Moroccan Holidays

Name: Syrian Fattet Djaj (Layered Chicken Platter)
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: 1 rotisserie chicken; 3 pita breads, cut into small squares; vegetable oil for frying; 3 cups cooked rice; 2 cloves of garlic, mashed; 2 cups plain yogurt; 1/4 cup tahini; juice of 1 lime; 1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds to garnish (you can also substitute for pistachios or pine nuts or do a blend of all of those); Salt and pepper; 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional); Chopped parsley to garnish

Moroccan Ramadan Recipes for Iftar

6:13 am by Amanda Mouttaki

I remember the first year MarocBaba and I were together during Ramadan. I truthfully had no idea what to expect or what he planned to eat for iftar. I had been to some gatherings at our mosque and had seen such a wide variety of foods from around the world.

What I’ve learned over the years is that most every Ramadan table is a variation of the same things. There are some differences of course depending on family and part of the country but overall you will certainly see a pattern.

If you want to throw a traditional Moroccan iftar here’s how to do it!

(Hint: there’s a lot of bread involved)

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A post shared by Amanda Mouttaki (@marocmama) on May 29, 2017 at 5:03pm PDT

Moroccan Ramadan Iftar Recipes

If having a traditional Moroccan Ramadan table is something you'd like to try here are some recipes to get you started.

Vegetarian Moroccan Harira

You will always find harira on the Moroccan Ramadan table. This soup has a tomato base and is made with chickpeas and lentils - and sometimes meat.

Moroccan Msemmen Recipe

These flaky breads are served with honey and butter, or cream cheese - but you can put whatever toppings on you'd like.

Moroccan Avocado Almond Smoothie

A super popular drink in Morocco all year round but especially during Ramadan.

Get the Recipe

Chebakia - The Ramadan Cookie

These cookies are a MUST on the Ramadan table and they can be intimidating. While traditionally they have this shape - you can make them whatever shape you'd like and enjoy.

Batbout - Moroccan Pita Bread

This stovetop bread is usually made into smaller versions, split in half and stuffed with different things to make small sandwiches for the iftar table.

Stuffed Medjool Dates

Dates are a must on the Ramadan table as it's the food used to break the fast. Serve them plain or you can stuff them like in this recipe for something a bit fancier.

Sellou Recipe - Sfouf or Zmita

Photo Credit: tasteofmaroc.com

Sellou is often eaten at iftar. The best part of this is while it's a bit time consuming to make it lasts a long time so you only need to make one batch for all of Ramadan.

Kefta-Filled Briouats with Classic Seasoning

Photo Credit: www.thespruceeats.com

Briouats are phyllo dough filled with a variety of things. This recipe is for ground beef filling but you also can make it with chicken, seafood or cheese.

Moroccan Ramadan Cookie Madness!

A plate of special cookies is standard for Ramadan, discover some that you can make and include.

Beghrir Pancakes

These pancakes are cooked only on one side and often drizzled with butter and honey - in this recipe I use Nutella and raspberries for something a little different.

In addition to these recipes you’ll also want to include;

lots of water
mint tea is usually also served
fresh fruit juices, especially when Ramadan is in warmer months.
dates, dates, dates.
boiled eggs served with cumin and salt
olive oil, jams, chocolate spread, cheese and any other items that might go well with bread or msemmen.

In Morocco the iftar table remains largely the same night after night but I encourage you to make your own traditions too. Add or remove items. I try each year to introduce my in-laws to other food options from around the world. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn’t!

Moroccan Ramadan Recipes for the Iftar Table

Moroccan Ramadan Cookie Madness!

11:57 am by Amanda Mouttaki 2 Comments

Ramadan has quietly crept up and here in Morocco we’ll be starting sometime next week. That means this weekend our house will be buzzing with activity as my sister in laws all converge to make Ramadan staples. I’m actually somewhat surprised this didn’t start weeks ago as in years past they often are preparing even a month beforehand. I also realized that so many of my Ramadan resources are scattered across this website so I decided to put them all in one place so that you can easily find them. (Find that on the new Ramadan Resources page)

But, if you’re looking for the important thing, Moroccan Ramadan cookies, you’re in the right place. I’m putting together all the cookie recipes I could find, both my own and from around the web so that you have a single resource.

