinade, that is the life saver of boring fish. There are hundreds of chermoula recipes, all different: every Moroccan cook book you pick up will contain at least three versions. It is worth trying several and ending up with a hybrid of your own. This is my version.
 | 2-3 garlic cloves chopped 1-2 tsp ground cumin Pinch of saffron threads 4 tbsp of olive oil Juice of a lemon 1 small red chilli, seeded and chopped 1 tsp salt Small bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped |
1. Place the garlic, cumin, saffron, olive oil, lemon juice, chilli and salt in a mortar and pound with a pestle. Or alternatively put all the above in a food processor and whiz until finely chopped, I have little baby processor which makes this a doddle.
2. Add the fresh coriander and mix in or give an additional quick whiz to combine.
3. Spread the mixture over the fish of your choice and leave to marinade for at least 15 minutes.
4. Makes enough marinade for fish for 4.
Chermoula marinated fish can be grilled, barbequed, baked or pan fried, which ever suits the fish of your choice. Pan fried salmon steaks are good, cod fillets cut into chunks and marinated are great barbequed.
This light fish dish to remind you of summers in Morocco.
 | 4 tbsp olive oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 125g (4oz) couscous 300ml (1/2pt) fish or vegetable stock 1 tbsp of chopped parsley 1 tbsp of chopped mint 4 trout, each weighing about 375g (12oz), gutted, heads removed and boned (worth taking nicely to your fish monger, and he should do this in no time) 50g (2oz) flaked almonds salt and pepper |
1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and fry until softened, adding the garlic towards the end. Stir in the couscous, fish or vegetable stock, parsley and mint. Bring to the boil then remove the pan from the heat and leave for 10-15 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed.
2. Season the trout with salt and pepper and fill the cavity of each one with a quarter of the couscous mixture. Lay the fish in a greased shallow baking dish. Mix the remaining oil with the almonds and spoon over the fish.
3. Bake in a preheated oven, 200C (400F, gas mark 6), for 15-20 minutes until the fish flakes when tested with a fork.
4. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve with warm bread.
Serves 4
A recipe that conjures up sitting on the shores of the Mediterranean on a warm evening. This is the type of dish you may enjoy along the coast by Tangier or Casablanca. The soup-like stew is ladled over cooked couscous and mopped up with lots of bread.
 | 500g (1 1/4lb) medium couscous 1tsp salt 600ml (1pt) warm water 45ml (3tbsp) sunflower oil 1-2tsp harissa paste 25g (1oz) butter diced For the shellfish broth: 500g (1 1/4lb) mussels in their shells, scrubbed and beards removed 500g (1 1/4lb) uncooked prawns in their shells juice of 1 lemon 50g (2oz) butter 2 shallots, finely chopped 1tsp coriander seeds, roasted and ground 1tsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground 1/2tsp ground turmeric 1/2tsp cayenne pepper 1-2 tsp plain flour 600ml (1pt) fish stock 120ml (4floz) double cream salt and ground black pepper small bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped, to serve |
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Place the couscous in a bowl. Stir the salt into the water, then pour over the couscous, stirring. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the sunflower oil into the harissa paste until combined, then using your fingers, rub it into the couscous and break up any lumps. Tip into an ovenproof dish, arrange the butter over, cover with foil and heat in the oven for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put the mussels and prawns in a pan, discarding any mussels already open, add the lemon juice and 50ml/2floz water, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan, until the mussels have opened. Drain the shellfish, reserving the liquor, and shell about two-thirds of the mussels and prawns. Discard any closed mussels.
4. Heat the butter in a large pan. Cook the shallots for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the spices and fry for 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the flour, the fish stock and the shellfish cooking liquor. Bring to the boil, stirring. Add the cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add the shellfish and most of the fresh coriander. Heat through, then sprinkle with the remaining coriander.
5. Fluff up the couscous with a fork or your fingers, working in the melted butter. To serve, pass round the couscous and ladle the broth over the top.
Serves 4-6. Try making your own harissa paste from our harissa dry spice mix - I think the flavours beat ordinary ready-made pastes hand down.
These are quick to make and very tasty.
 | 20 raw tiger prawns, peeled and deveined, tails left intact 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 1/2 tablespoons virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, finely crushed 3 tablespoons chopped mint salt & pepper lemon wedges to serve |
1. Put the prawns into a glass or pottery bowl. Mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and mint, season with salt and pepper and pour over the prawns. Stir to coat the prawns with the dressing then leave for 30 minutes.
2. Thread the prawns on to skewers and cook under a preheated grill for about 3 minutes on each side until they turn pink.
