Moroccan cuisine

Moroccan cuisine has long been considered as one of the most diverse cuisines in the world. The reason for this was Morocco's relationship with the outside world for many centuries. Cuisine of Morocco - the connection of Arab, Berber, Moorish, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and African cuisines. Cooks royal kitchens of Fez, Meknes, Marrakech, Rabat and Tetouan refined Moroccan cuisine over the centuries and created the basis for what today is known as Moroccan cuisine.

Key ingredients

Morocco raises a wide range of Mediterranean fruits and vegetables, and even some rain. The country produces a large number of sheep, poultry, livestock and seafood products, which are the basis for the kitchen.

Use of spices

Spices are used extensively in Moroccan food. While the spices were imported to Morocco for thousands of years, many of the components, such as saffron from Tiliouin, mint and olives from Meknes, and oranges and lemons from Fez, are grown in local fields. The most common are karfa spices (cinnamon), kamoun (caraway), harkoum (turmeric), skinbir (ginger), libzar (black pepper), tahmira (red pepper), sesame seeds, kasbour (coriander), maadnous (parsley), zaafrane Belda (saffron) and mint.

Main Dishes

The main Moroccan dish, which most people are familiar - is couscous, which is a very old dish and is probably of Berber origin.

Chicken - the most frequently-used meats in Morocco. Usually red meat in Morocco - is beef. Lamb is more preferable, but also more expensive. The breed of sheep bred in North Africa, has a fat back, which means that the Moroccan lamb does not have the sharp scent, which usually have Western lamb and mutton.

Among the most famous Moroccan dishes Couscous, Pastilla (also called Besteeya or Bastila), Tadzhine, Tanja and Hariri. Although the latter dish is a soup, it is considered as a separate dish, sometimes served with dates, especially during the month of Ramadan.

Desserts
Sweets are not necessarily served at the end of eating. The most common dessert - Ka'b al zhzal ( "gazelle horns"), which is a pastry filled with almond paste and sprinkled with sugar. Another dessert - honey cake, which has a specific form of a pretzel with roasted fried parts, which are then dipped in hot honey and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Halva shebaiki a - biscuits, which is eaten during the month of Ramadan.

The mint tea that is common place with the main meal is also probably the most popular drink in general in Morocco. Making a good mint tea is considered an art form and drinking tea with friends and family is a very important part of the day. As important as the making of the tea is the pouring of it which can be quite tricky for the novice as the pot used is quite large with a long, curved spout and poured in to the glasses from quite a height.