PEASANT PANCAKES RECIPE. THE VIBRATIONS OF MOROCCO. NORTH AFRICAN COOKING.

THE VIBRATIONS OF MOROCCO

PEASANT PANCAKES RECIPE

NORTH AFRICAN COOKING

MARRAKECH SPICES

African cuisine is a generalized term collectively referring to the cuisines of Africa. The African continent being the second largest landmass on Earth, is home to hundreds of different cultural and ethnic groups. 
The culinary traditions in terms of choice of ingredients, style of preparation and cooking techniques are also diversified.

The continent's population in: Central Africa, East, North and South and the Horn of Africa each have their own distinctive dishes, eating and drinking habits.

THIS POST IS PART 2 OF A FOUR PART SERIES- First post was on Central Africa.    link here
PART 3-   link here

PART2- NORTH AFRICAN COOKING

North Africa, along the Mediterranean sea, with several nations, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Mauritiana and Egypt. This is a region marked by geographical, political, social,  economic and cultural diversity. The cuisine, the culinary style and art of North Africa are also as diverse as the land, its people and its history. The roots to North African cuisine can be traced back over 2000 years.

Over several centuries, many have influenced the cuisine of North Africa. The Phoenicians of the 1st century brought sausages, the Carthaginians introduced wheat and semolina. The Berbers, adapted this into Couscous, one of the main staple diet. 

Olive oil and olives were before the arrival of the Romans. The Arabs introduced spices. The Ottoman Turks brought sweet pastries and other bakery products, and from the New World, North Africa got potatoes, tomatoes , zucchini and chilies.

Most North African countries have several similar dishes, sometimes with a different name (the Moroccan Tangia and the Tunisian Coucha are essentially the same dish: a meat stew prepared in an urn and cooked overnight in a public oven).

Two completely different dishes may  share the same name (for example, a "Tajine" dish is a slow-cooked stew in Morocco, whereas the Tunisian "Tajine" is a baked omelet/ quiche -like dish).

There are noticeable differences between the cooking styles of different nations – there's the sophisticated, full-bodied flavors of Moroccan palace cookery, the fiery dishes of Tunisian cuisine, and the humbler, simpler cuisines of Egypt and Algeria.

MOROCCAN COFFEE OR HALF- HALF

THE FEEL OF MOROCCO.

Morocco is one country which I would very much like to visit, especially Marrakech and Casablanca, simply for its world class exotic culinary and its awesome Moorish architecture.

The scents of coriander, cumin, saffron, marjoram, and onion mingle with the pungency of olive oil and the sweetness of sandalwood, mint and roses, delighting the senses. 

A hostess in Morocco may take a week to prepare a suitable dinner for her honored guests. 

Sweet and peppery …….  Soft and violent.

The meal often consists of as many as fifty courses. For example, It would take a full day just to make Bstilla- a crisp pastry, rolled as thin as tissue paper, filled with chicken in a mixture of "sweet and peppery, soft and violent."

As in most Arab lands, every Moroccan household makes its own bread from semolina flour. When the bread has been properly shaped, each family puts its own mark on it, before sending it to a common bakery oven.

PASTRIES IN MOROCCO

How a dinner is served in Morocco.

Lay the table-
A  low table with brocaded  table cloth is used for dining and  cushions are placed on the floor for seating. So, be comfortably dressed.  Guests  are provided with thick towels to cover their knees. 

Before serving the dinner, the host rep, will walk around the table with an attractive pitcher (possibly silver) filled with perfumed scented warm water. 

He has a Turkish towel over his left arm and a small basin in his left hand. He pours a little water over the fingers of each guest, catching the water in the small basin.

Serve the food-

Tiny kebabs are served first on small plates and removed once eaten. The Couscous is served in a large platter, placed at center table with side plates for guests to serve themselves.

The dinner starts with Bstilla, followed by kebab flavored with bits of beef or lamb fat. Next comes the Tajine, chicken or meat in a spicy stew which has been simmered for many hours, and it is served with a flat bread called Khubz.
Next, a Batinjaan- eggplant salad or chopped tomato salad- is served as a separate course. Then comes Couscous, that marvelous Moroccan national dish made of semolina, cooked to perfection, each grain well separated from each other.

Slices of melon or cantaloupe comes after the Couscous. Mint tea may be served at this time, or later, together with pastries of almond and honey, like the Middle Eastern Baklava. This dinner is a much simplified version.

In the end, the hostess pours water over the fingers of her guests. This is a mark of graciousness and hospitality. At the end of the meal, a tiny incense burner is lit up and put on the table.

RECIPE
PEASANT PANCAKES

In a 1-pint bowl: (yields 8 pieces)

Cut 4 BANANAS  into 1/2 inch slices.

Add 1/2 cup APRICOT LIQUEUR and marinate for 1/2 hour.

In a 1-quart bowl:

Place 1 cup PANCAKE MIX.

Drain the liquid from the above bananas  and add this liquid  to the batter mix and stir following package directions.

In a 9-inch skillet:

Heat 1/4 inch COOKING OIL.

Drop the mixture by tablespoonfuls (2 or 3 pieces of banana in each spoon) into the hot fat until golden brown on both sides.

TO PREPARE BREAD CRUMB MIXTURE.

Mix: 1/2 cup SOFT BREAD CRUMBS made by grating fresh bread

3 Tbs. MELTED BUTTER

4 Tbs. SUGAR

1 tsp. GROUND GINGER.

SERVING

Place 3 or 4 PEASANT PANCAKES on dessert plates.

Sprinkle 1 to 2 Tbs. CRUMB MIXTURE over the pancakes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccan_cuisine

http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Pancake
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Cookbook/Morocco.html        an other sources 

ALGERIA- Snow clad, Chelia Sommet, 'Shelia' Aures, KHENCHELA  

and desert Mt Tahat, Hoggar.

Shells from Mauritiana 
(Mautitius)

Port Said, Gulf Of Tunis,Tunisia