3. Serve on a bed of salad, if you like, with lemon wedges.
Serves 4
This simple salad is refreshing, and the orange flower water adds an unusual touch.
 | 500g (1lb) carrots 3 oranges 4 tsp orange flower water 4 tsp caster sugar Juice of 1 lemon Salt Ground cinnamon |
1. Peel the carrots and grate finely (a good job to give a willing helper!).
2. Peel the oranges and cut the flesh into small pieces, catching the juices.
3. Mix the oranges, carrots, orange flower water and sugar together in a serving bowl, adding plenty of salt.
4. Sprinkle ground cinnamon over the surface and chill well before serving.
Serves 6 as part of a salad selection.
These little kebabs are the closest thing I have come across to the ones served at the many booths that set up in the Jemaa-el-Fna at dusk.
 | 750g (1.5lb) boned leg of lamb, cut into 1.5cm cubes 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion grated 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley Salt to taste 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper To serve cayenne cumin salt |
1. Place the lamb cubes in a shallow dish with all the other ingredients. Toss well and leave to stand for 2 hours.
2. Thread the meat onto metal skewers about 6 to 8 pieces per kebab.
3. Place the kebabs about 5 to 10cm away from the heat source, either grill or barbeque.
4. Cook until browned and turn over. The lamb should be cooked through but still juicy.
5. Sprinkle each kebab with a small amount of cayenne, cumin and salt to your taste, bearing in mind the heat of the cayenne, and serve hot with bread
Grill on highest setting or ideally a hot barbeque. Serves 6.
This is more a technique than "amounts" recipe though the ratio of salt to lemon must be measured. While the bottles and jars of preserved lemons in the souk are wonderful to look at, they are by in large for the tourists and at times are unhealthy. Nearly every Moroccan home makes it's own preserved lemons and these quarters are the most common as they are ready prepared to use and serve. The entire lemon piece can be used in "some" recipes though the most common is to use only the rind. Please friends do not ask about the time I tried to eat a preserved lemon quarter "as is!!" Preserved lemons lend a wonderful tangysalt flavour to especially chicken and gorgeous with fish and soups! Make sure that when using you remove the pulp using only the rind. Enjoy!
Quarter lemons lengthwise and put in a noncorrosive airtight
container. Freeze for 8 hours. Add 1 tablespoon rock/kosher salt per lemon (4
quarters). Store airtight at room temperature for 6 days; shake
occasionally. Use as suggested in your favorite Moroccan recipe.
To store, chill up to 6 months (color can darken, it's perfectly fine)
Each lemon makes 4 pieces. I use organic lemons that are unwaxed
PLEASE do not use waxed lemons or scrub the wax off! c.\2005
Hasa Al Hummus is a wonderful Moroccan vegetarian soup for a comforting winter warmer. Morocco adores her soups though there are not a million varieties. Many recipes online may taste good though are faux or Moroccan "style" soups. I can guarantee that from me what you get is completely authentic Moroccan fare. I owe it to those interested in Moroccan food/cooking. This is a very simple basic soup as most Moroccan foods are. Go to a touristy, especially a fancy one, spot and you will get French food with Moroccan influences; not how we eat every day. We eat Moroccan food perhaps with a French influence or two though never vice versa. My housemaid Nasiha who is approximately 60 taught me this recipe. I say approximately as many in Morocco do not know their birthday. Whip this up like we do and enjoy! In a pinch you can use canned chickpeas. They are acceptable, merely omit the first cooking hour.
1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
8 cups water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh hot small pepper, chopped finely
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaf, chopped finely
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped finely
2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh black pepper
1 lemon juice
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
In a soup pot combine the chickpeas and water and bring to a rolling boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook 1 hour.
While the beans are cooking, heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onions, garlic, and hot pepper (we use a small straight pickled hot pepper from a jar) until they barely take on color; very slightly browned.
Add the mixture and the remainder of the ingredients to the soup pot and simmer 1 hour or until the chickpeas are soft. You don't want a "bite" to the chickpeas but firm and creamy. c.\2005
This is one of my favorite lentil soups outside of one I had in Rome many years ago now. There are thousands of "Moroccan" Lentil Soup recipes out there; especially on the internet where everyone is a "Moroccan Cook" simply by using the spices used in Morocco. That is not what Moroccan cooking is about. Yes, it is the spicing but how much? How many? Which types? Just as anyone can add garlic and basil to a dish and call it Italian food, is it? I think, in fact, I know not. That it may have ingredients well known to and used in many regions of Italy does not make it authentic. I will settle for nothing less than real life authenticity when it comes to Moroccan food; or the food of any country/region. It is in the knowledge, technique, time and simplicity where one finds authenticity; not necessarily in Gourmet Magazine or from Aunt Rita who went to Morocco, or anywhere, once 45 years ago on a five day tour blitz.
