How-to guide
How to Make Seffa — Sweet Moroccan Couscous or Vermicelli
Seffa is Morocco's sweet steamed couscous — fine couscous or broken vermicelli steamed until fluffy, then mounded on a platter and dressed with butter, icing sugar, cinnamon, toasted almonds and raisins. Sometimes it hides a chicken or meat filling within (seffa medfouna) for a sweet-savoury feast dish, but the classic form is a fragrant dessert or celebratory course. It is steamed much like savoury couscous but finished sweet. This guide covers the method; for the underlying grain technique see how to make perfect couscous.
About 1 hour
Step by step
- 1
Prepare the base
Use fine couscous or lightly broken vermicelli. If using couscous, moisten and rake it through as for savoury couscous; if using vermicelli, toss it with a little oil. Either way it will be steamed to a light, separate, fluffy texture rather than boiled.
- 2
Steam until tender
Steam the couscous or vermicelli over simmering water in a couscoussier or a colander sealed over a pot, in two or three stages, fluffing with a fork and adding a little water between steamings. This repeated steaming gives the light, separate grains that define good seffa.
- 3
Prepare the garnishes
While it steams, toast blanched almonds until golden and either leave them whole, chop them or grind some to a powder. Plump raisins in a little warm water. These, with cinnamon and sugar, are the sweet dressing that transforms plain steamed grain into seffa.
- 4
Butter and sweeten
Turn the hot steamed base into a wide bowl and fork through a generous knob of butter until it melts and coats every grain, then stir in icing sugar and ground cinnamon to taste. Work it through gently so the grains stay separate and fluffy, not clumped.
- 5
Build the mound
Pile the sweetened couscous or vermicelli into a tall cone or dome on a serving platter. Traditionally seffa is presented as a neat mound, which shows off the garnishes arranged over it. If making the filled version, spoon the cooked meat inside as you build the mound.
- 6
Decorate and serve
Decorate the mound with the toasted almonds and raisins, and finish with lines of cinnamon and a dusting of icing sugar, often in a decorative pattern. Serve warm. Diners mix the sweet garnishes through as they eat. It can be a dessert, a teatime dish or a festive course.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Boiling rather than steaming, giving a heavy, clumped base instead of light grains.
- Not toasting the almonds, missing their nutty crunch.
- Adding the sugar and cinnamon unevenly, so some bites are bland and others too sweet.
- Letting the base cool before dressing it, so the butter does not melt in.
- Overworking the grains into a paste rather than keeping them separate.
Tips from the kitchen
- Steam in stages and fluff between each for the lightest texture, as with savoury couscous.
- Toast the almonds well and keep some whole for decoration.
- Dress the base while it is hot so the butter melts and coats every grain.
- Build a tall, neat mound and decorate with cinnamon lines and icing sugar.
- For a feast, hide a spiced chicken filling inside for seffa medfouna.
Questions
Is seffa a dessert or a main dish?
It can be either. In its plain form, sweet steamed couscous with cinnamon, sugar, almonds and raisins, it is served as a dessert, a sweet course or a teatime dish. The filled version, seffa medfouna, hides spiced chicken or meat inside the sweet grain and is a celebratory sweet-savoury main.
Can I make seffa with vermicelli instead of couscous?
Yes. Seffa is made with either fine couscous or lightly broken vermicelli, and both are traditional. The vermicelli version, sometimes called seffa medfouna when filled, is steamed and dressed in exactly the same sweet way. Choose whichever you prefer; the cinnamon, sugar, almond and raisin finish is the same.
How is seffa steamed?
Like savoury couscous: over simmering water in a couscoussier or a colander sealed over a pot, in two or three stages, fluffing and adding a little water between each steaming. This repeated gentle steaming is what gives the grains or strands their characteristic light, separate, fluffy texture rather than a boiled clump.
What goes on top of seffa?
A sweet dressing of butter, icing sugar and ground cinnamon worked through the warm grain, then a garnish of toasted almonds and plumped raisins mounded over the top. It is usually finished with decorative lines of cinnamon and a dusting of icing sugar. Diners mix the sweet toppings through as they eat.
Learn it hands-on in Marrakech
Reading is one thing; doing it beside a local host is another. Book a Marrakech cooking class, or explore the medina on a guided food tour.