MarocMama Ramadan Cookies

Gluten – Free Ghriba

Ghriba are a really common cookie served year round during Ramadan. They’re also really easy to make and perfect for someone short on time or unsure about making some of the more complex cookies. I tweaked some original recipes to make gluten-free versions of this cookie so that everyone in my family could enjoy them.

Gluten Free Lemon, Vanilla, and Almond Ghriba

Pistachio Rosewater Ghriba

Sesame Ginger Ghriba

Ka’ab Gazelle

These are the queen of Moroccan pastry. They’re also pretty difficult to master. The dough must be very thin but not so thin that it breaks when the cookies are shaped. When baked it’s important the cookies never brown. I’ll warn you that you will make mistakes but don’t give up. Once you’ve mastered it you’ll never feel more proud!

Ka’ab Gazelle Recipe and Photo Tutorial

Mhncha Cookies

Mhncha are traditionally made very large and are a special dessert for weddings and special occasions but you can also make them smaller. If you’ve never made them then this is a good way to get a start and practice.

Moroccan Mhncha Cookies {Snake Cookies}

Pouch Cookies

These are another example of an easy to learn cookie. The filling is the same as is used in Mhncha and Ka’ab Gazelle so if you make a lot you can easily use it multiple ways. You can even get the kids involved to make this one!

Moroccan Pouch Cookie Recipe and Photo Tutorial

Gluten Free Chebakia

The most popular cooking for Ramadan in Morocco is Chebakia. I tried for years to figure out how to make these gluten-free and they failed time and time again. The defining characteristic of chebakia is the shape. Sadly gluten-free dough does not have the elasticity of the gluten version so I gave up on making them into the same shape. Instead I stuck with a more simple shape. The flavors are all there making the shape trade off a small sacrifice.

Gluten Free Chebakia

Stuffed Dates

Ok, ok so these aren’t cookies but they are a sweet. I really like serving these because I don’t have to worry about gluten. They’re also really versatile. You can stuff them with anything! In this post I have three different ways you can fill them but there’s probably 20 more. If you’ve got last minute guests these are really easy to throw together using whatever you have around.

Stuffed Dates

Recipes from the Web

If you’re looking for some more inspiration I’ve rounded up some more of my favorite Moroccan cookies to inspire you. Check them out on some of these other blogs.

Chebakia – Moroccan Food at About.com — These are the traditional cookie with gluten.
Sellou – Moroccan Food at About.com – Sellou is more like a paste than a cookie but is a staple sweet on the Ramadan table.
Fekkas – My Moroccan Kitchen. The Moroccan version of biscotti. I love how Nargisse mixes things up with her recipes – a blend of tradition and modern.
Mint Tea infused truffles – My Moroccan Kitchen. I am so in love with these. Plus they’re gluten-free and everyone needs some chocolate.
Almond Briouats – Moroccan Food at About.com – My American family loves these cookies! They’re simple to make and just one is sweet enough so that you don’t need to overdose on cookies!

Egyptian Macaroni Bechamel {Pasta with Bechamel Sauce}

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki 3 Comments

Today’s post comes from Aya who blogs at AyaKhalil.com. She’s a freelance journalist and mom of two. This recipe for macaroni bechamel may not sound Egyptian but I assure you it is! One of the first Egyptian meals I tasted included this dish and every Arab potluck that has Egyptians present will have a few dishes of macaroni bechamel. I mean what’s not to love? Enjoy!

Salam! This dish is called macaroni béchamel. My mom taught me this Egyptian dish and it’s one of our family’s favorite dishes. It’s nice because it includes protein, starch and dairy. You can also make a vegetarian version and not add the ground beef or substitute it with ground turkey. It’s a little time consuming because you have to keep an eye on the béchamel sauce as you’re mixing it so it doesn’t burn. But it’s a filling, delicious dish – make a salad with it and you’re good to go.

Ingredients

1 box penne or Angel hair pasta
2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 egg
About 5 cups cold milk
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
salt
black pepper
Italian bread crumbs
5 tablespoons of butter

Directions

Boil the pasta and drain- set aside

Saute the onion in a little oil over med high heat until soft. Add garlic and saute another two minutes.

