Moroccan cuisine has long been considered as one of the most diversified and best cuisines in the world. It is carefully and artistically prepared and served and joyfully eaten. The food is largely diversified because of the history behindMorocco. It is a mix of native Berber, Arabic, Andalusian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Turkish and Jewish cuisines.
Popular dishes :
Brochette (kebab): Kebabs served in a Moorish marinade, fast & economical
Couscous: Seminola grain, the traditional family lunch
Mechoui: Lamb roasted on a barbecue
Pastilla: A very fine flaky pastry stuffed with pigeons and almonds
Tagine: Morocco’s traditional national dish
Moroccoproduces a large range of Mediterranean fruits and vegetables and even some tropical ones. The country produces large quantities of sheep, poultry, cattle, seafood and fish as the base for its cuisine.
Spices are used extensively in Moroccan food. While spices have been imported toMoroccofor thousands of years many ingredients are home grown like saffron from Tiliouine, mint and olives fromMeknes and oranges and lemons fromFez. Common spices include cinnamon, kamoun (cumin), kharkoum (tumeric), skingbir (ginger), libzar (pepper), paprika, anis seed, sesame seed, kasbour (coriander), maadnous (parsley), zaafrane beldi (saffron) and mint.
The most popular drink is green tea with mint. Traditionally making good mint tea inMoroccois considered an art form and the drinking of it with friends and family members is one of the important traditional rituals of the day. The technique of pouring the tea is as crucial as the quality of the tea. The tea is accompanied with hard sugar cones or lumps. Moroccan teapots have long, curved spouts allowing the tea to be poured even into tiny glasses from a height. For the optimum taste glasses are filled in two stages.
The main meal is eaten in the middle of the day except for the holy month of Ramadan. The typical formal meal starts with a large bowl of hot and cold salads placed in the middle of the table followed by “tagine”. Bread and olives are normally served with every meal. Next is normally couscous with various meats and vegetables. Moroccans usually use their fingers on their right hand to eat instead of untensils.
