Presenting Moroccan Bastilla

When I travel, it's not always about climbing the highest mountain or taking a photo by the iconic landmarks.  For me, traveling is about indulging every single one of my five senses in the culture, the environment, and most importantly, the food.  To me, the food is a reflection of a culture's creativity, resourcefulness, history, and tradition.  Great recipes sometimes develop by accident, but sometimes they're created as a result of a fortuitous meeting between different peoples with different traditions.  Sometimes out of the clash something absolutely magical emerges.  While the kings, revolutionaries, military generals, and other leaders argue about who gets what territory, the townsfolk are chowing down on a new hybrid concoction of ingredients that restores sanity in the moment of strife.  I truly believe food is that powerful.

Now, just recently, I had the  fortune of eating an absolutely marvelous Moroccan dish called bastilla.  Before I was to set foot in Morocco, I had written down a list of must-eat Moroccan dishes and bastilla was in my top 5--yes, I had well over 10 things that I had to devour before leaving.  I arrived in Meknes after a short stay in Chefchaouen and on December 31st before the end of 2011, I saw, met, and most definitely enjoyed a moment of transcendence as I slowly crunched and gave every bite of the long-awaited bastilla the 40 thorough chews that it deserved.  It's a perfect combination of sweet and salty, moist and well-seasoned chicken with sweet and crunchy almonds, with other complementary spices giving it even more flavor, and finally wrapped in a thin crispy exterior.

Moroccan Bastilla

Another foodie Christine Benlafquih in About.com, goes on to describe it as such: "A light, crispy warqa pastry shell conceals savory saffron chicken, spicy omelet stuffing, and crunchy topping of fried almonds sweetened and flavored with orange flower water. A garnish of powdered sugar and cinnamon adds to the fabulous blend of flavors."  You may ask what the heck is warqa? CliffordAWright.com explains:

The pie is surrounded by a very thin pastry leaf called warqa (which means "leaf"[also paper]), the top of which is sprinkled with powdered sugar and a lattice-work of ground cinnamon. Warqa pastry begins as a spongy dough that is tapped or slapped against a hot convex sheet of pounded metal, a kind of pan called a tubsil set over a hot charcoal brazier, in a series of overlapping concentric circles to form a large film of pastry. This collection of leaves, now forming a whole thin sheet, is carefully but quickly peeled off the metal and set side.

So how did this amazing dish come about?  According to CliffordAWright, the etymology of the dish's name may have several different origins.  When I first heard bastilla on a trip in Morocco's shamal (north), I thought it was referring to the Spanish word pasteles or pastries.  It could very well be that the dish, like many words that are part of the Spanish language and Moroccan Arabic dialect, is a product of a blend of several cultures, which co-existed together sharing their culinary know-how.   There's also a possibility that a similar sounding word was in use in Berber dialects for their chicken with saffron combos.

The history books tell us that the dish or some derivative of it was eaten by both the rulers of the Berber dynasties and even Spain's King Phillip II.   The dish somehow disappeared from the Spanish diet perhaps due to the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula, but the Hispano-Jew and Hispano-Muslims who crossed over the strait or went further into the Mediterranean took the recipes with them and adapted the dish to the available ingredients in their new homes.  Since historically it was a dish for royalty, even in contemporary Morocco the dish has kept its luster as it is generally served only during special occasions.  The dish emerged in some shape or form in other parts of the Mediterranean even as far as Turkey as noted by another culinary anthropologist Claudia Roden who munched on pasteles made by some Turkish Jews.

I like to think that as empires, dynasties, and nations quarreled about the politics, taxes, and territorial boundaries, Berber Muslims, Jews, and Christians were probably enjoying a nice plate of bastilla.   CliffordAWright goes on to say, "Contemporary Moroccan cuisine is essentially an Arab and Hispano-Muslim cuisine set upon the foundation of an older and simpler Berber sustenance diet, with outside influences from sub-Saharan West Africa and colonial-era France." Seems like the best tasting things in life come about when people meet and share recipes.

As such, if you're reading this blog, it's just as if we had stumbled upon one another.  I've been fortunate to have had Moroccan bastilla in the region where it was born, but there's no reason, wherever you may be, why you can't munch on this delicious cultural mélange and its wholesome goodness.  Good luck, safe travels, and enjoy!

Is Your RPCV Exhibiting Errant Conversations Syndrome?

