Hosting the Moroccan way
The tea tray, the table for guests, Ramadan evenings and Eid morning: what to keep in the house and how to set it out.
A Moroccan home is judged by how it receives. None of it needs to be expensive: a tray that is ready, something sweet in the cupboard, and room for one more person.
In short
- Keep a tea tray ready: teapot, glasses, sugar, tea, and mint in the fridge or on the balcony.
- Fill tea glasses two thirds, so guests can hold them by the rim.
- For a meal, one large dish in the middle and bread for everyone is the tradition, and it means less washing up.
- Before guests arrive: air the room, burn a little incense, and put orange blossom water by the door.
The tea tray
- Tray (siniya)
- Round, flat or on small feet. 35 to 45 cm across is enough for a teapot and six glasses.
- Teapot (berrad)
- One made to go on the flame. A teapot of about 1 litre serves six glasses.
- Glasses (kissan)
- Small, about 12 cl. Plain for every day, decorated for guests. Buy twelve: they break.
- Three boxes
- For tea, sugar and mint: the old sets have all three. Two jars do the job.
- Tea
- Chinese gunpowder green tea, kept in a closed tin.
- Sugar
- A sugar loaf broken into pieces, or lumps. Make the tea less sweet and offer sugar on the side.
Receiving guests
- Welcome guests at the door and seat them in the best places, away from the door.
- Offer water first, then tea with something sweet or salted: pastries, dates, nuts, or simply good bread, olive oil and honey.
- Pour the first glass back into the pot once or twice to mix the tea, then serve from high up to make a light foam.
- Refill a glass before it is empty. Three glasses is the custom; no one counts.
- For a meal, bring a basin and a jug of water, or show the way to wash hands, before and after.
- When guests leave, a few pastries wrapped to take home is a habit worth keeping.
The table
- The low round table and the benches of the salon, or your dining table: both are right.
- One large dish in the centre; each person eats from the part in front of them. Put small salads around it.
- Bread is cut and shared around the table before the dish arrives.
- A tablecloth that can be washed hot, and a plastic sheet under it on the low table, save the rug.
- Small plates and forks for those who prefer them, without comment.
- Fruit in season ends the meal. Tea comes after, in the salon.
Ramadan evenings
- Set the table before sunset: dates, water, milk, harira, boiled eggs with cumin, chebakia, sellou, small breads and pancakes.
- Prepare ahead and freeze: briouates, msemen, the base of the harira. The month is long.
- Keep the prayer times of your city at hand: they are on the Today page.
- Lanterns, a string of lights on the balcony and a calendar for the children make the month visible in a country where the street does not change.
- Invite neighbours and colleagues at least once. An evening at your table explains Ramadan better than any speech.
Eid and family days
- Eid morning: best clothes, pastries on the table before the prayer, msemen or baghrir after.
- Call the family in Morocco early: lines and apps are busy by late morning there.
- Keep small envelopes or coins ready for the children.
- For a birth, a return from pilgrimage or an engagement: tea, milk with dates and a tray of pastries are the base. Everything else is extra.
Mistakes to avoid
- Glasses filled to the top: no one can lift them.
- Keeping the best tray for great occasions. Use it.
- A table so decorated that there is no room for the dish.
- So much food that you have no time to sit with your guests.