Grills & street food
Kefta
كفتة · kefta
Kefta is Moroccan spiced minced meat, usually beef or lamb kneaded with onion, cumin, paprika, coriander and parsley. In two great forms it runs through Marrakech eating: pressed onto skewers and grilled over charcoal, or rolled into meatballs and simmered in a garlicky tomato sauce — the famous kefta tagine finished with eggs poached on top.
- Origin
- Across Morocco and the wider region
- Type
- Spiced minced meat
- Eaten at
- Street grills, home dinners
- Key flavour
- Cumin, paprika, onion, parsley
What Kefta is
Kefta refers to the seasoned minced-meat mixture itself: beef or lamb (or a blend) worked with grated onion, chopped parsley and coriander, cumin, paprika, pepper and sometimes a little cinnamon or chilli. The spicing is bold, because the meat needs to carry either the char of the grill or the tang of a tomato sauce.
In its grilled form, the mince is pressed around flat skewers and cooked fast over charcoal until crusted outside and juicy within. In its tagine form, it's rolled into small meatballs (kefta mkaoura) and simmered in a spiced tomato-and-garlic sauce, with eggs cracked in at the end to poach in the bubbling sauce.
Origin & story
Spiced minced-meat cookery runs right across the Middle East, the Levant and North Africa, and Morocco made it its own with the local balance of cumin, paprika, onion and fresh herbs. Grilled kefta is a fixture of the charcoal grills that scent the medina and the food stalls of Jemaa el-Fnaa each evening.
The kefta-and-egg tagine, meanwhile, is beloved home and café cooking — quick, cheap, comforting and endlessly popular, the kind of dish a Marrakech family eats on an ordinary weeknight and a café serves to a hungry worker at lunch.
Key ingredients at a glance
- Minced beef or lamb (or a mix)
- Grated onion, parsley and coriander
- Cumin, paprika and pepper
- A pinch of cinnamon or chilli (optional)
- For grilling: flat metal skewers and charcoal
- For the tagine: tomato, garlic and eggs to finish
This is a flavour snapshot, not a recipe. For quantities and method, see the full recipe linked below.
When & how it's eaten
Grilled kefta skewers are street and grill-house food, eaten hot off the charcoal with bread, cumin, salt and a fresh tomato-onion salad — often pulled straight into a piece of bread to make a sandwich. It's fast, smoky, hands-on eating, classically part of a mixed grill with brochettes.
Kefta tagine with eggs is a shared dish, brought to the table bubbling; everyone dips bread into the tomato sauce and shares the meatballs and runny egg. Both forms are informal, sociable and built around bread rather than cutlery.
Regional variations
The big fork is grilled skewers versus the egg tagine (kefta mkaoura). Beyond that, the mince can be beef, lamb or mixed; heat varies with added chilli; and some tagines go in richer with extra garlic and cumin. Kefta also fills sandwiches and tops Moroccan-style flatbreads.
Every grill and family tunes the spice mix, and the ratio of herbs to spice is a matter of taste — more parsley for freshness, more cumin for depth.
Where to try it in Marrakech
For grilled kefta, follow the charcoal smoke to the evening grill stalls on and around Jemaa el-Fnaa — a grilled-meats and brochette tour or the night food tour takes you to the grills locals rate. For the egg tagine, look to home-style medina cafés.
Cook both in a tagine cooking class or a street food class, and follow our kefta tagine recipe. It pairs with grilled brochettes — read more in the guides.
Frequently asked questions
What is kefta in Moroccan food?
Spiced minced meat — usually beef or lamb — mixed with onion, herbs, cumin and paprika. It's either grilled on skewers or rolled into meatballs for a tomato-and-egg tagine.
What is kefta tagine with eggs?
Kefta mkaoura: spiced meatballs simmered in a garlicky tomato sauce, with eggs cracked on top to poach in the bubbling sauce. It's shared straight from the pot with bread.
How are kefta skewers eaten?
Hot off the charcoal with bread, a sprinkle of cumin and salt, and a fresh tomato-onion salad — often pulled into bread as a sandwich, as part of a mixed grill.