Moroccan Foods & Flavors dictionary

 

fliyya (fliou)  wild mint (pennyroyal) consumed as an herbal tea. Although ingestion of concentrated pennyroyal oil can be toxic, normal consumption of pennyroyal tea is harmless.

fogga^c  mushroom.

 

frach  pigeon.

 

frik  fresh, young corn. It is also the name for cracked green wheat or barley, which is fried and eaten only when the mature grains are not available.

frit  fried potatoes (chips); French fries.

 

fti  tender.

 

ftur  breakfast.

 

ful  fava bean.

 

ful gnawa  black-eyed pea.

 

fwad  viscera.

 

 

gamila  small saucepan.

 

garfu  fork; also called fersheta and mtshekka.

 

gazuza  carbonated soft drink.

 

gda  lunch.

 

geddid  strip of preserved meat.

 

gedra (gdra)  bottom part of a couscoussier, a two-part cooking pot made of aluminum, stainless steel or earthenware. The gedra or lower part is used to cook stews. The keskas or top part is a tight-fitting, colander-like pot with a perforated bottom in which couscous granules are cooked and flavored by steam escaping from the stew simmering in the lower pot.

 

gedra dial trid  domed ceramic utensil used for cooking thin, circular sheets of a somewhat oily pastry dough for the dish called trid. This dish is considered a primitive form of bestila, the classic squab pie (see bestila, this Guide).

 

gelmi (genmi)  mutton.

 

gemh  wheat. Wheat flour is called dgig (dqiq), farina and thin.

 

ger^ca (gra^c, qra^c) hamra  pumpkin or squash; also simply called ger^ca (gra^c, qra^c).

 

ger^ca (gra^c) slaoui  long, pale-green, slightly curved squash; also simply called slaoui (slawi, slawiya).

gerga^c  walnut; also called guz.

 

gernina (garnina)  wild thistle, a relative of the globe artichoke, which is available only in early spring. The plant’s pale-green stems are trimmed of leaves and tough fibers, chopped into little pieces and cooked with meat and preserved lemons in a stew (tagine) of the same name. The stems impart a bitter flavor and are thought to be good for the liver.

bestila bil djaj  variation of the festive pie called bestila. It is made with chicken instead of squab.

 

bestila bil hut bestila  variation of the festive pie called bestila. It contains fish in a marinade called chermula (see Foods & Flavors Guide), which is a mixture of tomatoes, onion, garlic, cumin, paprika, hot red pepper, cilantro and flat-leaf parsley.

 

bestila bil ruz  variation of the festive pie called bestila. It contains a rice filling that is flavored with almonds and orange-flower water. The dish can be a first course or a dessert.

bibi m^cammar  stuffed turkey.

birkukis (berkukesh)  dish of large (3 mm or greater) couscous granules (mhammsa) cooked in milk.

 

bisar (bessara, bisara, byesar)  hearty, thick, Berber dish of puréed broad (fava) beans topped with some paprika, cumin and a drizzle of oil. It is breakfast street food and resembles hummus, which is made of chickpeas. In Marrakech and the surrounding countryside markets, it typically is cooked in characteristic round-bottomed, earthenware crocks with flared rims. These cooking vessels sit at an angle on a charcoal burner to facilitate removal of their contents with a long-handled ladle.

 

boulfaf (bu-lfaf)  type of kebab in which pieces of fresh lamb’s liver seasoned with cumin, paprika and cayenne are individually wrapped in sheep’s caul, put on skewers and grilled over charcoal. Bu-lfaf is one of the traditional lamb dishes eaten during ^cId le-Kbir (Aid el Kebir), the four-day religious festival that includes the sacrifice of a lamb. (Fr. brochettes de foie)

 

bousaif bil chermula  braised swordfish seasoned with chermula, the classic “dry” marinade for fish. See recipe, p. 61.

braniya  stew of lamb named for the fried eggplant that garnishes it.

 

brik  savory filled pastry, usually containing eggs. It is of Tunisian origin.

 

briwat (briouat) bil bid  pastry triangles filled with eggs and herbs.

 

briwat (briouat) bil fakya  pastry triangles filled with dried fruit.

 

briwat (briouat) bil kefta  pastry triangles filled with minced meat.

 

briwat (briouat) bil luz  pastry triangles filled with almond paste.

 

See recipe, p. 62.

 

briwat (briouat) bil merguez  cigar-shaped pastries filled with small beef or lamb sausages heavily seasoned with paprika and cayenne pepper, which give the sausage a reddish color, along with black pepper and garlic. (Fr. “briouat” aux “merguez”)