Mouhandiz
23-09-2010, 12:27
Members of the Amazighi community in Morocco have taken action to ensure that knowledge of their regional cuisine is passed on to successive generations. Many activists had expressed concern that the traditional meals cooked up for Ramadan and other important holidays were being forgotten.
"These traditions are starting to be lost. In general, they are recipes that take a lot of time to follow – at least to make these dishes on a low heat. This means that the materials used are often natural materials that are becoming increasingly difficult to find, especially in cities, and it has become a luxury to be able to taste these dishes," said Yasmine Elbaz, author of an Amazigh cookbook published jointly with the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture.
Jalaoui Abdellah, an Amazigh activist, stressed that a distinction should be made between the Amazigh who live in larger towns and those living in small villages and the mountains. He said that the latter still observe Amazigh culinary traditions. As for the city-dwellers, "they do their best to keep them alive, even if it's expensive for them. They do this in particular for festivals," he said.
During the month of Ramadan, for example, Amazigh residents of the region of Ait Souab, in the south of Morocco a few miles from Agadir, observe unique culinary traditions. Ms Elbaz told Magharebia about a few dishes and culinary traditions that are given an airing during festivals.
These include imstern, which refers to any item stored up for holidays or special occasions – not just food that is preserved, but also clothes, jewellery or shoes. As for food items, these usually include amlou (crushed almonds to which argan oil is added), oudi (thyme butter), tament (honey) or items that are made and kept for the winter, such as dried carrots or dried meat.
On the day of the festival, Ms Elbaz told said, timkiline (a dish comprising oudi, amlou and tament) is served with barley bread (aghroum ntmzine), figs (tazart) and dates (tiyni). Tajine (stew) is served immediately afterwards.
In addition to these traditional foods, Elbaz noted that Berbers have created a wide variety of bread baked in kilns or earthenware dishes.
"All kinds of bread are made using barley flour. There is only one way of making bread, but several ways of baking it, so there are several varieties of bread. Everyday bread, or aghroume n’tmzine, is a kind of barley bread. The bread that is made during Ramadan is called arroume oufloune."
She offered a few recipe suggestions for oudi, amlou and tazart, listed below.
Oudi (thyme butter)
•1kg of butter
•Pinch of salt
•Sprig of thyme
•1 tablespoonful of barley flour
Melt the butter with a pinch of salt and the thyme, allow it to boil, then take it off the heat and pour it through a sieve to remove the small thyme leaves. Then put it on a low heat and add a tablespoonful of flour. On a medium heat, stir until the butter boils a second time and pour it into a bowl, taking care not to pour out the butter at the very bottom of the saucepan. Then leave the bowl to cool so that the contents can solidify.
Oudi can be served with several dishes. It can be eaten solid or liquid (simply warm over very low heat).
The butter is made for storage as imstern in March, when cows produce the most milk.
Amlou (crushed almonds)
•2kg of almonds
•1 teaspoonful of argan oil
•Pinch of salt
•Pinch of cumin
Put the almonds in an earthenware dish (affloune), roast them, then put them in a tray and cover with a clean cloth so that they can be left to cool.
Place the almonds in a sieve, and using a clean cloth, make circular movements while pressing gently on the almonds so that the skins come off. Then pour a handful of almonds into a mortar, add the salt, cumin and argan oil, and then stir until a coulis is formed.
Amlou is eaten on its own or mixed with honey.
Tazart taloulaght (soft purple figs) and tazart iquorn (hard purple figs)
For everyday consumption, store the figs in a basket called a tazgawt. To keep them soft for a longer period, store them in terracotta jars with lids. This type of jar is called a zirre.
To keep them as an imstern, and so that the pot can be hermetically sealed, smear the edge of the lid with a paste made by mixing water and flour.
To keep them soft all year round, pick them from the tree when they are very ripe, put them in a dry place and cover them with a transparent, fine and light material for a few days. Then transfer them to a jar.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/09/13/feature-02
"These traditions are starting to be lost. In general, they are recipes that take a lot of time to follow – at least to make these dishes on a low heat. This means that the materials used are often natural materials that are becoming increasingly difficult to find, especially in cities, and it has become a luxury to be able to taste these dishes," said Yasmine Elbaz, author of an Amazigh cookbook published jointly with the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture.
Jalaoui Abdellah, an Amazigh activist, stressed that a distinction should be made between the Amazigh who live in larger towns and those living in small villages and the mountains. He said that the latter still observe Amazigh culinary traditions. As for the city-dwellers, "they do their best to keep them alive, even if it's expensive for them. They do this in particular for festivals," he said.
During the month of Ramadan, for example, Amazigh residents of the region of Ait Souab, in the south of Morocco a few miles from Agadir, observe unique culinary traditions. Ms Elbaz told Magharebia about a few dishes and culinary traditions that are given an airing during festivals.
These include imstern, which refers to any item stored up for holidays or special occasions – not just food that is preserved, but also clothes, jewellery or shoes. As for food items, these usually include amlou (crushed almonds to which argan oil is added), oudi (thyme butter), tament (honey) or items that are made and kept for the winter, such as dried carrots or dried meat.
On the day of the festival, Ms Elbaz told said, timkiline (a dish comprising oudi, amlou and tament) is served with barley bread (aghroum ntmzine), figs (tazart) and dates (tiyni). Tajine (stew) is served immediately afterwards.
In addition to these traditional foods, Elbaz noted that Berbers have created a wide variety of bread baked in kilns or earthenware dishes.
"All kinds of bread are made using barley flour. There is only one way of making bread, but several ways of baking it, so there are several varieties of bread. Everyday bread, or aghroume n’tmzine, is a kind of barley bread. The bread that is made during Ramadan is called arroume oufloune."
She offered a few recipe suggestions for oudi, amlou and tazart, listed below.
Oudi (thyme butter)
•1kg of butter
•Pinch of salt
•Sprig of thyme
•1 tablespoonful of barley flour
Melt the butter with a pinch of salt and the thyme, allow it to boil, then take it off the heat and pour it through a sieve to remove the small thyme leaves. Then put it on a low heat and add a tablespoonful of flour. On a medium heat, stir until the butter boils a second time and pour it into a bowl, taking care not to pour out the butter at the very bottom of the saucepan. Then leave the bowl to cool so that the contents can solidify.
Oudi can be served with several dishes. It can be eaten solid or liquid (simply warm over very low heat).
The butter is made for storage as imstern in March, when cows produce the most milk.
Amlou (crushed almonds)
•2kg of almonds
•1 teaspoonful of argan oil
•Pinch of salt
•Pinch of cumin
Put the almonds in an earthenware dish (affloune), roast them, then put them in a tray and cover with a clean cloth so that they can be left to cool.
Place the almonds in a sieve, and using a clean cloth, make circular movements while pressing gently on the almonds so that the skins come off. Then pour a handful of almonds into a mortar, add the salt, cumin and argan oil, and then stir until a coulis is formed.
Amlou is eaten on its own or mixed with honey.
Tazart taloulaght (soft purple figs) and tazart iquorn (hard purple figs)
For everyday consumption, store the figs in a basket called a tazgawt. To keep them soft for a longer period, store them in terracotta jars with lids. This type of jar is called a zirre.
To keep them as an imstern, and so that the pot can be hermetically sealed, smear the edge of the lid with a paste made by mixing water and flour.
To keep them soft all year round, pick them from the tree when they are very ripe, put them in a dry place and cover them with a transparent, fine and light material for a few days. Then transfer them to a jar.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/09/13/feature-02