What food is served at Eid in Morocco?

Morocco has two Eids and they eat very differently. Eid al-Fitr, which ends Ramadan, is the "sweet Eid." After a month of fasting it opens, fittingly, with a celebratory breakfast: stacks of msemen and baghrir drowned in honey and butter, sometimes a sweet seffa (couscous or vermicelli dusted with cinnamon, sugar and almonds), and above all trays of pastries — kaab el ghazal, ghriba, briouats, feqqas — laid out for visitors. Families spend the day moving house to house, and at every door there is mint tea and a plate of cookies. It is gentle, sugary and joyful.

Eid al-Adha, the "Feast of Sacrifice," is the bigger, meatier occasion. A sheep is sacrificed, and over the following days every part is honoured so nothing is wasted. The very first thing eaten, often that same morning, is boulfaf — skewers of seasoned liver and offal wrapped in caul fat and grilled over coals, smoky and rich. I remember the rooftops of an entire neighbourhood hazed with grill smoke, families gathered around small braziers.

In the days that follow, the lamb is transformed dish by dish: tender méchoui or roasted shoulder, a head and trotters dish for the traditionalists, hearty tagines of mutton with prunes and almonds or with vegetables, and a grand couscous topped with slow-cooked meat for the big family lunch. Cuts are preserved as khlea for later, and offal becomes a spiced stew called douara or tqliya. It is several days of generous, meat-centred feasting and sharing with neighbours and the needy.

My advice for visitors: Eid al-Adha can mean many businesses close and transport is busy as families travel home, so plan logistics carefully if your trip overlaps. But if you are welcomed to an Eid table, it is an extraordinary window into Moroccan family life. On our trips we time culinary experiences thoughtfully around the festivals and, where families are willing, arrange a share in the celebration.