Food trails: what makes Moroccan cuisine the finest in the world?

In the third of a four-part series on food from the region, we look at the traditions surrounding Moroccan dishes, how they were influenced by other cultures, and the elements that make them so distinctive.

Some of the dishes available at Moroccan Taste restaurant, which opened in Dubai in 2012. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National
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‘Of all things to be eaten once a day, it is alcuzcuçu because it costs little and nourishes a lot,” Arab traveller Leo Africanus (1465AD to 1550) said in praise of couscous.

Considered by many to be the unofficial dish of Morocco, the name for these tiny steamed balls of semolina is believed to have been derived from the Berber words “seksu” or “kesksu”, meaning “well-rolled” or “well-rounded”.

Often served with stew on top, the origin of couscous is a matter of debate. One thing is certain, though: it, along with Moroccan mint tea, have become culinary ambassadors for a national cuisine spanning centuries.

“Our cuisine is considered among the finest in the world,” says Sanaa Nejmi-Kanoo, a French-Moroccan mother of four, who is married to an Emirati and has lived in Dubai for 16 years.

“My favourite childhood memory was the mixture of the smell of couscous in the kitchen, and the tagine, inside the special clay cooking pot, mixed with all the herbs and the fresh mint. A very memorable odour that I have never found anywhere else in the world, it’s very specific.”

The smell of ras el hanout, a special spice mix, for instance, transports Nejmi-Kanoo back to her roots.

“Oh my God, smelling it is like taking a one-way ticket to the middle of Marrakech souq, in the spices branch, or in an attar [a street trader of spices],” she says. “This is so rich – it is a mix of a minimum of 20 or up to 30 spices: bay laurel, dry ginger, long pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, mace, star anise, fennel, nutmeg, cumin, peppercorn, galangal, coriander seed, turmeric and so on. The way they are combined, it is so harmonious that it gives a great taste.”

Nejmi-Kanoo spends a lot of time in the kitchen with her mother, cooking for the family. She often brings back fresh ingredients from her visits to Morocco.

“One time, when I was carrying with me fresh mint from Morocco, it was such an excellent quality that the fragrance of the mint was so strong, the people seated next to me on the plane asked me what was the lovely smell,” she says, with a chuckle.

Tradition dictates a certain order when serving Moroccan cuisine. First, salads are served. These can include a mixture of raw and cooked vegetables, such as beetroots, carrots, cucumber with orange-blossom water, lemon, sugar and olive oil.

Zaalouk is another popular salad dish, made from aubergine and tomatoes, with garlic, olive oil and spices. Taktouka is another staple, consisting of a purée of tomatoes and green pepper.

Also served are briouat or birwat, sweet triangular or cylindrical pastries filled with meat or chicken mixed with cheese, pepper and lemon.

Aside from the salads, harira soup – made with tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas and lamb – is also a favourite starting dish on Moroccan dining tables, particularly during Ramadan.

“Then we bring a first main dish, which can be tagine,” says Nejmi-Kanoo. “Tagine became the name of the dish, but primarily it is the name of the pot you cook it in. In the region of Agadir you can see the beautiful handicraft of the men creating the pottery. It is worth the demonstration.”

A tagine can be made using lamb with prunes, or chicken, either in an onion sauce with dried apricots, or with olives and potatoes. A host might also serve b’sara (fava bean soup) or b’stilla (a pie containing pigeon or seafood) dishes to their guests.

That couscous tends to be part of the second main dish served along with others such as rfissa (chicken with lentils and pan-fried dough). Dishes are always accompanied with bread.

At breakfast, traditional options include fried breads known as msemmen or raghif, and meloui and baghrir (two types of pancakes made with semolina and flour). Khlea (beef jerky) and eggs are also eaten in the morning.

“If you have enough space left, which usually is not the case but in the traditions it is not polite to refuse what the host offers you, we bring you desserts,” adds Nejmi-Kanoo.

Plates of fresh fruits and a cup of fresh mint tea are served, along with pastries such as kaab al ghazal (gazelle horn, a crescent-shaped cookie made of sweet-almond paste, orange blossom water and cinnamon).

Like all the women in her family, Nejmi-Kanoo loves spending time in the kitchen, as it gives a true meaning to the idea of a family gathering.

“Cooking together in the kitchen is a very important family tradition, where all the women of the family cook and catch up on the latest news,” she says. “My grandmother and aunts taught me how to cook, and I will teach my girls, when they are older, how to cook our national dishes.”

To help with digestion and overall health, herb-infused teas are sipped at the end of the meal. The herbs include naanaa (mint), louisa (lemon-scented verbena) and sheba (wormwood).

Moroccan cuisine combines Arab, Berber, African, Mediterranean and European influences and has historically been referred to as “a cuisine of the kings”.

“There is something for everyone in Moroccan cuisine,” says chef Fatima Al Hareki, 60, the owner of Dubai’s Moroccan Taste restaurant, which opened in 2012.

She says that what makes Moroccan food so beloved is the home-made feel of it.

“I love to cook, so whoever comes to my restaurant, it is like coming to my house,” she says. “Moroccan food is a food of kings served for the common person, and that is why everyone feels spoiled like a royal after eating our dishes.”

Paula Wolfert is an award-winning author from the United States, who has more than 40 years of experience with Mediterranean food. She has written nine books, two of them about Moroccan cuisine.

“Morocco is blessed,” she says. “Developed in the kitchens of the royal palaces of Fez, Meknes, Marrakech and Rabat [the four royal cities], it reached summits of perfection.”

Bisteeya for example, Wolfert explains, had its humble origins in a simple Berber dish of chicken cooked with saffron and butter, before it was revamped in the royal kitchens.

“It was combined with the primitive Arab pastry called trid, enhanced when Arabs later brought the fine art of Persian pastry-making to Morocco, and was further embellished with Andalusian ideas until it became the bisteeya we know today,” she says.

From a culinary point of view, cultural influences can be seen widely in the three gastronomic centres of the country.

“In the Berber city of Marrakech, the food is basically Berber, with a Senegalese and African influence,” says Wolfert.

“In the Arab city of Fez, the cuisine shows the influence of Andaluz, and in the Andalusian city of Tetuan, the Spanish influence is strongest, with some Ottoman traces.

“Portuguese influence may be found in the cuisine of the Portuguese settlement cities on the Atlantic coast, and Essaouira, a city of white buildings and blue shutters, became the home of a large Jewish population who worked out their own variations on the national cuisine.”

What, then, makes a cuisine great? The author says four things are required.

“The first is an abundance of fine ingredients, a rich land,” she says. “The second is a variety of cultural influences: the history of the nation, including its domination by foreign powers, and the culinary secrets it has brought back from its own imperialist adventures.

“Third, a great civilisation. If a country has not had its day in the sun, its cuisine will probably not be great. Great food and a great civilisation go together. Last, the existence of a refined palace life. Without the demands of a cultivated court, the imaginations of a nation’s cooks will not be challenged.”

• Next week we explore Yemeni cuisine

rghazal@thenational.ae