Just recently, Peace Corps released the latest in a string of public service announcements (PSAs) commemorating the agency's 50 years of service to the United States and many parts of the world.  One PSA in particular captured my attention because it did an excellent job of portraying the random anecdotes I've been sharing with friends and family when I come across something that reminds me of my time in Morocco.

When greeting people for instance, I've been shaking people's hand as you customarily do here in the States, but now I proceed, as I did in Morocco, to place my right hand near to my heart to show my respect or to express how dear that person or that encounter is to me.  In Morocco, it was second nature to follow the handshake with a tap to one's heart, and despite being back home with old friends and in a completely different setting, my body almost involuntarily follows the same process.  Sometimes I catch myself in the act or others point it out, and explaining the gesture is often a topic of an errant conversation.

As far as language, I miss speaking darija.  The Moroccan Arabic dialect was fun to speak.  Phonetically speaking, it was a challenge to sound off the "ع" (aain) or "غ" (ghain) or the back of the throat "ق" (qa) or even the emphatic D, T, or to differentiate between the airy "ه" (similar to the 'h' for hello) or the raspy "ح" (similar to the sound you make to check if your breath smells).  During the first few months of service, combining some of these sounds seemed impossible, but after some time my tongue somehow came to accords with the sounds my ear was finally able to recognize and distinguish and slowly began to mimic them 'to the t'.

Even more challenging was understanding the hidden or indirect messages in Moroccan speech.  During training we were told that Moroccans used a ton of what our cultural and language facilitators called "God phrases" as part of their everyday language.  So instead of saying goodbye, they would say llah y3nk (God help you).  To thank someone for a good deed or to ask for a favor, they could say 3afak (the equivalent of please), but in most cases they would say llah yrHm l-walidin (God bless your parents) and my all-time favorite, preceding or following any statement calling for or mentioning any future action, insh'allah (God willing).

When I first arrived in site all 'gun ho' about starting a new project and building community support for it, I spoke to a number of people and tried to persuade them to join me in addressing some of the expressed needs of the community, but towards the end of our meetings, a large number of people would simply finish off our conversations with an insh'allah.  While it is true that we do not know what will happen tomorrow and we have little control over the future, being told that it was all up to God's will seemed a little fatalistic to me.  Later on though, I learned that the use of insh'allah was not only a way to show respect to the all-knowing God, but it was also used to say 'no' without offending the other person or to express that something is unlikely to happen.

Later on when people recognized that my speaking abilities had improved and I had demonstrated some fundraising capacity, some of the same people that had inshalla-ed me before began proposing their project ideas to me.  Unfortunately, by then I had already made commitments to other groups and had enough work for the rest of service, so without offending them, I respectfully inshalla-ed them back.

Back in the states, some people have proposed going to such and such an event or organizing something, and I've involuntarily blurted out insh'allah and I'm not doing it out of respect to God (although I respect It greatly), but mainly because the event or the activity does not appeal to me.  Sometimes I catch myself and sometimes others catch me saying it and wonder what the heck came out of my mouth, but then I explain that I do not know if I can or will be able to because it truly is up to God.  I say that I can't rule it out, but that I'd rather defer to God because no one really knows what the future may bring.  Unfortunately, this answer does not fly with most of my friends who still interpret this answer as some sort of newfound religious piety--not at all consistent with my beliefs and lifestyle--and not as a cordial way to say 'I am really not that interested'.  Then again, most U.S. Americans prefer directness, which is a cultural aspect that I've had to get readjusted to and that is often another subject of an errant conversation.

See the minute-long PSA titled "Conversations" below:    



Errant Conversation Syndrome (ECS) is common among all RPCVs.  Most exhibit symptoms throughout their lifetime.  They speak about their projects, language challenges, cultural differences, past bowel movements, pros and cons of Peace Corps, and a host of other service-related experiences.  At this time, there is no known "cure" (nor should there be) for this phenomenon, but I hear that active listening and a non-judgmental attitude are always welcomed.  And who knows? You may learn a thing or two from all these random pieces of information.  Thanks for reading.

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If you'd like to learn more darija, please visit the Friends of Morocco page on Learning Moroccan Arabic. I've also selected a few books on one of the recommended book widgets.  BssHa to your learning!

To watch other Peace Corps PSAs, please visit: http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.psa

You Can Dream. Stories of Moroccan Women Who Do.