2 cups chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, minced*
8 cups water
1 cup small brown or green lentils
1 cup chick peas, soaked overnight
1 cup small white beans, soaked overnight
4 tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon fresh medium grind black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (olive oil is neer used in Moroccan home cooking, nor in a restaurant)
In a large soup pot, stew pot or dutch oven cook the chick peas and white beans seperately until just tender. Using a smaller pot, cook the lentils for 20 minutes and drain the beans and lentils.
In the same pot, saute the onions, garlic, ginger, paprika and cumin approximately 5 minutes.
Add the water, lentils, chick peas, white beans, tomatoes, carrots, black pepper, cumin, and salt to taste. Our black pepper used in a teaspoon will impart some good spicy heat to the dish. Should your black pepper not do this then please add a bit more black pepper as we do not use cayenne here. Bring to a boil for a 5 minutes and simmer 3/4 covered 1 to 1 1/2 hours or longer, until the lentils are soft.
I have seen this recipe on the internet stating to puree some of the soup and return it to the pot. While this is a nice idea, most Moroccan homes do not have a blender and this soup is not intended to be made as such.
* Omit the garlic if using for Ramadan as Morocco forbids the use of garlic during Ramadan while other countries may not. c.\2005
This recipe needs no cooking and is my own Moroccan recipe. Many of these exist here and in Morocco we use what we have and do not worry about what we do not have. It needs some chopping so be careful. This salad is sweet and sour and delicious! I am an American lady who lives in Morocco and I wish I knew this recipe when I was younger. It all gets eaten in 1 day. This will serve 6-8 people. 2 425g cans of corn 1 chopped onion, minced 1/2 chopped green pepper (not a hot one!), minced 2 chopped tomatoes in small dice Juice of 1 lemon or 1-2 Tbsp. vinegar 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat parsley, not the really curly kind 1/4 tsp. salt 2 tsp. sugar 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper 2 tsp. sweet paprika, nice and red colored (ours is smoky as well though sweet) 1. Mix everything well together in a large bowl and place in the refridgerator a few hours or overnight is best. 2. Stir every once in a while when you remember to. It does not get to sit overnight in my house though I try for it to every time! It is too good for us to wait. Lemon juice tastes best in this recipe but vinegar works fine and I have used vinegar when I don't have a lemon. If all you have is curly parsley you can use that too. Try to use a sweet onion but if it sits overnight the onion will get sweet in the salad. You can leave out what you don't like, I don't always have green peppers here and it is still very good without them. This recipe was originally written for a children's charity cookbook. c.\2005
Discover Morocco through the taste and aromas of the real Moroccan kitchen. The food and recipes contained here are all from my own personal experience with home cooking and the eateries where local's frequent. Here you will NOT find Court/Royal food or the 'restaurant' version of Moroccan food which is French with Moroccan influences. Here I will also dispell a few myths such as the 'tagine' which you were served in a restaurant, desserts at home and others. If you want authenticity you will get it here. Should you be looking for Moroccan 'Style', what you may have been served in a restaurant, or anything else you will not find it here though there are thousands of internet sites and cookbooks that will feed you that. It still amazes and, to some extent, infuriates me at what I see being called MOROCCAN food and/or what people have eaten in Morocco which was called Moroccan food and is/was NOT! Surfing the web and even a food and recipe site where I am a forum host dealing with the cuisine is full of the most horrible muck called Moroccan food! Then when I make a friendly comment, this food writer and food historian, is bashed for it! If you are going to make food from any country or region, then for God's sake, make it right or don't do it at all! I really do not care if you had 'cinnamon oranges' in a Moroccan restaurant or not; you won't find this at home or at a strictly local's eatery! Simply because Moroccans were eating in an establishment does NOT make it a 'local's eatery! Harissa and Ras al Hanout are NOT Moroccan for example. Harissa is a Tunisian creation and is because Tunisia and Algeria fell in love with the hot pepper in a way in which Morocco did not. Moroccans will eschew anything over the top hot and over the top to them was not even at the top for me and my palate. I looked countrywide for a jar of Harissa,,,,,,,,,,,nope! It is served occasionally in Fes as it was a major trading centre hundreds of years ago with Tunisia so they served it and many Moroccans in Fes adopted eating it. Ras al Hanout is an Egyptian invention meaning head of the shop (ras/head al/of hanout/shop). It spread across the Middle East and cannot be found in Morocco as there are NO spice blends available there nor are spice blends made at home. Dishes are seasoned with the spices individualy and yet I continually see people adding Ras al Hanout to my recipes to 'give it a bit of kick.' If it was meant to have 'kick' it would state so. Even when I do state that this dish of such and such is meant to be softly seasoned (NO Moroccan food is highly spiced) they still go dumping in Ras al Hanout and/or Harissa when much to all of the time what they got on the table in Morocco would have been a semi-spicy sauce tomatish!! My God, if you want real Moroccan food it is here but stop changing it to suit YOUR palate and learn to love the foods as we do. Olive oil cooking I will not even get into here as I have a column I wrote some time ago and will post here. If you want to learn about and eat authentic Moroccan food then come here and if not, well then keep cooking with olive oil and dumping Harissa into everything and stop telling me about it! Enjoy the celebration that is the Moroccan home table!
