The Moroccan dishes encyclopedia
Page 4 of 4 · Showing dishes 73–94 of 94
4 dishes
Savoury pastry & pies
The warqa-pastry showpieces: sweet-savoury pastilla, crisp briouat fingers and the coiled almond mhanncha.
Filled fried pastry
Briouat
بريوات · briwāt
Crisp little triangles or cigars of warqa pastry, filled savoury with meat, cheese or seafood — or sweet with almonds and honey.
- Eaten at
- Ramadan, weddings, tea time
Coiled almond pastry
M'hanncha
محنشة · mḥanncha
The 'snake' — a coil of almond-paste-filled pastry baked golden and scented with orange blossom, cinnamon and honey.
- Eaten at
- Celebrations, tea time, guests
Savoury filled pastry pie
Seafood Pastilla
بسطيلة بالحوت · basṭīla bi-l-ḥūt
Warqa pastry wrapped around a creamy filling of fish, shellfish and vermicelli — the modern, entirely savoury cousin of Morocco's classic pigeon pie.
- Eaten at
- Starters, restaurant menus
Stuffed baked bread pie
Medfouna (Berber Bread Pie)
مدفونة · medfouna
A round bread stuffed with spiced minced meat and onion, baked buried in hot embers — the Sahara-edge specialty sometimes called Berber pizza.
- Eaten at
- Desert trips, family gatherings
8 dishes
Breads & pancakes
Daily khobz from the neighbourhood oven and the griddle breads — flaky msemen, semolina harcha and honeycomb baghrir.
Daily leavened bread
Khobz
خبز · khobz
The round daily bread of Morocco — carried to the neighbourhood wood-fired oven to bake, and used at every meal as edible cutlery.
- Eaten at
- Every meal, all day
Laminated griddle pancake
Msemen
مسمن · msemmen
Flaky, square, laminated griddle pancakes folded from an oiled dough — a Marrakech breakfast icon with honey and tea.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, afternoon tea
Semolina griddle bread
Harcha
حرشة · ḥarša
A pan-cooked semolina bread with a crumbly, cornbread-like crust — split and buttered for breakfast or afternoon tea.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, afternoon tea
Spongy holed pancake
Baghrir
بغرير · baġrīr
The 'thousand-hole' pancake — a spongy semolina round riddled with tiny holes that drink up melted butter and honey.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, afternoon tea, Ramadan
Griddle-cooked flatbread
Batbout
بطبوط · batbout
Small semolina flatbreads that puff hollow on the griddle, ready to split and stuff — Morocco's answer to pita.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, sandwiches, everyday meals
Coiled laminated griddle bread
Meloui (Rghaif)
ملوي / رغايف · meloui / rghaif
The same laminated dough as msemen, rolled into a coil rather than folded square — a flakier spiral griddle bread eaten with honey.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, tea time
Sweet enriched breakfast bun
Krachel
كراشل · krāchel
Sweet, aniseed-and-sesame-scented breakfast buns from Fez — soft, lightly enriched rolls torn open with morning coffee.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, tea time
Stuffed laminated griddle bread
Rghaif Mfarka (Stuffed Savoury Rghaif)
رغايف محشية · rghayef mhashiya
The same flaky laminated dough as msemen and meloui, folded this time around a savoury filling of cheese, onion or spiced khlea.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, snacks, light lunch
10 dishes
Sweets & pastries
Fried sfenj rings, honey-soaked chebakia, almond kaab el ghazal and the energy-dense sellou of Ramadan.
Fried yeasted dough ring
Sfenj
سفنج · sfenj
Morocco's doughnut — a chewy, airy ring of yeasted dough hand-pulled and fried to order, sold in the early morning by the string.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, morning, with tea
Fried honey-dipped pastry
Chebakia
شباكية · šebbākiya
Sesame flower-shaped pastries folded, fried and drenched in warm honey — the essential sweet of Ramadan, eaten beside harira.
- Eaten at
- Ramadan iftar, celebrations
Almond-filled crescent pastry
Kaab el Ghazal
كعب الغزال · kaʿb el-ġazāl
'Gazelle horns' — delicate crescent pastries filled with orange-blossom almond paste, the queen of the Moroccan tea table.
- Eaten at
- Weddings, tea time, guests
Unbaked ground sweet
Sellou (Sfouf)
سلو / سفوف · sellū / sfūf
An unbaked, energy-dense sweet of toasted flour, fried almonds, sesame and honey — a Ramadan restorative and food for new mothers.
- Eaten at
- Ramadan, postpartum, celebrations
Crumbly tea cookie
Ghriba
غريبة · ghrība
Crackled, sandy-textured Moroccan cookies — from sesame-almond versions to the crinkled, powdered ghriba bahla — served with tea across the country.
- Eaten at
- Tea time, everyday sweets, Ramadan
Twice-baked crunchy cookie
Fekkas
فقاص · fekkas
Twice-baked, biscotti-like slices studded with almonds, sesame and anise — the crunchy Moroccan cookie made to keep for weeks.
- Eaten at
- Tea time, keepable sweet, gifts
Almond and argan oil spread
Amlou
أملو · amlou
A thick spread of roasted almonds, argan oil and honey — the Souss valley's answer to peanut butter, eaten with warm bread at breakfast.
- Eaten at
- Breakfast, with bread and tea
Sweet flour porridge
Assida
عصيدة · ʿaṣīda
A smooth flour porridge served with a well of melted butter and honey at its centre — the dish of Ashura and of a baby's first tooth.
- Eaten at
- Ashura, family milestones
Boiled-then-baked ring cookie
Kaak (Moroccan Sesame Ring Cookies)
كعك · kaʿk
Crunchy aniseed-and-sesame ring-shaped cookies, boiled briefly before baking — a festive treat for Mawlid and family gatherings.
- Eaten at
- Mawlid, family gatherings, tea time
Sweet layered pastry dessert
Pastilla au Lait (Milk Pastilla)
بسطيلة بالحليب · basṭīla bi-l-ḥlīb
Crisp fried warqa layered with vanilla-almond custard — the entirely sweet dessert descendant of Morocco's savoury celebration pie.
- Eaten at
- Dessert course, restaurants
Taste these dishes in Marrakech
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