Chef Zohra
Adss (عدس)
Brown lentils cooked down until thick and glossy, with garlic, tomato, cumin, paprika, and good olive oil. This is weeknight Moroccan comfort, made for bread and one more bowl.
Culinary Explorer
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Ghoulal (Babbouche) Moroccan Snail Broth
Created by
A dark, peppery snail broth from the street stalls of Marrakech, scented with thyme, licorice root, anise, and warm spice, served in bowls with pins for pulling each shell clean.
Soups & Stews
Moroccan
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
Outdoor Dining
P2D
Active Time
1 hr 30 min cook•P2DT1H30M total
Yield6 servings
On a cold Marrakech evening, ghoulal calls you before you see it: dark broth ladled into bowls, snails shining black-brown in their shells, a little pin waiting on the side. You stand close to the stall, drink the broth first, then work each snail out slowly. This is not food for rushing. It belongs to the street, to outdoor tables, to people warming their hands around a bowl while the square keeps moving.
The one rule is cleanliness before spice. Snails must be bought from a trusted food supplier, alive or properly prepared for cooking, then purged, scrubbed, rinsed again and again. No spice blend can rescue a careless snail. After that, the broth does the work: thyme, bay, anise, fennel, licorice root, black pepper, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, clove, and a little heat, all simmered until the shells have given their flavor and the liquid turns dark and medicinal in the old Moroccan sense, meant to warm you through.
Serve ghoulal the way it is eaten: in small bowls, with toothpicks or pins, and enough broth for everyone to sip. Une table, c'est une porte qu'on laisse ouverte (a table is a door you leave open), even when the table is a stall counter and the chairs are whoever has stopped beside you.
Ghoulal, also called babbouche or bebouch in many Moroccan cities, is strongest as a street-food tradition in Marrakech, Fez, Rabat, and the eastern towns, with local spice balances changing from stall to stall. Snail eating in North Africa is older than the medieval cities, but the spiced urban broth sold in bowls belongs to the living marketplace, tied to souks, winter evenings, and public squares like Jemaa el-Fna. The exact dating of the fifteen-spice broth is not fixed, and vendors often guard their mixtures as family knowledge.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
live edible snails from a trusted food supplier
Quantity
1.5 kg
purged for 2 days
coarse salt
Quantity
2 tbsp
for scrubbing
vinegar
Quantity
3 tbsp
for washing
water
Quantity
3 liters
garlic cloves
Quantity
4
lightly crushed
bay leaves
Quantity
2
dried thyme or za'atar
Quantity
2 tsp
aniseed
Quantity
1 tsp
fennel seed
Quantity
1 tsp
caraway seed
Quantity
1 tsp
cumin seed
Quantity
1 tsp
coriander seed
Quantity
1 tsp
black peppercorns
Quantity
1 tsp
ground ginger
Quantity
1 tsp
cinnamon stick
Quantity
1 small
cloves
Quantity
3
dried licorice root
Quantity
1 small piece, about 5 cm
dried red chile or cayenne
Quantity
1 chile or 1/2 tsp cayenne
sweet paprika
Quantity
1 tsp
turmeric
Quantity
1/2 tsp
fresh mint stems
Quantity
1 small handful
parsley stems
Quantity
1 small handful
sea salt
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| live edible snails from a trusted food supplierpurged for 2 days | 1.5 kg |
| coarse saltfor scrubbing | 2 tbsp |
| vinegarfor washing | 3 tbsp |
| water | 3 liters |
| garlic cloveslightly crushed | 4 |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| dried thyme or za'atar | 2 tsp |
| aniseed | 1 tsp |
| fennel seed | 1 tsp |
| caraway seed | 1 tsp |
| cumin seed | 1 tsp |
| coriander seed | 1 tsp |
| black peppercorns | 1 tsp |
| ground ginger | 1 tsp |
| cinnamon stick | 1 small |
| cloves | 3 |
| dried licorice root | 1 small piece, about 5 cm |
| dried red chile or cayenne | 1 chile or 1/2 tsp cayenne |
| sweet paprika | 1 tsp |
| turmeric | 1/2 tsp |
| fresh mint stems | 1 small handful |
| parsley stems | 1 small handful |
| sea salt | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Large heavy pot, 5 to 6 liters
- •Ventilated container for purging snails
- •Small bowls
- •Toothpicks, skewers, or clean pins
Instructions
- 1
Purge the snails
Keep the live edible snails in a ventilated container for 2 days with a little semolina or flour, changing the container if it soils. This empties the gut, and that is the difference between a clean broth and a muddy one. Do not cook wild garden snails unless they come through a safe food source; pesticides and parasites are not something a pot can forgive.
- 2
Scrub them clean
Rinse the snails under cold water, then rub them with coarse salt and vinegar until the water turns cloudy. Rinse, rub, and rinse again until the shells feel clean under your fingers and the water runs mostly clear.
- 3
Wake the spices
In a large pot, combine the water, garlic, bay, thyme, aniseed, fennel, caraway, cumin, coriander, peppercorns, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, licorice root, chile, paprika, turmeric, mint stems, parsley stems, and a good pinch of salt. Bring it to a lively simmer for 10 minutes so the broth smells herbal, peppery, and a little sweet from the licorice.
- 4
Simmer the snails
Add the cleaned snails to the spiced broth and keep the pot at a steady simmer for 60 to 75 minutes. Skim the surface when it needs it. The shells will darken, the broth will deepen, and the smell should move from sharp herb to rounded spice.
- 5
Taste the broth
Taste the liquid before serving. It should be peppery, herbal, faintly bitter, and salted enough to make you want another sip. Adjust with salt or cayenne, but don't bury the thyme and licorice. La balance est dans les yeux (the scale is in the eyes), and here it is also in the mouth.
- 6
Serve with pins
Ladle the snails and plenty of broth into small bowls. Give each person a toothpick, skewer, or clean pin to pull the meat from the shells. The broth is drunk as much as the snails are eaten, so keep the pot close and refill bowls while people are still talking.
Chef Tips
- •Buy snails from a supplier who sells them for cooking. This is not the place to be brave with what you found in the garden.
- •Licorice root gives the broth its old street-stall depth, a faint sweetness and bitterness together. Use a small piece only, or it will bully the pot.
- •Every vendor has a different spice hand. Some lean harder on thyme and pepper, some on anise and fennel. Keep the family of flavors intact and adjust with restraint.
- •Serve it outdoors if you can, even on a balcony. Ghoulal belongs to moving air, small bowls, and people standing close.
Advance Preparation
- •Begin purging the snails 2 days before cooking.
- •The spice broth can be assembled a few hours ahead, but cook the snails the day you serve them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 450g)
Calories
65 calories
Total Fat
1 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
30 mg
Sodium
720 mg
Total Carbohydrates
3 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
10 g
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