Friday Couscous in Morocco: The Tradition, a Vegan Recipe and Our Marrakech Class

If you are in Morocco on a Friday, you will smell it before you see it: steam rising from a couscoussier, vegetables simmering with saffron, ginger and cinnamon, and onions slowly turning sweet. Friday couscous is the most important family meal of the Moroccan week. We are Dounia and Hassane, a Marrakech family who cook 100% plant-based Moroccan food, and on Fridays we open our kitchen for one class only: our Friday Vegan Couscous Cooking Class in Marrakech.

Why do Moroccans eat couscous on Friday?

Friday (Jumu’a) is the holy day of the week in Morocco. Men go to the mosque for the midday prayer, and when they come home the whole family sits around one large plate of couscous. Everyone eats from their own side of the plate, and the best vegetables are pushed towards the guests.

Couscous takes time: the semolina is rolled, steamed, fluffed with the hands and steamed again, two or three times, over a pot of simmering vegetables. That is why it became the dish of the day when the family is together. Many households cook extra and send a plate to neighbours or people in need. In 2020 UNESCO added the knowledge and traditions of couscous, shared by Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Mauritania, to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The two classic Friday couscous styles

• Seven-vegetable couscous (couscous bi sebaa khodra): carrots, courgettes, pumpkin, turnips, cabbage, aubergine or sweet potato, with chickpeas. The number seven is said to bring good luck.
• Couscous with tfaya: topped with onions and raisins cooked slowly with cinnamon until sweet and golden. Ours combines both.

Is couscous vegan in Morocco?

The grain itself is just durum wheat semolina, so it is vegan. The problem is how it is usually cooked. Before you order couscous in a restaurant or riad in Marrakesh, check these four things:

Useful phrases: in Darija “bla lham, bla zebda, bla smen, bla ‘assel” (no meat, no butter, no smen, no honey); in French “sans viande, sans bouillon de viande, sans beurre, sans miel”. For more dishes, read what vegans can eat in Marrakech.

Vegan seven-vegetable couscous: how we make it

This is the method we teach on Fridays, written for a home kitchen. It serves 4.

Ingredients

• 500 g medium couscous semolina, olive oil and salt
• 2 onions, 2 tomatoes, a small bunch of parsley and coriander
• Seven vegetables: carrots, courgettes, pumpkin, turnip, a wedge of cabbage, aubergine and sweet potato
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• Spices: ginger, turmeric, black pepper, a pinch of saffron and a cinnamon stick
• For the tfaya: 3 onions sliced, a handful of raisins, cinnamon, a little sugar and olive oil

Method

1. Start the broth. In the bottom of the couscoussier, soften onion and tomato in olive oil with the spices and herbs, add water and bring to a simmer. Add the hard vegetables first (carrot, turnip), then the softer ones later so nothing turns to mush.
2. Prepare the grains. Wet the couscous with salted water, rub in a spoon of olive oil and break up any lumps with your hands.
3. First steam. Put the couscous in the top basket and steam over the vegetable broth for about 15 minutes, from the moment steam comes through the grains.
4. Fluff and repeat. Tip the couscous into a wide dish, sprinkle with water, rub with oil and separate the grains. Steam a second time, and a third time if you want it very light.
5. Make the tfaya. Cook the sliced onions slowly in olive oil until soft, then add the soaked raisins, cinnamon and sugar and cook until golden and jammy.
6. Build the plate. Mound the couscous, make a well, arrange the vegetables and chickpeas on top, add tfaya and pour hot broth over just before serving.

Our Friday Vegan Couscous Cooking Class in Marrakech

Reading a recipe is one thing; rolling and steaming couscous with a Moroccan family is another. In our Friday Vegan Couscous Cooking Class you cook the full Friday meal with us in our home kitchen in Marrakech, then sit down and share it the Moroccan way.

• When: Fridays only. We keep Fridays for this class; our Full Moroccan Vegan Cooking Class (490 MAD per person) runs Saturday to Thursday.
• Price: 350 MAD per person. The booking form shows the total for your group, for example 700 MAD for 2 people or 1,400 MAD for 4.
• What you learn: preparing and steaming the semolina by hand, the seven-vegetable broth and spices, and slow-cooked tfaya.
• 100% vegan: no meat stock, butter, smen or honey. Tell us about allergies or other dietary needs in the booking form.
• Hosts: Dounia and Hassane, the family behind Marrakech Vegan Breakfast.

How to book

1. Open the cooking experiences section on our homepage and press Book This Experience on the Friday class.
2. Choose a Friday, the number of participants and add any special requests.
3. Check the summary and total, then confirm. We reply on WhatsApp to confirm the time and directions.

Eating couscous in Marrakech on a Friday

Many Moroccan restaurants and riads in the Medina put couscous on the menu on Fridays, usually from lunchtime, and some only cook it on Fridays. It is rarely vegan as served, so use the checklist above and ask before you order. For restaurants with clearly vegan dishes, see our guide to where to eat vegan in Marrakech.

Not cooking this Friday? You can order our Vegetable Couscous for 2 (270 MAD) with chickpeas, raisins and caramelised onions, delivered to your riad or hotel. Delivery is 45 MAD in the Medina and Gueliz and 100–150 MAD elsewhere in Marrakech. See it on our menu or read about vegan lunch in Marrakech.

Keep reading

• Vegan cooking class in Marrakech with a local family
• What can vegans eat in Marrakech? Moroccan dishes explained
• Vegan in Morocco: a practical guide for travellers
• Where to eat vegan in Marrakech: a local guide
• Vegan lunch in Marrakech: light plant-based lunch and delivery
• Vegan street food in Marrakech: what to try and what to check

Frequently asked questions