Friday Couscous

Couscous is not a grain but semolina rolled with water and flour into small pellets, and the Moroccan method is what separates it from the instant product sold abroad: it is steamed in the upper chamber of a couscoussier over the broth cooking below, turned out, raked, worked with water, oil and salt by hand and returned to the steam, three times, which is what gives the grain its lightness and takes the better part of a morning. Below it a broth of lamb, beef or chicken with seven vegetables - the number is traditional and varies - cooks and flavours the steam. It is served in one large dish and eaten together, traditionally by hand from your own segment of the mound. Friday is the day: the meal follows the midday prayer and is the family's fixed weekly gathering, which is why restaurants offer it on Fridays and rarely otherwise. UNESCO inscribed couscous in 2020 jointly for Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Mauritania.

What you actually see

• Three steamings - the grain worked by hand between each one, over most of a morning.
• Steam through the broth - the meat and vegetables below flavouring the grain above.
• One shared dish - eaten together, traditionally by hand from your own segment.
• A fixed weekly meal - after Friday prayers, which is why restaurants serve it then.

When to go

Friday lunchtime, all year. A long lunch.

Honest expectations

Restaurants outside Friday often serve a reheated or shortcut version. The instant couscous sold abroad is a different product. Portions are very large. Eating by hand takes practice and the right hand only.

Nearby

Every town in Morocco on a Friday; home invitations are the real thing.