Ramadan & holy days
Ashura Foods in Morocco
Ten days into the Islamic new year comes Achoura — a holy day that Morocco has turned into something warm, domestic and especially beloved by children. Its foods are quiet but distinctive: bowls of dried fruit and nuts, a couscous crowned with the preserved meat saved from Eid, and trays of sweets shared with neighbours and the poor. It is a festival of memory, abundance and generosity.
- When
- 10 Muharram
- Especially for
- Children & charity
- The bowl
- Fakia — dried fruit & nuts
- The plate
- Couscous with qaddid
At a glance
- Achoura falls on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic year.
- The signature food is fakia — a mix of dried fruits and nuts shared and given away.
- Couscous topped with preserved qaddid or khlii from Eid al-Adha is the traditional main.
- It is a day of charity (zakat), children's toys and, the next day, playful water throwing.
A holy day turned family festival
Achoura (Ashura) is observed on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Across the Muslim world it carries deep religious significance, and in Morocco it has also become a distinctly domestic and joyful occasion — a time of charity, of buying children small toys and drums, and of a particular set of foods that appear only around this date. Traditionally it is also a moment for giving zakat, alms calculated on one's wealth, so generosity to the poor is woven through the day.
For children it is one of the most exciting days of the year, second only perhaps to Eid: small hand drums (taârija and bendir), toys and sweets are bought, and the evening before is marked in some towns by bonfires (chaâla). The day after Achoura brings the playful custom of zem-zem, throwing water in the streets.
Fakia: the bowl of dried fruit and nuts
The edible symbol of Achoura is fakia — a generous mix of dried fruits and nuts set out at home and pressed on every visitor. Dates, dried figs, raisins, dried apricots, walnuts, almonds, peanuts and roasted chickpeas are heaped into bowls, and children in particular are given handfuls. The mixture is cheap, keeps well, and its abundance embodies the day's spirit of sharing and plenty. Families buy it by the kilo from the souks in the run-up, and it is one of the pleasures of markets like those in our markets and souks guide at this time of year.
Couscous with preserved meat
The savoury heart of Achoura in many homes is a couscous, and specifically one topped with qaddid or khlii — the salted, dried, fat-preserved meat made months earlier at Eid al-Adha. Achoura falls a couple of lunar months after the sacrifice feast, and finishing the last of the preserved meat on this holy day is an old, thrifty tradition that links the two occasions. The preserved meat lends the couscous a deep, savoury, slightly funky richness quite unlike fresh lamb.
The couscous itself is steamed in the usual painstaking way over a vegetable broth; learn the technique in our seven-vegetable couscous recipe and the wider tradition in the Friday couscous guide. Some regions also make hearty grain and pulse dishes for the day.
- Couscous bil qaddid: steamed couscous topped with preserved dried meat from Eid.
- Fakia: the shared bowl of dried fruit and nuts.
- Seasonal sweets: honeyed pastries and cookies for visitors.
Sweets, charity and sharing
Beyond the couscous and the fakia, Achoura is a day of sweets and open-handedness. Trays of cookies and honeyed pastries are prepared for the constant flow of visitors, and it is traditional to share food with neighbours and to give generously to those in need — the giving is as central as the eating. In some families it is also a day to remember the departed, which lends a gentle, reflective quality beneath the children's noise and drums.
The overall effect is a festival that is modest in its dishes but rich in feeling: a bowl of dried fruit, a plate of couscous made with meat saved since the summer, and an insistence on sharing all of it. To understand how the preserved qaddid is made, see our note on Eid al-Adha and khlii.
The dishes of the occasion
The specific plates that belong to this moment in the Moroccan calendar.
Frequently asked questions
What is eaten on Achoura in Morocco?
The two signature foods are fakia — a shared bowl of dried fruits and nuts such as figs, dates, raisins, walnuts and almonds — and a couscous topped with qaddid or khlii, the preserved dried meat saved from Eid al-Adha. Sweets and pastries are also set out for visitors.
Why is preserved meat eaten on Achoura?
Achoura falls roughly two lunar months after Eid al-Adha, when families had preserved surplus sacrificial meat as khlii or qaddid. Finishing that preserved meat in a celebratory couscous on Achoura is a long-standing, thrifty tradition linking the two holy days.
Is Achoura a children's festival in Morocco?
In its Moroccan folk form, yes — alongside its religious meaning, Achoura is a joyful day for children, who are given toys, small hand-drums and handfuls of dried fruit and sweets. The day after brings the playful custom of throwing water (zem-zem) in the streets.