A fellow RPCV produced an amazing video of six remarkable Moroccan women who have overcome all sorts of odds to succeed and to share their knowledge with other women. One of the women profiled is my counterpart, Amina Yabis, President of the the Cherry Buttons Cooperative. Her story and that of all the other women are truly inspiring. They exemplify grassroots development at its very core. Please share with friends and family and spread the word that women's empowerment, as Amartya Sen would likely say, is one of the many if not the most effective tool for alleviating poverty for women and their children, reducing infant mortality, reducing the number of births, improving the health of women and their children, and creating more accountable and representative governments around the world.


You Can Dream. Stories of Moroccan Women Who Do from cortney healy on Vimeo.

For more stories on Women in the Muslim World, please visit: http://womensvoicesnow.org/

Rials, Francs, and Dirhams...And Everyday Drama at the Souq

During our language lessons in my Community Based Training(CBT), I remember thinking how it would be unlikely that I would have to use numbers past a hundred at least for a short while. Going to the souq (outdoor market) during CBT was a wake-up call because no one there used dirham, the name of the national currency.  I was still trying to memorize the names of the veggies and fruits I wanted to buy. I still did not have a grasp of how things were priced or even why or how vendors would compute rials or francs to give prices.

Moroccan money

Rial and francs are simply the names of the currencies Morocco has had over the last 100 years. According to the authoritative Wikipedia, the rial was the name of their currency from 1882-1921.  Later on, the rial was converted to Spanish pesetas in Spanish Morocco and the Moroccan French Protectorate area adopted the franc. Once Morocco gained its independence, they changed the currency name to dirham. However, the name change did little to change years of history as people were already used to pricing everything in rials and francs. So for foreigners, the challenge is to refresh our mental arithmetic to be able to figure out how much anything costs and not get hosed in the process.

At Ain Leuh Souq

Rials are very popular at the souq and I´ve heard francs being used when buying appliances, negotiating rent, and other high ticket items. So for example, produce like onions, tomatoes, and potatoes, was yelled out in rials: tlatin(30) rial, sttin(60) rial, and tmnin(80) rial, and then for some of the expensive veggies like avocados, tlata miya u tmnin(380) ryals. My initial reaction to these large numbers was a “what the…@#&%!” Am I hearing this right? 30, 60, 80, and 380.  Can't be!  And thinking that I won't be able to buy much of anything with my Peace Corps allowance.  Thankfully, the mul xodra, vegetable vendors or literally masters of veggies, call out the prices of their entire produce line continuously.  The second time around I heard rials,  which was a relief, but now I had to figure out what all those numbers were in dirhams.

Fortunately, our Moroccan Arabic textbook has a graph with detailed instructions breaking down the rial, franc, and dirham confusion. Here’s how it goes:

Rial, franc, & dirham breakdown

Basically, one way to remember it all is that a dirham is the equivalent of 20 rial and 100 francs.  After a while you get used to hearing the rial prices at the souq, but sometimes you have to do some quick thinking when negotiating for a meal at a restaurant.  The other day I was at the Essaouira fish market looking to buy a plate a seafood.  Essentially, you go up to the fish stand--fish still wiggling and flopping around and crabs still snapping in defensive retreat--select what you want, and then haggle a price with the vendor.

At Essaouira a ready-to-grill fresh fish stand 

As you can imagine, I am no match for a professional haggler who knows the cost of his product and knows his rials and francs frontwards and backwards, but a measured pause can actually work to one's favor; that is, if you don't do your arithmetic out loud or use your fingers to calculate it all.  On the photo, you can see me staring off in the distance trying to compute the price.  The vendor, chilled out as ever, gives me the classic yawn as he awaits my counter offer.   

I still have those about-face reactions when people decide to use francs. The other day I went to buy a foldable clothes hanger for indoor air drying (great for the wet winters), and the gentlemen told me "ashreen alf"(20,000). I responded with a somewhat critical and surprised tone, "SHNU! Ash qulti?" (What! What did you say?). To which he responded, Iyeh! ashreen alf wlla rb3 alf rial (Yeah! 20,000 or 4,000 rial). After hearing the rial, I then proceeded to do some quick calculations without staring out yonder. Luckily, the round numbers were easy to calculate. So the item was actually only 200 Dirham, about $25. A bit steep, but not an overblown price. So I responded in typical Moroccan fashion, "Hadak gali bzzf, gali 3lya, nqsh swiya a3fk" (That is very expensive, expensive for me, lower it a bit please). I was ready to compute the new prices. I was ready to divide by a 100 or by 20, but it never happened as the gentleman stuck to his price and told me, “hada tamn mzyan, jouda mumtaza, u safi” (This is good price, excellent quality, and that’s that). It was a disappointing bargaining attempt, but nevertheless a learning experience.