Cook the ground beef on med-high in a pot until it’s no longer red. Add the onion mixture and add the parsley. Set aside.

How to make the béchamel sauce

In a large saucepan over med-high heat melt the butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour until smooth. Keep whisking for 2 minute.

Now whisk in the milk very slowly until all the milk has been added. Keep whisking making sure there are no lumps in it. You can add more or less milk depending on how thick you want it. Add the salt and black pepper to your taste.

Whisk pretty continuously until the milk is almost boiling. Add nutmeg. The sauce should now be fairly thick.

Quickly whisk in the beaten eggs. Remove from heat.

Mix the past, tomato sauce and the ground beef together in a baking dish

Pour the sauce over it.

Add the Italian Breadcrumbs on top the béchamel.

Add slices of butter on the top.

Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 30-45 minutes. Then broil for 5-10 minutes (until it’s brown)

This post wraps up my food from around the Islamic World series to celebrate Ramadan (albeit a little late!) I hope you’ve enjoyed traveling through the world and have gotten the chance to make some of these amazing dishes! A big thank you to everyone that contributed!

Senegalese Chicken Yassa

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki Leave a Comment

Today’s post comes from Kimberly of Muslimahs Working at Home. I’m thrilled to have another African recipe to contribute. Even though Ramadan has now come to an end I have a few more recipes to share. I had hoped to get them all up before the end of the month however with packing and traveling I’ve gotten completely off schedule. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this recipe anytime of year.

During my second year of marriage, and second Ramadan, I stumbled across a traditional Senegalese recipe in the local newspaper. Fast forward 16+ years, and this recipe is still a favorite go to recipe that we enjoy sharing with friends and family each Ramadan. The dish is called Chicken Yassa It’s a savory, flavorful, stewed chicken dish that’s served over white rice. In Senegal, it’s traditionally served from on great bowl to all of the guests as they sit around the bowl, eating from their own individual sections using the right hand (Sunnah style!). Being in the US, most of my guests prefer their own plate, which is fine too.

The cooking steps for Yassa involve marinating, roasting, and stewing the chicken. I’d always considered it a rather labor-intensive dish that required me to prep the marinade the night before. My first Yassa recipe came from the local newspaper and I discovered years later that it was a “modified” version of the true Senegalese recipe, ingredients and method of preparation. The newspaper version of the recipe features easy to find ingredients that yield a very tasty result, so it’s the one I’ve continued to stick with and happily share with you today. This Ramadan, I think I’ll buy a large bowl with a bright, festive design to fill and serve from the next time I make it!

The following recipe serves six.

Senegalese Chicken Yassa

Ingredients:

1 frying chicken (2 ½ – 3 ½ pounds) cut into serving pieces
4 large onions thinly sliced
½ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon of freshly minced Scotch Bonnet or habanero pepper
5 tablespoons of peanut oil
1 whole Scotch Bonnet or habanero pepper pricked with a fork
½ cup of pimento stuffed olives
4 carrots scraped and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
½ cup of water
Plain white rice

Marinade

Prepare the marinade in a non-reactive bowl by adding lemon juice, minced pepper, sliced onions, salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the marinade, making sure all pieces are covered, and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight (3 hours minimum).

Broil

Preheat the broiler. Remove the chicken pieces from the bowl, reserving the marinade and onions. Place the chicken in a baking sheet and broil until lightly brown.

Simmer

Remove the chick from the broiler. Heat the remaining tablespoon of peanut oil in a 5-quart casserole Dutch oven. Remove the onions from the marinade bowl and cook them slowly until they become tender and translucent. Add the remaining marinade and heat thoroughly; then add the chicken, pricked chile, olives, carrots, mustard, and water. Heat slowly to a gentle boil, and then lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through). Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve over white rice.

Insha’Allah you enjoy this dish as much as we do!

Thank you so much for sharing Kimberly!

