The fasting month of Ramadan is approaching, and with it many culinary traditions to which Moroccans are infinitely attached. One of the most convivial is breaking the fast as a family at sunset. Known as ‘ftour’ or ‘iftar’, this meal includes a number of essential dishes that you’ll find in the Kingdom, with a special menu at the Restaurant L’Amandier of the Palais Faraj.
Ramadan, a month of spirituality and family celebrations
Photo : Ftour in the Palais Faraj, Ramadan 2025
Wishes for a happy holiday are already being exchanged in the streets: wacher mabrouka and ramadan moubarak are being uttered in anticipation of the imminent start of the month of fasting recommended by the Koran. Everyone is preparing to abstain from food, drink, tobacco and carnal pleasures from sunrise to sunset for 29 to 30 days.
Ramadan is a special month, the ninth in the Hegira calendar, and it has an impact on Moroccan life as a whole. Mealtimes are changed, as are sleeping times, the opening hours of shops and government offices… The whole country is set to the rhythm of the evenings of family celebrations, punctuated for men by long sequences of night prayers at the mosque.
Must-have dishes for breaking the fast
Among these rituals, the moment when the fast is broken, at sunset, is the time when the whole country comes to a standstill. After a final rush to the food shops, the streets are emptied of passers-by and cars. Silence falls, leaving the long-awaited al-maghrib prayer to resound, the fourth of the day, which kicks off the ftour or iftar.
Photo : Ftour in the Palais Faraj, Ramadan 2025
Photo : Ftour in the Palais Faraj, Ramadan 2025
The ftour is eaten mainly with the family, at home or in restaurants, bringing guests together around the Ramadan fetish ingredients: dates and a glass of milk, a bowl of fragrant harira (an extremely nourishing chickpea and tomato soup), eggs, and sweet delicacies, of which choubakiya are undoubtedly the stars.
You won’t want to miss the huge piles of these deep-fried ribbons of dough, generously coated with honey and sesame seeds. Moroccans love them so much that they are even sold by the bucket.
Mini French-Darija lexicon of Ramadan Ftour
Dates: Tmar
Tea: Atay
Coffee: Qahwa
Milk: Halib
Fruit juice: 3asr
Square flaky pancake: Msemmen
Thousand-holes crepe: Baghrir
Semolina flatbread: Harcha
Bread: Khobz
Honey: 3asl
Butter: Zebda
Fruits: Fawaki or disir
Soup: Chorba (in general), harira (star soup of the Ramadan)
Last meal before sunrise and the start of the fast: S’hour
Celebration of the end of Ramadan: Aïd el-Fitr
Disputes linked to widespread Moroccan exhaustion 😊: Tramdina !
Recommandations of the Palais Faraj
On the occasion of Ramadan, Restaurant L’Amandier at Palais Faraj invites you to a Ftour featuring a menu dedicated to the essentials of this time of celebration, as well as gastronomic specialties prepared by our Chef Mohammed Achoual.
