Chicken Pastilla at Nagham Cafe
As I was leaving the Dar El Yasmine where I was staying for the night, I asked where I should have dinner. I was told that there is one which is near the Blue Gate, probably only landmark I am aware of as of the moment. I think I would be able to get back to it easily enough. Curiously, they didn’t recommend this section of the main artery which has a lot of eateries. I guess they are more the touristy type or maybe the staff was trying to steer me away from trouble. Along the way, I would have to pass through a gauntlet of touts each claiming to be your friend and trying to persuade you to eat at their place. I probably would end up eating here one of these days but would try out the recommendation first.
Jawhara for Dessert at Naghman Cafe
I was told to go to Nagham Cafe. This was just outside the Blue Gate. Unsurprisingly, there were several touts outside the Blue Gate waiting for tourists. I happened to see the one carrying the Nagham Cafe sign and he was about to ask me to go there when I already did the job for him. I was probably the easiest customer he’s had to deal with. If you go to the cafe, you probably won’t be enticed to go in since the ground floor was quite bare. I was asked to go upstairs where there are more seats. They have a roof deck which conveniently overlooks the blue gate. I didn’t manage to get a seat by the window. At least I got a seat near the heater. Even though this may be Africa, can get chilly at night here in Morocco.
Inside Nagham Cafe Rooftop
The menu at Nagham Cafe seemed to be a typical Moroccan menu naturally, they have couscous and tagine. Both are nice, but I wanted something else. I went for soomething called chicken pastilla. To be honest, I have not heard of this dish before. But it also seems to be one of those regular stuff you see in Moroccan menus. I was then surprised to see that a pastilla is more than meat, in this case chicken, wrapped in some wrapper and fried. The result is a very interesting mix of textures. The skin is nice and crispy, while the meat is soft and savory. That was not enough, the pastilla is then powdered with icing sugar and cinnamon on top. Indeed, it is quite confusing how to classify this dish. I would think it is more of a pie. The icing sugar and cinnamon makes it look like it is a dessert but I’m pretty sure it is a main dish.
The staff of Nagham Cafe were very nice and friendly. The speak very good English so feel free to talk. I would have wanted the view of the Blue Gate but there is only one table which can get that privilege. Perhaps if you get here earlier in the evening then you can get that coveted seat. To finish everything off I got dessert only because I saw someone else have it. It is called jawhara. It is made from some of the stuff of the pastilla. This is a delicate dessert. It is made of thin sheets of pastry with some milky cream in it. It is sweet but not overly sweet. The difficulty here it to keep the thing whole since just slicing it would make it fall apart. I didn’t have plans for the evening so I just sipped my Moroccan tea while relaxing.
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