Syrian Fattet Djaj {Layered Chicken Platter}

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki 6 Comments

Get your stretchy pants on because you’re going to want seconds and thirds of this dish. Our post today is from Olivia of Olivia’s Cuisine. I was so glad when she wanted to participate and chose Syria as where to make a dish from. Syrian food is amazing! You can find more great recipes from Olivia on her blog and be sure to follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I have this obsession with Middle Eastern food. My American friends can’t understand where it comes from, since I’m Brazilian and they think that in Brazil all we eat is feijoada and pão de queijo while drinking caipirinhas at the beach. Oooh, but they’re so wrong!

São Paulo, my hometown, has a huge Lebanese and Syrian community, so I grew up eating Middle Eastern food. Kibbeh, Sfihas (that’s how we call those little meat pies), Baklava, Tabbouleh, Hummus, Baba Ghanoush, you name it, we have it! It is a huge part of our culture! We even have drive-thru Lebanese fast food restaurants! Shockers, I know!

So imagine my excitement when Amanda told me she was gathering bloggers to work on this Middle Eastern/Islamic food project for Ramadan! I immediately volunteered and chose Syria, as I am somewhat familiar with this country’s cuisine. However, I decided to try my hand at a dish I had never made (or eaten) before and, after a little research, my mind was set on this delicious Fattet Djaj!

The Fattet Djaj (or Fatti Dajaj) is a layered chicken platter that consists of fried (or toasted) pita bread, rice and chicken with a delicious garlic-yogurt-lime sauce and topped with some toasted nuts. It’s pretty much a medley of some of my favorite flavors and textures! Seriously, what could be better than that?

My experience making the dish:

The recipe is pretty simple and has a few shortcuts you could take. I highly recommend using a rotisserie chicken if you wanna make this in less than 30 minutes and skip the whole order of roasting a chicken! You could also use leftover rice and even store-bought pita chips. I did make fresh rice and fried my own pita chips, though, and they came out a-ma-zing and super crispy!

The secret here is to have your chicken and your rice warm when you start assembling the platter. The yogurt sauce should be cold or at room temperature, never hot. And once you assemble the platter, you cannot heat it up, so I recommend serving right away, unless you don’t mind cold or room temperature food. I have this aversion to cold food (unless it’s salad) and my dish was cold after I finished photographing it. However, I did eat it and it was delicious nevertheless.

I found many different ways to make this recipe, and ended up combining a few. Some recipes will ask you to bathe the pita chips with chicken broth and lemon juice. I didn’t do that, as I like the idea of a crunchy texture to balance the softness of the other ingredients.

You can serve this dish as an appetizer, as it is usually served in Syria, or as a main dish! It serves 6 people comfortably, maybe more as an appetizer.

What I would do different next time:

– Loosen up the yogurt sauce with some chicken broth or use a non-Greek yogurt variety. I would like it to be more saucy and not too thick.

– Eat it right away (instead of photographing it for half an hour) so I can enjoy this dish warm. I did try to heat some leftovers in the microwave and it just doesn’t taste the same. There’s something about warm yogurt sauce that makes me wanna run for the hills!

– I might add the yogurt sauce after I add the chicken. Just for aesthetic purposes… Also, maybe I’ll layer just half of the yogurt sauce and serve the rest on the side. But that’s just me being picky and wanting everything to look as if they were made for the Saveur magazine!

Other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing. The flavors in this Fatteh Djaj were amazing and me and my husband devoured the whole thing by ourselves (not all at once, obviously!).

I hope I have succeeded in inspiring you guys to explore a little of the Syrian cuisine! And Happy Ramadan!

Syrian Fattet Djaj (Layered Chicken Platter)

Yield: 6 servings

A delicious (and easy!) main dish or appetizer to make using a rotisserie chicken.

Ingredients

1 rotisserie chicken
3 pita breads, cut into small squares
vegetable oil for frying
3 cups cooked rice
2 cloves of garlic, mashed
2 cups plain yogurt
1/4 cup tahini
juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds to garnish (you can also substitute for pistachios or pine nuts or do a blend of all of those)
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Chopped parsley to garnish

Instructions

Start by heating the vegetable oil, over medium heat, and frying the pita squares (stale works better than fresh) until golden and crispy. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to soak the extra grease. Set aside
Prepare the sauce by combining the mashed garlic and the yogurt. Whisk until smooth. Add the tahini while whisking and, finally, the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and reserve. (Refrigerate if not using right away!)
Make sure your shredded chicken and rice are warm before assembling the Fattet Djaj and work quickly so everything is still warm when you serve it.
In a big casserole or serving platter, start with the pita squares, evenly distributed in a single layer.
The next layer is the rice and finally 2/3 of the chicken mixture.
Top with the yogurt sauce and the remaining chicken and finish by sprinkling the toasted nuts, the chopped parsley and the cinnamon (if using). You can also sprinkle some freshly cracked black pepper on top of everything.
Serve warm.

