So when I decided to spend this year's vacation in Morocco, I had to check out the relevant episodes in my favorite travel and food-related shows. I had already seen the two Morocco episodes in Season 1 of A Cook's Tour, but Bourdain being a finicky eater and a stickler for authenticity, had recognized that the best Moroccan food is to be found in homes and restricted himself to family-owned Riads apart from the whole roasted goat with Berber nomads in the desert. Both these experiences were beyond reach for me, so I turned to other shows and downloaded the Globe Trekker episode where Ian Wright travels to Morocco. And then later, I found an episode of Bizarre foods where Andrew Zimmern goes to Morocco in search of exotic eats. In both these shows, there was one and only one common venue. And this one made it look like Bourdain had a bad day in the office as far as the Morocco episode was concerned. How could he have missed this one? It was so obvious!
So, when I finally landed in Casablanca, I coudn't wait to get to Marrakech, where I knew something special was waiting for me. After two days full of trip planning and mint tea, we reached Marrakech on a Monday evening. After checking into a Riad, I wasted no time in getting directions from our host and walked straight to it. Delight, temptation and intimidation were just some of the feelings I experienced at first sight. This would definitely be a memorable evening.
Place Dejmaa-El-Fna is a large open square in the heart of Marrakech, just inside the walls of its ancient medina. It's about one square kilometre in area and has been described as the largest banquet in the world. During the day it is mostly occupied by Orange Juice stalls, hawkers selling trinkets, snake-charmers and street-performers. During the evening, most of these make way for several hundred food stalls and locals and tourists alike flock to it every night.
Having seen the place on TV, I knew a bit about what was on offer here. Not that it would help me in any way. As soon as I entered the maze of food-stalls, I felt completely lost. And the persistent touts at every stall didn't help either. The guy in the red coat at stall no. 15 proved the most difficult. I really didnt want to make a choice this soon with so much on offer. Moreover, this was a regular restaurant stall and I wanted to try the specialities first. So we got out of eating there by promising that we'd come back after checking the other stuff out.
We started with the Orange Juice stalls, of which there were about ten at one end of the square. I had never given orange juice much thought until I had a glass of it at Djemaa El-Fna. The oranges were some of the biggest I'd ever seen and they were bright orange, even on the inside. And the juice was so good, it made us come back for more. Lonely Planet calls the Orange Juice at Djemaa El-Fna the best in the world and I have to say I agree.
The orange juice stalls have the snail soup stalls for neighbours, so thats where I trained my guns next. Five dirhams for a bowl was a good bargain, but getting those little bastards out of their shells was tough. In the end, I chucked the toothpick and used my hands instead...:) The snails were good but the best part was the broth remaining at the end of it. Now, I had a nice little video of me devouring those snails but it got lost on its way here. So much for the first ever video on http://hungrykya.blogspot.com. Such is life...:(
The Orange Juice stalls and the Snail Soup stalls form a T with the Goat Head stalls!! I had seen this one in the Bizarre Foods episode and 15 Dirhams for a quarter of a head was an absolute bargain. The heads are kept in a stew inside a gigantic pot and after taking your order, the guy at the stall pulls one out, chops it into four, shaves the meat and cartilage off a quarter and serves it to you with a piece of bread soaked in the stew. There's also a plate of slat-pepper-spice mix at the stall, which you can use for seasoning. This was definitely the piece-de-resistance at the Djemaa. Have a look!!
After the goat's head, we kept our promise and ate at stall no. 15 which was one of the regular restaurant stalls. More than the food, it was the entertainment provided by the guy in the red coat, which was the highlight here. Not a single tourist could pass the vicinity of the stall without being accosted by our man and he did manage to lure quite a few. But the place did make good Brochettes and a mean Couscous.
I was completely stuffed when I walked out of the square after eating so much but I knew I had barely scratched the surface here. So it was no surprise when we went back the next night. This time, I went to the Goat Head stall and ordered the brain. This is done a little differently. The brains are lying on the mise-en-place at the stall and the chef takes one and drops it in the stew. After a couple of minutes, he takes it out, chops it into four pieces, and serves it with a bit of the goat's head and the stew-soaked bread. Sinful!!
Harira is the staple soup of Morocco and there are about 10-15 stalls that serve it along with dates at one end of the square. The soup is made from chickpeas and vermicelli, seasoned with spices and thickened with flour. Only 3 Dirhams for a large bowl of piping hot soup with bread and 3 Dirhams for the dates. In retrospect, I had Harira many times after the Djemaa, which was my first, and it was by far the best.
Two visits to Place Djemaa El-Fna and I knew I would still miss out on something or the other. The tripe I saw on the menu at some stalls, the offal. But the time I spent there was the best in the entire trip. It is unlike anything you've ever seen before. It has become my new favorite place in the world and I have appointed myself as it's unofficial brand ambassador...:) I also strongly believe that a place like this is the solution to all problems in life. Hard day at work? Break-up? Feeling down? Let's go to Djemaa El-Fna! Stuff yourself and forget about it for a while! We need a Djemaa El-Fna in every city in the world!!
