Libya
SEASONINGS
Libyan profile is warm, aromatic, peppery. Dishes start with a base of olive oil, onions, garlic, tomato or tomato-paste, bell peppers. This base builds savory depth. Then they layer in spices — either individually – cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, or via spice blends. These add warmth, complexity, and North African-style. Saffron, though less common, appears in some special dishes, with its touch of luxury. Parsley. mint, preserved lemons or floral waters contribute freshness. Tahini, a creamy paste made from sesame seeds, is popular in dressings for its smooth texture and nutty taste. For many dishes, gravies simmer slowly, giving time flavors time to meld and deepen.
BZAAR is a fundamental spice mix in Libyan cooking, similar to other North African spice blends like ras el hanout, which include cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, and black pepper. It is used to season meats, stews, and rice dishes.
HARARAT is a special Libyan blend of five spices (or seven spices, depending on the recipe): cinnamon, cumin, coriander, red chilies, and allspice. It is also universal and flavors soups, stews, rice dishes, and meats.
HAWAIJ – this spice mix, though more common in Yemen, is also used in some Libyan dishes. It includes black pepper, cumin, cardamom, cloves, and coriander.
SAUCES
HARRISA PASTE – chili peppers along with garlic, cumin, coriander, and often caraway, mixed into a base of olive oil.
PILPELCHUMA – a fiery chili-garlic paste originating from the Libyan Jewish community, known for its intense heat and bold flavor, and is very versatile for salads, marinades, legume and rice dishes (also beloved in Israel). It is made from a blend of roasted or dried peppers, garlic, cumin, caraway, olive oil, and lemon juice.
SHARMOULA (CHERMOULA) is a marinade and sauce made from a blend of garlic, cumin, paprika, coriander, olive oil, lemon, and sometimes saffron. Used to marinate fish and meat or served as a dipping for grilled dishes.
Morocco
SEASONINGS
Moroccan cuisine combines sweetness with savor and adds spiciness without overwhelming heat. Cumin, coriander, saffron, ginger, and cinnamon are the main spices that give a distinctive profile compared to more subtle Mediterranean cuisines. Dried and fresh chili peppers are used lavishly; mint, fresh cilantro, and parsley freshen up dishes; bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and garlic prevail in aromatics; olives and preserved lemons bring a tangy kick. Orange flower, jasmine, and rose petals water infuses exotic aromas into desserts. In many stew or slow-cooked dishes, cooks frequently use raisins, apricots, prunes, almonds, pine nuts, and other nuts to create a sweet-savory contrast.
RAS EL HANOUT – a dried spice mix popular in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, blends from a dozen to 80 spices. The name means “head of the shop” – the best spices the seller has to offer. Each shop, company, or family may have their own blend. Common ingredients, though, include cardamom, cumin, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, dry ginger, chili peppers, coriander, black pepper, sweet paprika, fenugreek, and turmeric.
LA KAMA – a lesser-known but traditional Moroccan spice blend that includes black pepper, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Also popular in Moroccan cooking are:
Levantine ZA’ATAR – dried oregano, thyme or marjoram, sumac, sesame seeds, salt.
Arabic BAHARAT – black pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, paprika.
SAUCES
HARRISA, a hot chili pepper paste made from a variety of chiles, could be the baklouti, guajillo, anaheim, chiles de arbol peppers, along with garlic, coriander, caraway, cumin, and lemon juice (or preserved lemon) and olive oil and is widely used as a marinade, dip or sauce.
CHERMOULA is a marinade and relish used in Moroccan, Algerian, Libyan, and Tunisian cooking, it slightly reassembles the Latin American chimichurri. In Morocco its often used for fish. Frequent ingredients include fresh cilantro, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice or preserved lemon, cumin, paprika, chili peppers, salt. It can come in different hues and tones: green (without paprika and red elements, with red tone due to sweet paprika or harrisa and yellow tone due to turmeric (source).
Moroccan cuisine is exclusive with four distinct cooking styles that are both cooking techniques and flavor combinations on the same time: m’hammer (red), m’chermel (marinated), m’qali (fried) and q’dra (skills).
M’HAMMER is a classic way of preparing tagine in which roasted meat is doused in a sauce made of onions, paprika, and cumin. A generous amount of paprika is used, giving sauce a brownish red color, and the meat is cooked in the sauce, its later taken out, charred under the broiler (source) and put back.
M’CHERMEL is a cooking style that is characterized by marinating food in chermoula sauce.
After marinating, food can be cooked in any other style, but the term m’chermel describes the process and style of cooking with this particular marinade.
European tradition cooks usually pan-brown the meat in the beginning before stewing. M’QALLI method is vice versa – first, the meat is stewed, and when it absorbs the broth and becomes tender, is fried. Compulsory spices are ginger, saffron, and turmeric.
Q’DRA is also the name of deep cookware unique for this type of cooking. It involves cooking meat very slowly, until it becomes exceptionally tender. This will be considered the most casual cooking technique; literally what Moroccans will prepare almost every day. (source) A liquid yellow broth is made with saffron and turmeric, pepper, cinnamon, parsley, and smen, while paprika and ginger are never used for this style.