Pakistani Soaked Daal

10:00 am by Amanda Mouttaki Leave a Comment

Today’s recipe comes from Shannon of Homemade Families. She is a wife, mom, and midwife living in California with her family. She is one of the sweetest people I have met and should some mystical magic happen and I find myself pregnant, I’d fly her to Morocco to be my midwife! I hope you enjoy this story and recipe from her kitchen.

Thirteen years ago, I was a young, hungry new college grad. I could boil pasta, make grilled cheese, and throw together a salad. My husband’s parents came to California from Karachi in the mid seventies. When my husband found himself a young, hungry new college grad, he asked his mom how to make the food he grew up with.

Needless to say, his culinary traditions were more preserved than mine. And the aroma coming from his apartment was delicious. Tired of my vegetarian fare, I finagled an invitation for dinner. I hadn’t touched a lentil before. I probably hadn’t eaten turmeric before either. As the daal (Urdu for lentils) boiled and boiled, the smell seemed familiar and comforting. After a long wait, the simple meal of lentils and rice was ready. It was the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted. I’m embarrassed to recall, that I may have said it tasted like macaroni and cheese. I meant it as a compliment.

The only thing I couldn’t fathom was cooking something that took more than twenty minutes to prepare. Again, I went for lentils, but this time I wanted to see how they were made. I watched the hard, yellow, lentils simmer and simmer, never losing their shape, until finally after hours, they melded into a golden, fragrant mass. Nothing was measured with a proper teaspoon, rather a plastic spoon was used to toss the colorful spices into the pot.

While we waited for the daal to cook, we had plenty of opportunity to talk. The hours that passed allowed us to fill our hunger with conversation and the expanse that life as a new grad presents. Eventually, we married. Three children later, we still enjoy a simple meal of lentils and rice. Only now, I know that lentils come in myriad shapes and sizes. The one we cook now, cooks about as fast as macaroni and cheese. I look forward to the day, that as the daal cooks, we can resume our good conversations.

For now, I present to you a nourishing, simple soaked lentil recipe.

Soaking the lentils the night before optimizes the nutrition you receive from the lentils. Ask anyone who has lentils as a staple in their traditional foods, and they will tell you that their mother or grandmother used to soak lentils. Phytic acid, contained in lentils is broken down through soaking, which allows the B vitamins and other minerals in the lentil to be absorbed in your intestine. It also reduces the cooking time, which may or may not be desired ;).

Don’t skip out on the baghar, the spice perfumed butter. It is an ancient technique used since Vedic times to infuse dishes with flavor. Heating ghee to a very hot point and then quickly frying fragrant spices in the ghee, imbues the ghee with scent and flavor. It is all then folded back into the daal.

We like to cook our lentil in chicken stock. Not only does this add flavor, but it also adds protein and other vitamins and minerals. Chicken stock contains easily absorbable calcium, magnesium, and other minerals. It also contains gelatin, an amino acid that helps with immune function and healthy skin, hair and nails.

Here’s to your good health, and to food bringing about love and happiness!

Soaked Daal

Ingredients

1 cup red lentils
2 cloves of minced garlic
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
4-6 cups of chicken stock

Directions

Soak one cup of red daal with enough filtered water to cover. Soak for six to eight hours.

When ready to cook, strain the daal and add to pot.

Add garlic, spices and chicken stock.

Stir, bring to a boil.

Skim the froth from the top and leave to simmer until lentils soften, about 25 minutes.

Baghar- Spice Perfumed Butter

2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 dried red pepper
2 TBS ghee

Heat ghee over medium high heat.

Add spices.

Heat until fragrant, being careful not to burn spices.

Add to daal, stirring to combine.