Morocco Geography, Culture, and Cuisine Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the geography, cultural terms, and traditional culinary items of Morocco based on lecture notes.

Maghreb

The region of North Africa that includes Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

Rabat

The capital city of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Casablanca

The largest city in Morocco.

Atlas Mountains

A mountain range running through the middle of Morocco where winter temperatures can drop below $32\,^{\circ}\text{F}$.

Rif Mountains

A mountain range running along the northern coast of Morocco.

Amazigh

The standardized version of Berber languages and an official language of Morocco alongside Classical Arabic.

Khobz

A traditional round leavened bread, similar to pita, eaten as a staple food in Morocco.

Ras el hanout

A famous Moroccan spice mixture containing a blend of more than a dozen spices.

Couscous

A staple North African delicacy made of granules of crushed durum wheat semolina, cooked by steaming.

Couscoussier

A specialized steamer pot (known as Kiskas in Arabic or Taseksut in Berber) used to cook couscous.

Bastilla

An elaborate Moroccan pie combining sweet and savory flavors, traditionally filled with squab or chicken, egg mixture, and toasted almonds inside Werqa dough.

Werqa

A thin, crisp, crepe-like dough (thinner than phyllo dough) used to form the shell of Bastilla.

Tajine

A Maghrebi slow-cooked stew named after the earthenware pot with a flat base and a cone- or dome-shaped lid in which it is prepared.

Harira

A traditional Maghreb soup containing meat, lentils, chickpeas, and tomato, most commonly served during Ramadan.

Tadouira

A thickening mixture made of flour, water, and a beaten egg used in the preparation of Harira soup.