have seen that Morocco is rich in its varied populations. The Berbers were the first inhabitants. Several ethnological studies have shown that Berber women worked the land, harvested, picked, and did the cooking themselves. Clearly our culinary roots go back to cultures from pre-Islamic times (North Africa was the larder of the Roman Empire) and can be traced to local savoir faire. Since that time, Morocco has had close commercial ties with countries in the south of the continent; sub-Saharan Africa provided gold, salt, and slaves. Trade reached its height under the green banner of Islam and became a flourishing commerce that affected the whole society including the cuisine.
Desert-dwelling nomad women prepare couscous, the national dish of Morocco.
Brutal import of servant populations was quickly replaced by peaceful solutions, and it was usually through trade that abundant supplies of slaves were sent to the market of Dar al-Islam, the house of Islam. In Morocco, male and female slaves came primarily from Sudan. Many had been bought by Touareg traders for a few pieces of gold and some scraps of fabric; others had simply been rounded up on the banks of the Niger. They instructed the captives in the rudiments of Arabic and the principles of Islam (which increased their market value) before leading them to Moroccan markets where they were sold.
We do not know much about the living conditions of the first sub-Saharan African slaves. Observers conclude that, at least after the nineteenth century, they did not suffer at the hands of their employers. The masters even tended to be more humane with sub-Saharan African slaves because though originally pagan, they quickly chose to convert to Islam.
Female slaves, known as dadas, quickly became indispensable, and were even given the charge of young children, for whom their dadas remain an indelible memory. Bound to slavery during the lifetime of their masters, some of the dadas stayed on in the house of the heirs when the latter died, to continue doing what they did as slaves, though henceforth as free women.
Mouloud, one of the most important Muslim holidays, celebrates the birth of the prophet Mohammed. It is marked by processions, dancing, and feasts.
Almost all female slaves were destined to perform domestic tasks. However, through the attention of a merchant or a rich master, a few, thought to be good learners, received a thorough education in music or even literature, before being sent to the harems of many an Orientalist’s fancy.
Qualified cooks were sold for very large sums. Restrictive and strict regulations were set so that the cooks’ instruction conformed to the wishes of the palace. Over the course of several years, the cooks were fed, housed, and trained until they perfected their knowledge and skill. The training period was crowned by a sort of diploma, a certificate with the slave’s name and her culinary aptitudes. It comes as no surprise that these slaves commanded such high prices.
Other than the original contributions from Berber culture, Moroccan cuisine is largely made up of the heritage of the dadas whose numbers are now dwindling. The height of irony is that these women whose only wealth was their status as a slave have become the masters of an inestimable, delectable treasure. When a dada is no more, a whole chapter of our culinary heritage is lost. To borrow the words of African writer Hampaté Bâ: “When one of them passes away, it is a library burning.” It has become urgent to record all the recipes and kitchen hints of these women in order to preserve their memories, which have been jealously guarded in household kitchens.
Heiresses to an ancient knowledge, these women have acquired real power in the home. It has been one of the only means at their disposal to demonstrate their competence and the hours they have spent tending their ovens may soon be lost forever, as will a part of our culinary memory.
Until recently, women were kept away from the classroom so they derived their power from cooking.
Grand Imperial Cuisine
The art and splendor of Moroccan cooking is in the fabled cities
of Rabat, Fes, Meknes, and Marrakech.
Since the seventeenth century, no fewer than four imperial cities have laid claim to being the capital of the sherifan empire of Morocco. Rabat, Fes, Meknes, and Marrakech are all names that ring out as splendors of the past. Each was the capital in its time and they have never ceased being rivals. All have laid claim to their own styles of architecture, music and, of course, cooking.
Marrakech was founded in the eleventh century by Berber horsemen from southern Morocco, under the leadership of Youssef Ibn Tachfine who established the Almoravid dynasty, before being conquered by the Almohad sultan Abd al-Mumin in AD 1147. The city first owed its fame to the fact that it was on the trade route from Timbuktu to the north, used by caravans laden with spices and gold coins. Today, the cuisine of Marrakech is notably rich and is a reminder of those luxurious times of old. It is a somewhat ostentatious fare that is presented to foreigners who flow through the gates of city.
Tanjia marrakshia is a dish made by men for men. This meat dish takes the name of the tanjia, or eartherware amphora, in which it is cooked. Sealed with paper and string, the amphora is baked for as long as four hours.
The souks (markets) are unforgettable. They are bursting with spices and you can still purchase real ras el hanout, the fabulous alchemy of twenty-seven spices that is almost impossible to find today. It is also the city of tanjia marrakshia, a dish initially served only to unmarried men, which has gradually become the symbol of the local cuisine. There is also chicken with nigella seeds, couscous with sumach, and mezgueldi, a tagine of lamb with caramelized onions. Add to the delights of the palate vestiges from the past. Visit the Koutoubia mosque, the beacon of Almohad art, the famed square Jemaà el Fna, the koranic school Medersa Ben Youssef, the gardens of Menara, and the old medina.
Fes, founded by Moulay Idriss, was the refuge for Muslims and Jews who were forced out of Andalousia beginning in the ninth century. The last refugees arrived in the labyrinthine city in AD 1492, as the final tears fell on the cheeks of the last sultan of Grenada, Boabdil, who was defeated by the Catholic kings. Fes el Jedid, a living mélange of cultures, was declared capital of the empire in AD 1250. In the dazzling homes that conceal their beauty behind the high walls of the old city of Fes, refined dishes are presented with style and grace. The cuisine of Fes resembles that of Tlemcen, a shared heritage from Andalousia of which both cities are proud. Fes has its lamb and squash tagine with honey; its vermicelli couscous with pigeons; its various recipes for carrots, savory, sweet or with cumin; its pigeon pastilla; and its partridge couscous. A must-see is the Karaouiyine mosque, the most prestigious Arab Muslim university of the medieval world, built to the glory of Allah in the ninth century, where precious manuscripts from the libraries of Grenada, Seville, and Cordoba found refuge after Spain fell to the Reconquista. Don’t miss the Danan synagogue, built in the seventeenth century in the mellah, the Jewish quarter, or the marvelous souk (market).
Riads are elegant homes discreetly nestled in the heart of medinas, which house a central patio decorated with a fountain.
A fountain in an old residence in Fes.
Meknes, the former capital of Moulay Ismael, the Alawite sovereign,
