A Woman’s Work……..

Most Moroccans find it almost impossible to understand the UK situation of elderly parents living alone (even though it is usually their choice). In Morocco, caring for your older relatives is as natural as caring for your young children and conversely living alone is seen as very unnatural. It is assumed by parents that their children (especially sons) will stay in the family home and support them as they get older and bring a wife in to the household to help with housework etc. Empty nest syndrome is not something that the average Moroccan mum has to worry about.

Although the role of women in society is slowly changing there are still very strong chauvinistic tendencies among Moroccans. There is an obvious stereotypical split of the male and female roles. In a large household there are usually plenty of women to share the housework - and without the trappings of western life there is surprisingly little housework to do! But many times I have muttered “and what did your last slave die of” under my breath as the men sit around expecting their mothers, wives or daughters to fetch and carry for them - even when they have done nothing themselves all day. How all this works in a modern Moroccan household where more and more women are going out to work I don’t know.... but I can imagine. There must be a whole generation of Moroccan women out there, struggling to become Superwomen.

To be fair I have seen fathers and husbands helping with the cooking and with the clearing away after meals – but usually only when there are no other women in the household to help. Equally it has to be said that the role of women in creating and maintaining the home environment is valued very highly in this society and the mother is a hugely important figure in the household. You can always correct a man’s behaviour (young or old) by asking him if his mother knows what he is up to!

Traditionally families live together in the family home around a patio, adding rooms as the family grows. There is always an aunt with a comfy lap and time for the baby, always a sister with a spare djellaba* to swap, mother or grandmother is always there for company if you are sitting shelling peas and there is always a niece or nephew to send out to the local shop for more milk or sugar. Domestic duties are shared, with everyone (all the females that is!) taking their turn preparing and serving meals, cleaning up afterwards or sitting and entertaining guests.

Time will bring about change in Morocco. Parliament is changing the law to give greater rights to women and society will catch up with that. More young girls will benefit from the improved education system and slowly there will be increased acceptance of women’s equal role in life –political, economic and domestic. I just hope that the good things about Moroccan family life, the incredible support network, the unconditional acceptance of family ties and the overwhelming welcome into the heart of a family is not lost along the way.

*a sort of all purpose outer garment with hood

Shoppers Anonymous

Napoleon allegedly called the British a “Nation of Shopkeepers”. I can’t help thinking that he hadn’t been to Morocco when he said that.

While tourists in Morocco are struck by the exotic spice stalls and the Aladdin’s Caves of shops selling jewel coloured tea glasses and silver teapots, richly decorated bowls and metal and glass lanterns, for most Moroccans shopping is a more mundane but none the less serious business.

It also seems to be the dream of many Moroccans to own just a little shop where they can while away the day chatting with customers and selling the occasional sachet of shampoo or sugar loaf. Walk along any street and you are sure to find at least two of these grocer shops, with a small counter at the front propping up the shopkeeper who sits surrounded by shelves lined with tins of sardines, apricot jam, tea and small packets of Tide washing powder - and a sprinkling of little toffees and chewing gum given as reward to the children who are sent out to the shop for those last minute essentials such as bread or milk.

Every neighbourhood has its quota of little grocers, chicken shops, greengrocers and butchers and every town has its souk and vegetable market. Large supermarkets are few and far between as most Moroccans live off small incomes and only buy what they need for one meal or one day – apart of course from the mountain of fresh vegetables that they buy at the weekly vegetable market. Since many Moroccan women do not work they can spend the time preparing fresh ingredients, using whatever their husbands arrive home with to conjure up a delicious and hearty tagine. The idea of serving up a Marks and Spencer’s ready meal is as alien to a Moroccan as buying your chicken while it is still squawking is to most British people.

The average souk will sell a range of fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices, terracotta tagines, pots and pans, teapots and tea glasses, pyjamas and djelabas. In larger towns you can also find souks selling second hand goods – everything from doors and windows, old televisions and kettles, prams and bicycles to bric-a-brac and odd shoes. Larger defunct objects are broken down to their component parts and sold off – finally just for the scrap metal. In the larger of the second hand souks you will come across little cafes serving tea and lentil stews, explaining the unique aroma of rust and cumin that permeates the air. You walk through these souks and feel as if you have entered an alternate dimension and finally found the last resting place of the world’s lost biros and teaspoons.

So if you have need of a replacement knob for your ancient but beloved hi-fi system, then come to Morocco. One day you will walk through a souk and find just what you need.

Morrocan Lentils

This is an everyday but delicious dish that you might not find in your average Moroccan cookery book.

These amounts should serve 2 people as a meal or more people as a starter. Serve with fresh crusty bread and you could make crispy chips and Moroccan Salad....