There are as many recipes for harira as there are people who eat it though there are essentials. The beans and lentils, cilantro (fresh leaf), tomato and pasta of some sort. This is my own recipe based on ingredients and flavors which I enjoyed from other hariras. Harira is eaten all year, not only at Ramadan though it would not be Ramadan without it! This soup along with others is used traditionally for breakfast at sunset. This would be a first course served with accompaniments and bread before moving on to heavier foods. Many break fast with milk and dates; a very old tradition and I doubt that they knew way back when that the combination of natural sugar and the milk protein were a near perfect combination. Some find this a bit too rough for the first thing in the stomach. While harira is the national soup of Morocco, history tells that this is not a Moroccan invention but an invention of the Maghreb of which Morocco is a part. This recipe may look truly daunting though it really isn't. In our house the first course on the table is always either harira, chorba, or one of my stews; usually chicken, dates, pistachios and fruit. Then after that settles we move on to a normal main course without the use of garlic as it is forbidden during Ramadan. Before bed we will usually have a pot of tea and a rice pudding, dessert couscous or just the tea. Shebakia, the very honey sweet special Ramadan sesame cookies are always here though we prefer to have them with coffee and not necessarily daily.
| 1 | cup whole dried fava beans |
| 1 | cup dried garbanzo beans |
| 2 | liters water |
| 2 | tablespoons vegetable oil |
| 3 | cups onions, minced |
| 1/2 | lb lamb, cut in small pieces |
| 2 | teaspoons ground turmeric |
| 2 | teaspoons ground ginger |
| 2 | teaspoons sweet paprika (the best most vibrant you can find) |
| 1/2 | teaspoon finely ground nutmeg |
| 1/2 | teaspoon finely ground caraway seeds |
| 3/4 | cup tomato paste |
| 1 | lemon |
| 1/2 | cup flour |
| 1/2 | cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped |
| 1/4 | cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped |
| 1 | cup lentils, soaked for 1 hour 1 in cold water and drained |
| 1 | teaspoon fresh ground pepper |
| 2-3 | teaspoons cooking salt |
| 2 | cups vermicelli, broken into 1/4-inch pieces |
| | lemon wedges, for serving |
- Rinse and pick over fava beans if you can't get these then use dried broad/lima/butter beans and chickpeas. Soak overnight in water to cover. Quick soak method; place beans in large soup pot and add 2 litres hot water. Bring water to a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and soak beans for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Squeeze each fava bean and chickpea between your thumb and first two fingers to remove skins. Set aside.
- In large soup pot over medium heat, cook the onions and meat (chicken can be used as well as beef or no meat at all though NEVER pork) stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and transluscent.
- Add turmeric, ginger, paprika and 2 litres water. Cover and bring to rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, add fava beans, chickpeas and cook, covered, until beans are tender. 1 to 1 1/2 hours depending on your beans.
- Finely chop together tomatoes, parsley and cilantro. Add this mixture along with the tomato paste, the lentils, pepper, juice of the lemon and drop in 1/2 of the squeezed lemon and salt to taste. Cover and cook until lentils are tender 20 to 25 minutes.
- Bring back to the boil and make a fairly thick slurry (flour and water) with the 1/2 cup of flour. Add this to the boiling soup stirring very briskly to avoid lumps. Boil one minute stirring constantly. Add nutmeg and caraway. Bring the soup to medium heat, you just want a nice slow bubbling.
- Add pasta (orzo or small soup pasta can be used as well though I always prefer vermecelli) and cook until soft. Taste and add salt to taste and adjust pepper. When soup is heated through, ladle harira into individual soup bowls. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, Moroccan flat bread ("My Rough Khoubz works well) or crusty french baquette. This soup should be velvety, not overly thick.
- Prep time does not include soaking the beans.
- NB: Harira is eaten all year, not only at Ramadan. In Morocco the nutmeg is ground to a powder which is darker and very pungent. If you cannot find or do your nutmeg this way, then I recommend that you purchase the freshest nutmeg that you can find.