Displaying influences from Africa, Arabia, and the Mediterranean, the Moroccan cuisine of today is a reflection of the country's colorful past, blended with the culinary traditions of both its Arab and Berber inhabitants.
Over time, these influences have been refined into a distinctly Moroccan flavor - thanks largely to centuries of imperial dynasties, where expectations and demands weighed heavily on the chefs of the royal courts, and thus inspired both experimentation and extravagance.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE FAMOUS LOCAL DISHES SERVED IN MOROCCO :
1- Briouats :
Deep-fried parcels of flaky pastry containing spiced meat, fish or cheese.
2- Harira :
Thick, spicy, sometimes creamy soup, based on lamb and pulses. It’s often offered as a starter, but it is filling enough to be a meal in itself. During Ramadan it is served daily to break the fast, often with milk and dates.
3- Brochettes :
Cubes of meat on skewers, most often Chicken, lamb or beef.
4- Couscous :
A huge bowl of steamed semolina grains with vegetables, chickpeas and sometimes meat – usually mutton or chicken – or, less often, fish. It’s supposed to be eaten by hand, but spoons are usually provided. If you are invited to a Moroccan home you are most likely to be given this. Traditionally it is eaten on Fridays .
5- Tagine :
A stew of meat (usually beef, lamb or chicken) or fish with vegetables, spices and perhaps fruits and nuts, slowly cooked on a bed of oil in an earthenware pot. It is one of Morocco’s most visible dishes (because of the conical topped dish in which it is cooked). Popular versions include beef with almonds and quinces, lamb with apricots, and chicken with lemons and olives.
6- Kefta :
Meatballs flavoured with coriander and cumin. A popular and quick standby, it is sometimes served with eggs in a tagine.
7- Mechoui :
Whole lamb, spit or oven roasted. M’choui is usually found only on special occasions or in the more traditional restaurants where it often needs to be ordered in advance, though there are places that sell it year-round. Spicy beef or lamb sausages, often served with harissa, a fiery pepper sauce.
8- Pastilla :
Spiced pigeon meat encased in layers of flaky warkha pastry, often dusted with sugar or cinnamon – a traditional delicacy. A fish version is also found.
9- Tanjia :
A classic Marrakech dish, large cuts of seasoned, spiced beef or lamb are stuffed into the tanjia, which is then tied with paper and string and taken to the local hammam. The hammam's farnatchi - the man responsible for stoking the furnace - buries the tanjia vessel in the embers and leaves it to slowly cook for a few hours, after which the meat is tender and ready to eat.
This is traditionally a dish made by men for men and is prepared for a bachelor party or all-male gathering.
Tripadvisor previous guests reviews
We were booked and had paid a deposit for a trip late March of 2020, which was canceled due to the pandemic. Said, the owner of MD, went to extraordinary lengths to refund the deposits for our travel group of six from the U.S. Apparently the Moroccan banking system is not "user friendly" when it comes to wire transfers for reasons unclear to me. Nevertheless, Said managed to refund all our money using a very creative approach. We would DEFINITELY travel with MD in the future given this level of honesty and effort; but we do hope that MD will accept credit cards rather than wires in the future. Thank You Said & Morocco Discovery!
Three of use booked a 19-day with Moroccan Discovery Holidays for March, 2020 and paid a 50% deposit. When Morocco closed its borders due to Covid. Initially we put our trip on hold and asked Said to hold our deposit. Said agreed to this. When it appeared holiday travel would likely go on for many months we asked for a refund. Said again agreed but the Moroccan banks, being what they are, refused to release all of our deposit. With some pressure on the bank from us and Said's help we did receive 100% of our deposit.
We planned our April-May 2020 trip to Morocco in the late fall of 2019 and worked with Said at Morocco Discovery. We were taking our adult children and their partners and Said was patient and added everything we wanted and more. One month prior to travel we were surprised by the pandemic, with flights cancelled, borders closed and no idea when we could travel again. Said remained as diligent, helpful and honest throughout the arduous process of refunding our downpayment. We were thrilled with Said, and his company's commitment to customer service and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone travelling to Morocco. As soon as it is safe again it is our intent to rebook with them!
From their already outstanding reviews when I started working with Sayd, this was an amazing experience. I got prompt friendly responses to every question I had and as this was our first trip to Africa I had a lot of questions. The price was incredibly reasonable - I don’t know how they can put the trip together on this budget. We stayed at amazing Riads in every city with excellent food every evening and great breakfasts - our driver was AMAZING- he was always ready wherever we were 1 minute before we needed him. The prearranged guides were the best. If you are going to Morocco - you want to go with Morocco Discovery and you definitely want a driver.
I have to admit, when I first started looking at using a local Moroccan tour company for our trip I was very nervous. After having toured Morocco for 11 days with Morocco Discovery Holidays, I would HIGHLY recommend them without any hesitation. Said worked with me for over a year to come up with a customized trip that included everything we (2 couples) wanted to see and more. Every change I made to the itinerary was completed within hours of my request.. and I made many. Said is very prompt at responding to e-mails and questions. Having a private driver was definitely the ideal way to see Morocco. Our driver, Mohamed was amazing. From the minute he met us at the airport (with sweets to welcome us) until he dropped us off at the port for our journey to Spain, Mohamed could not do enough for us. Mohamed is funny, engaging, very knowledgeable and was totally flexible and I felt very safe at all times, even on the curvy, narrow road. If I wanted him to turn around so I could take a picture, he would…and Did!! LOL Our Riads were beautiful and the meals that were included were some of the best meals we had in Morocco. I cannot say enough about the 5* service and attention we received from Morocco Discovery Holidays and Mohamed during our trip.
Mr Said provided us with a very pleasant and safe driver (Mustafa) as well as a new van, so we had a very enjoyable round trip Casablanca-Rabat-Fes- Marrakech-Casablanca. Local guides accompanied us in Fes and Marrakech, and we could have had other tours but we opted to spend more time walking around the towns. The Riads selected for us were very satisfactory and service all round was great. No hesitation at all in recommending Morocco Discovery.
Said arranged an excellent holiday for us. We began with one of the standard trips as our starting point and adapted it to better suit our needs with an added night here and there and starting in Marrakesh rather than Casablanca. Everything went very smoothly from start to finish.The choice of the Riads in which we stayed was great, as were the guides that were arranged for us. Abdoul proved to be a first rate driver - safe, dependable, friendly and very professional. We felt very comfortable being driven by him and we enjoyed his company.