Me

Mama of 3 lovely boys; Kamal (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), Nassim (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8) and Anwar (1), (2), (3).  I grew up in a loving family, thankfully!  I love food, cooking, baking and not surprisingly, eating food.   My special thanks go to my husband who originally encouraged me to create this blog.  It enables me to share with you a few of my mother's recipes, my baking ideas and most importantly, compile and store my children's favourite recipes, including all cooking tips with most details possible, and hopefully make them available for my three lovely boys one day when they need them.

Many of the things I cook today were recipes my mother taught me a long time ago.  I believe that mother's cooking is always the best, although not all mums can cook but most of them know best!  My mother was very specail to me, she was not only a great cook but she was a wonderful and exceptional baker as well. She taught me how to bake and cook nice food, though she knew nothing about the science and mystery behind it.  She was so creative and with whatever she had on hand or with any left overs, she miraculously came up with a delicious dish.  She used to spend hours cooking in her kitchen, a big variety of delicious dishes, that the whole family thoroughly enjoyed.  No one cooks like my mother did!

She was not just a great cook, but she was also a loving mother, she could cure all the troubles of one's life with a simple smile, a warm hug and a few magic sweet words.  Her speciality was دْجاجْ مْحْمّْرْ - البْصْطِيلة = "Djaj Mhamar and Bastila" =“Roast Chicken and Moroccan Pie”, and even if she passed away a long time ago, she is still known for her recipes for those fabulous Roast Chicken and Moroccan Pie, that no one, including myself, is able to duplicate!  She used to make two versions of roasted chicken, sweet one, served with fried almonds and caramelized prunes, and the sour version, which is chicken with preserved lemons and green olives, both versions, are popular classic Moroccan dishes!

The way my mother made this chicken, either sour or sweet version, oh my yum!  All I could say was "ياربّي السّلامة" = YA-RBI- SA-LA-MA, which roughly means “God have Mercy!”, because whenever she made that chicken, I couldn't stop eating it and that sauce in which the chicken was cooked, was out-of-this-world, delightful, so rich and flavourful, and the chicken was unbelievably moist inside and tasty, that was to die for!  I still remember our house got filled with that wonderful aroma of slow cooked chicken over a charcoal brazier, called in Moroccan-Dialect "Majmar or Kanoun"!

I would like to thank everyone who takes the time to read my blog and leave me the most encouraging and warm hearted comments. Thank you very much indeed.

 Il me ferait plaisir de partager avec vous quelques recettes de ma mère qui sont testées par moi-même et réalisées avec des photographies dans le but de faciliter leurs réalisations, et pour faire connaître mieux la Cuisine Marocaine, et pour tout simplement le plaisir des yeux. Je ne sais pas si vous êtes comme moi, mais un blog touchant la cuisine sans photos et sans recettes écrites, c'est pas fort. J'admets que je ne suis pas une bonne photographe mais je ferai de mon mieux. Il y a un début à tout!

Je dédie ce blog à mes très chers parents, aujourd'hui disparus, allah irhamhom, c'est grâce à eux qu'aujourd'hui, je suis ce que je suis devenue. Je leur dis un grand MERCI de m'avoir donné la vie, de m'avoir toujours soutenue dans mes choix dans la vie, de m'avoir donné une bonne éducation, et de m’avoir donné des souvenirs d’enfance les plus riches en émotion.  Vous étiez les meilleurs parents au monde!

Je dédie aussi ce blog à mes enfants d'amour et à mon très cher mari que j’adore. Vous êtes mon bonheur, ma vie entière et tout passera après vous! Je vous aime très très fort.

Interests:  My Family, politics, history, Imazighen Culture, reading, travelling, cooking and baking.

Favourite films:

1) Scent of a Woman,
2) God Father,
3) Rain Man,
4) Scarface,
5) Forrest Gump,
6) Boutfounasste,
7) Philadelphia,
8) Farwell my Concubine,
9) Death in Venice,
10) Grapes of Wrath,
11) What have I done to deserve this?

Favourite Books:

1) Tom Sawyer par Mark Twain
2) King Lear par William Shakespeare
3) La Nuit sacrée & L'Enfant de sable par Tahar Ben Jelloun
4) Great Expectations par Charles Dickens
5) Waves par Virginia Woolf
6) Ten Little Niggers par Agatha Christie
7) Madame Bovary par Gustave Flaubert
8) Les Misérables par Victor Hugo
9) Old Man and the Sea par Ernest Hemingway
10) Pride and Prejudice par Jane Austen
11) As I lay dying par William Faulkner

Meet my lovely family!

During Summer Holidays 2011, in Agadir, Morocco, where Kamal, Nassim and Anwar were having a nice chat with two Moroccan gentlemen called "Mo Lma", which means "Water Sellers"!  These gentlemen were so funny, lovely and friendly!

Anwar

 Kamal, Nassim, Anwar and two gentlemen called "Mo Lma", which means "Water Sellers 

Thanks for stopping by my site! Should you have any questions regarding my recipes, you may contact me at mmamatkamalATyahooDOTcom
Mamatkamal
All Recipes
My Tamazirt-Morocco
Ramadan Dishes
Moroccan Cookies
Fekkas/Fakas
Moroccan Ghoriba-Ghriba
Moroccan Tagine
Couscous From Scratch
Moroccan Massaman
Moroccan Meloui-Malwi
Moroccan Toghrift-Batbout
Steamed Rice, Moroccan Style
Steamed Broken Vermicelli, Moroccan Style
Atay/Fresh Mint Tea
Other Food Links!