Maghrebi mint tea or Tunisian mint tea is an green tea which is prepared with spearmint leaves and sugar. The best part of this tea is not its flavor but its essence. There are many stories regarding the origin of this tea but the story which is deemed to be true is the one which took place in the 19th century in Morocco. It is of a merchant who was British and he used to sell at those times a tea called the Gunpowder Tea.
Pastilla is very famous because it is a celebratory dish in Morocco and Algeria. It is served during weddings and also at family gatherings. The name of this pie comes from the spanish word “pastilla” which means “pastry” in Spanish. After a while the letter P was changed to B meaning that the name changed from Pastilla to Bastilla. Bastilla has the Arabic origin meaning this dish now also associates as an Arabic cuisine. This dish has many different variations.
Harira soup is one of the best soups in the North African region. It has a silky texture which is why it is called Harira because when translated it means “silk”. It is a very popular soup for the winter season and mostly it is used in the month of Ramadan. The people from Morocco believe that the Harira is from the Fez. There are many variations for this soup.
Baklava is one of the most popular desserts ever made in this world. It is basically pastry which is made by adding nuts, pistachios over the filo sheets which is then baked in the oven. This dessert goes way back to the times of the Ottoman Empire. There is a dish in the Turkish cuisine which resembles quite a lot with the Baklava and some say that it is the origin of Baklava. There are many countries which have their own versions of Baklava.
Couscous is an Maghrebi cuisine also known as a North African cuisine. It is a grain product made from semolina which is mixed with different spices and stew. It is a very old dish which goes back centuries. In the Arabic cookbooks of the 14th century there are many mentions of dishes like couscous. There are also many variations of couscous depending on the place where you are eating it.
Chorba or Shorba is an Arabic word which means soup or stew. It is a soup which is made by adding chicken to a base of tomatoes, onions, ginger and many other spices. It is said during the Ottoman Empire period this dish was invented by the people. It is also said that during the winter days a family which was very poor made this soup to keep them warm and also to keep their children warm.
Brik is an Tunisian pastry dish which is filled with tuna, vegetables and spices and then it is finally deep fried to give it an incredible crispy look. The main version of this dish which defines its true history is the one with tune and an egg yolk. This dish is said to be over 500 years old and many say that it was the Tunisian region which truly came up with this dish.
The specialty of this dish is that it is so easy to make and its outcome is even more tasty. It is loved in all of Tunisia and has a good place in its top cuisines. This dish was not much popular in the start but after some time it became increasingly well known to all the people. The food of Tunisia is inspired by the Mediterranean countries alongside this it is also famous for its spices.
Shakshouka is an Arabic word which means “mixture”. It is one of the best dishes of all the African cuisines. This dish consists of eggs which are poached in a tomato sauce underneath it. It is not only served as a breakfast rather it is also served as lunch and dinner. It is said that this dish came into existence in the regions of Tunisia and Yemen. After people living in the North of Africa migrated to Israel, this dish became Israel’s national dish.
This cuisine is at the very top of the entire African cuisines and is loved by everyone. It is basically a pie like dish which consists of chicken which is cooked firstly with spices and then is added to a batter of egg and cheese and baked in the end. Tajines history goes way back to the 9th century as it was written in a folktale collection book called One Thousand and One Nights. It was made on a wooden pot through which it got its name and went on generation to generation. It is considered to be the national dish of Tunisia , Algeria and Morocco and it lives up to the recognition it gets.