• · 500ml brown lentils
• · 1 small onion
• · 2 tomatoes
• · 4 cloves garlic
• · 1tsp tomato puree
• · 1 fresh hot red or green chilli
• · Piece of preserved or fresh lemon (optional)
• · Handful of green olives (optional)
• · Small piece of meat – lamb or chicken (optional)
• · Tablespoon oil
• · Handful fresh coriander
• · 2 tsp ground ginger
• · 1stp ground cumin
• · 1 tsp paprika
• · Plenty black pepper
• · Salt to taste
• · About a litre of water

1 large pan, 1 sharp knife, grater, chopping board, sieve, wooden spoon

First thing to do is wash the lentils and then add them to a large pan, cover by an inch with water and heat till they have been boiling for about 15 minutes.

In the meantime grate the onion and then removing a piece of the tomato skin grate the tomato flesh – you can do this so that you are just left holding the skin (saves you grating your finger tips and is a grate (!?) way to peel and finely chop tomatoes!)... unless of course you have a blender in which case you can just whizz them up - or in the absence of fresh tomatoes you could finely chop two or three tinned tomatoes.

Change the water in the lentils (this is what the sieve is for) and then add more water and boil again for 15 minutes.

Finely chop the coriander and peel and chop the garlic.

After the lentils have been boiled again you can sieve them and put them to one side.

Add the oil to the pan and then add the spices (except the salt), the garlic and, if you are using it, the meat. Fry it for a while and then add the tomatoes and onions and the coriander, tomato puree and lentils and the water along with the olives and the piece of lemon and the chilli. Bring to a simmer and cook until it is ready.... how long will depend on whether or not you are using meat.

If it seems too watery just boil the excess water off until it is nice and thick.

Now you can taste it and add the salt. If you add the salt too early while cooking lentils or beans (any pulses) it tends to take ages to get them to cook properly and you end up with hard lentils!

You can serve it the Moroccan way – in one big shallow communal bowl/plate or individually and eat it with bread or spoons.... You can either fish the chilli out or leave it in and those who like it hot can take the chilli to one side and open it up then dab their bread in it before collecting lentils......

If you are using lamb I like to add ground cinnamon to the spices, if chicken you could add some turmeric... in fact you can play around with the spices as much as you like!

Shopping 101

If you love to shop you will love Morocco. The shopping opportunities are almost endless.... from souks packed with glittering treasures to wayside stalls selling hand-picked fruit. Sometimes it may seem as if it is the intent of every Moroccan to empty your pockets of money.

Many tourists find the whole process of haggling over a price unnerving and disagreeable... feeling cheated if they find out that someone paid half their price for the same goods. If that is how you feel - then stick to fixed price stores.

Shopping in the Souk requires a whole new set of skills – first in checking out all the different choices available and getting a feel for the current price (and remembering where exactly you saw that fantastic leather handbag), then settling down and agreeing (or not)on the price of what you want to buy. There are two things to remember.

1. You do not need to buy anything if you are not happy with the price the shopkeeper is asking.
2. The shopkeeper does not need to sell you anything if he is not happy with the price you are offering.

Well actually there are a lot of things to remember...remembering to keep a sense of humour and perspective is probably as important as anything.

A Moroccan worker will get paid somewhere between 70 and 100 dirham a day – for the days that he works. There is usually no such thing as holiday or sick pay. Yes, there are some wealthy Moroccans, but the majority of the population live from hand to mouth. The idea of getting on an airplane and going to spend two weeks in a hotel is as much a dream as walking on the moon. While you may not feel it, compared to most Moroccans you are as wealthy as they would dream to be.

So when you are getting het up over the fact that the shopkeeper won’t come down that last 30 dirhams... think about the relative value of that 30 dirham to you and to him.

If you really can’t afford to or don’t intend to buy then be clear about that. If you do this in a polite and friendly way then you will be treated with courtesy and respect. If the shopkeeper does come down to your price then you are committed to buying the object. Having offered a price that he has met you cannot then restart the negotiations.

The shopkeeper will be weighing up a lot of things in deciding what price he can accept – apart of course from what it cost him to buy the goods. Where you are from is important – how wealthy you look, and how much of an idea do you have of the cost of things. This is why they often ask where you are from, and if it is your first trip to Morocco. How good has business been this week – is he struggling to pay the rent? Is there a bus load of tourists arriving in 10 minutes? Does he just desperately need some money to go and buy vegetables tonight? Are you the first customer of the day or the last – sometimes you will get a bargain by being either of these.

Haggling over a price; bantering with the shopkeeper; scooping an incredible bargain for a beautiful object: these are the moments that you will remember the next time you are standing at the checkout in Tescos.