Best Street Food in Tiznit — Medina Bites by the Silver Souk

Tiznit is a compact walled town built around its silver trade, and its street food serves the artisans, traders and market-goers who fill the medina by day. Mornings bring sfenj (light doughnuts fried fresh in bubbling oil) and griddle breads — msemmen and harcha, the latter a crumbly semolina bread — eaten with honey, cheese or the local amlou almond-argan spread, alongside bowls of bissara, the thick fava-bean soup finished with olive oil and cumin.

As the day goes on, the carts and small counters turn to savoury snacks: maakouda (spiced potato fritters) fried and tucked into bread with harissa, grilled kefta and merguez skewers over charcoal, and half-baguette sandwiches stuffed with meat, chips and salad. Snail (babbouche) vendors ladle out their peppery, herb-scented broth, a warming remedy as much as a snack, especially in the cooler Anti-Atlas evenings.

The medina's markets are the place to graze, particularly around the silver souk and the main gates. Stalls pile up Souss olives, dates, almonds, seasonal fruit and fresh bread, and a loop through them with a few dirhams in hand makes an easy, cheap meal. As a bonus, this is argan country, so you will find the nut products — argan oil, amlou — that define the region's flavour.

Eat where the crowd is local and the turnover fast, agree cart prices before you order, and keep small change ready. In Tiznit, a doughnut and tea, a bowl of soup, a maakouda sandwich and a handful of dates add up to a filling day's eating for very little.