The back story
Moroccan Food
The tagine, Friday couscous, pastilla, the tanjia of Marrakech, harira and the ceremony of mint tea: what to eat in Marrakech.
Moroccan cooking is a table of slow pots and shared plates. The Moroccan National Tourist Office names its pillars: tagine, couscous, pastilla, harira and, above all in Marrakech, tanjia, with mint tea poured at every turn.
The tagine
The tagine takes its name from the cone-lidded earthenware pot it is cooked in: meat, vegetables and fruit such as apricots, steamed slowly with spices (ONMT).
Couscous
Couscous comes from the Amazigh tradition and is a staple served in homes and restaurants all over Morocco, traditionally eaten on Fridays, with meat, vegetables, fish or chicken and a broth, marqa (ONMT).
Pastilla
Pastilla is served in a crisp pastry, filled with fish, chicken, pigeon or almonds (ONMT), for lovers of sweet and savoury.
Tanjia
Tanjia, lamb or veal in a terracotta jar, is the staple dish of Marrakech, cooked for long hours in the local oven (ONMT).
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Laurhim · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsHarira and mint tea
Harira is a soup of pulses, tomatoes, pasta and flour, traditionally eaten during Ramadan; green mint tea is more than a drink, a ceremonial beverage deep-rooted in Moroccan hospitality (ONMT).
Eat tanjia in Marrakech: it is the city’s own dish.
Our advice: say yes to the tea when it is offered; it is how a welcome begins.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Weetjesman · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsWhy it's on our list
- The tagine
- Couscous
- Pastilla
- Tanjia
- Mint tea
Location
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More in depth
The back storyMarrakech at the table: tagines, terraces and the night marketLe Marocain at La Mamounia, Al Fassia’s kitchen of women, the roof terraces of Nomad, L’mida and Le Foundouk, the brasserie of Gueliz and the smoke of Jemaa el-Fna at night: how Marrakech eats.
The back storyWhere Marrakech sleeps: palaces, riads and the gardens beyond the wallsLa Mamounia and the Royal Mansour inside the walls, riads such as El Fenn and La Maison Arabe in the lanes of the medina, and the garden resorts of the Palmeraie and the Atlas road: where to stay in Marrakech.
The back storyThe red city: reading Marrakech’s great sightsThe Koutoubia’s minaret, the open-air theatre of Jemaa el-Fna, the Saadian Tombs, the ruins of El Badi and the courtyards of the Bahia and Ben Youssef: how to read the medina UNESCO listed in 1985.