What Moroccan street food should I try?

Street food is where Morocco's flavours get loud and joyful, and Marrakech's Jemaa el-Fnaa square at dusk is the cathedral of it — clouds of grill smoke, hissing pans and dozens of stalls competing for your appetite. Begin with the gateway treats: brochettes (skewers of marinated lamb, beef or chicken grilled over coals), spicy merguez sausages, and kefta. They come tucked into bread with cumin, salt and harissa, smoky and irresistible. A grilled-meat sandwich eaten standing up, juice running down your wrist, is one of the great cheap thrills of the country.

Then chase the things you can't get at home. Babbouche — snails simmered in a peppery, herb-and-spice broth — are sold from steaming cauldrons, ladled into a bowl with a pin to winkle them out; the broth alone is medicinal and addictive. Sfenj, the fresh-fried Moroccan doughnut, comes hot and lightly sugared on a loop of palm string. Msemen and baghrir griddle to order. In winter, vendors sell bissara (broad-bean soup) and bowls of harira to warm your hands around. And everywhere, mountains of dates, dried figs, roasted almonds and the famous freshly squeezed orange juice for a few dirhams a glass.

For the brave, Morocco rewards curiosity. Khlea is preserved spiced beef, often fried with eggs — intense and wonderful. Sheep's-head (boulfaf and tête de mouton) is a delicacy at the stalls for those who want the full experience. On the Atlantic coast, especially Essaouira and Agadir, the move is a grilled-sardine sandwich or a plate of fish you pick yourself from the catch and have charred on the spot. And don't skip the sweet street snacks — chebakia, sellou, and warm sweet-potato or chestnut vendors in the colder months.

One honest word on eating safely, because it shapes the whole experience: choose stalls that are visibly busy with locals, where food is cooked fresh and hot in front of you and turnover is high — that's your best hygiene guarantee. Ease in rather than ordering everything raw and cold on day one. A guided night-market food walk is, frankly, the smartest way to dive in: someone who knows which vendor has the best snails and the cleanest grill turns a slightly daunting maze into the most delicious evening of your trip.