Bargaining can be a lot of fun. When I step back to watch Moroccans do it, it’s like watching a mini-drama escalate to a climax that ends in either a deal accompanied with a handshake and a couple of God phrases like llah yxlf and/or llah yrHmu walidinik (God replenish you and God bless your parents) or a solemn goodbye followed with still a number of God phrases like, llah ya3wnk and/or llah yfdk (God help you and God protect you).

Fruit stand at Sefrou souq

It all starts with a question that is sometimes accompanied with a serious look as you try to discern the price and try not to give the seller any nonverbal clues that would reveal your interest in the product. The price is given. The buyer looks surprised, eyebrows go up, eyes open wide, and the jaw drops. The seller is sometimes indifferent or sometimes fires back with a few statements to prop up his goods. The buyer counters with his opinion of the product or shoots down the assertions of the seller with arms flapping and sometimes a little saliva flying out from all the hard Xs, breathy Hs, and the gargled Ghr sounds in their speech. The arguments cease and the buyer or seller offers price alternatives. The alternatives open up another round of arguments with sometimes some white lies about competitor prices, sulking looks from the buyer, and the occasional silent treatment to see who will give-in first. Then finally, ultimatums are given. The buyer pleads and the seller reasserts. Sometimes the buyer caves in and other times the buyer throws his final bluff, the slow walkout, hoping the seller will finally agree. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. For some ladies, that’s the drill just for buying a few of kilos of tomatoes.

Price haggling is certainly a skill worth mastering. In most cases, my Moroccan appearance automatically gives me the regular Moroccan price, but that doesn't mean I can’t bargain that price down. I just start lower than many of my fellow volunteers. It’s comforting and nostalgic to go to a supermarket where all the prices are labeled, but it is definitely not as exciting. I like to see some drama from time to time even if it’s just about a few kilos of tomatoes and a few dirhams.

The Slurrrrrp

Medina Harira

I remember the day when I was handed my first bowl of harira, a dish that ranks up there as one of my all-time favorite Moroccan dishes. It´s a chunky tomato-base soup with chickpeas, lentils, onions, parsley, some vermicelli  and sometimes with a bit of meat.  I proceeded as I normally do with my soups to dab the bread and to munch on the dunked portion. I went about it without a care in the world completely immersed in the smells and the warmth of the soup. I was focused on my bowl, my bread, and devouring it all. As my tunnel vision began to dissipate with every bite, I remembered that others were at the table with me. I looked up from my bowl and saw my host family staring at me. I carried on with my bread dabbing, but much slower this time. As I placed the doused bread in my mouth again and savored the bite, everyone began to laugh. I laughed along with them and then tried to tell them in my limited Arabic how delicious the bread dunking really was.

My host father then proceeded to show me his way of eating the soup which involved grabbing the small bowl from the bottom, swirling the soup around in a gentle circular hand motion, and then to avoid the burn sssslurrrrping it with authority. I saw the rest of my family do the same so I decided to give it a go. My first initial slurps were painful lessons that quickly taught me to create the great vacuum that would enable me to slurp the scolding hot soup without having my lips, tongue, and throat suffer 3^rd degree burns.

Moroccan mint tea aka Le Whisky Marocain

Although I have burnt the roof of my mouth and tongue on occasion, it has not deterred my will to master the slurp. The slurp is not only used for soups; it is also commonly heard in many cafes where hot sugary mint tea and coffee are served. Often, when several teapots are delivered at the same time, you can hear for a very brief moment a symphony of slurps. There is the full, open, and loud slurp that is usually followed by a deep sigh of contentment, and the shallow, less overt slurp that is usually accompanied by a measured sip and a comparable sigh. I have also noticed that some simply seem to enjoy slurping and engage in what other Moroccans regard as long somewhat overdrawn slurps. My host father from my home-stay would probably fall in that category. Every here and then, we would compete to see who could generate the most volume and who could drag it out the longest.

Not everyone in Morocco slurps and I have encountered some Moroccans that dunk their bread like I do. I continue to dunk my bread, but I have also added the slurp into my eating and drinking repertoire. It feels good to slurp and to have Moroccans offer a bssha or “To your health” as I do so. If you haven’t slurped loudly and freely in a while or ever, I invite you to do so. Forget the spoon, grab the bowl or mug, swirl it around a bit, and then slurp like there is no one but you and your soup, tea, coffee, or whatever it may be. If you get some strange stares, tell them that this is how they do it in Morocco.