Chef Zohra
Atay b Chiba (Moroccan Wormwood Tea)
The cold-evening cousin of mint tea: gunpowder green tea brewed with chiba, the bitter winter herb Moroccans use when na'na is scarce and the house needs warming.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Smoothie Banane-Amlou
Created by
A Souss glass for the hungry hour: ripe banana blended with amlou, cold milk, roasted almonds, argan oil, and honey until it drinks like breakfast and comfort together.
Beverages
Moroccan
Comfort Food
Quick Meal
10 min
Active Time
0 min cook•10 min total
Yield2 large glasses
Amlou is the heart of this glass. Not just almond paste, not just sweetness, but the taste of the Souss: roasted almonds ground with culinary argan oil and honey until it shines and runs slowly from the spoon. Blend it with a ripe banana and cold milk, and it becomes a meal you can drink, rich enough to quiet the stomach and gentle enough for a tired afternoon.
The only real work is buying honestly. Culinary argan oil should smell nutty and clean, never perfumed, and the amlou should taste of roasted almonds before it tastes of sugar. Loosen the amlou with a splash of milk before you blend, because that lets the paste open into the drink instead of clinging stubbornly to the bottom. Then the blender does the rest.
This is not a ceremony dish from an old court kitchen. It's a contemporary Moroccan kitchen answer, quick, nourishing, and rooted in an Amazigh ingredient that carries its place clearly. Pour two glasses even if you think you need one. Une table, c'est une porte qu'on laisse ouverte, a table is a door you leave open.
Amlou belongs to the Amazigh cooking of the Souss and Anti-Atlas region, where argan trees grow in southwest Morocco and their oil has long been pressed by hand, especially by women's cooperatives in the 20th and 21st centuries. The paste of roasted almonds, argan oil, and honey is older than the smoothie glass, which belongs more to modern Moroccan homes and juice shops than to a fixed ceremonial repertoire. This is one of des cuisines marocaines, not a national cliché: a regional ingredient carried into a quick meal without pretending the new form is ancient.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
ripe bananas
Quantity
2
peeled and sliced
amlou
Quantity
3 tbsp
cold whole milk
Quantity
350ml
plus more if needed
plain yogurt (optional)
Quantity
1 tbsp
for a thicker glass
honey (optional)
Quantity
1 tsp
only if the amlou is not sweet enough
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 pinch
ice cubes (optional)
Quantity
4
toasted almonds
Quantity
1 tbsp
chopped, for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ripe bananaspeeled and sliced | 2 |
| amlou | 3 tbsp |
| cold whole milkplus more if needed | 350ml |
| plain yogurt (optional)for a thicker glass | 1 tbsp |
| honey (optional)only if the amlou is not sweet enough | 1 tsp |
| fine sea salt | 1 pinch |
| ice cubes (optional) | 4 |
| toasted almondschopped, for serving | 1 tbsp |
Equipment Needed
- •High-speed blender
- •Cold serving glasses
Instructions
- 1
Taste the amlou
Stir the amlou well before measuring, because the argan oil can rise to the top. Taste it. It should be nutty first, honeyed second, with no tired or rancid smell. If it already tastes sweet enough, keep the extra honey aside.
- 2
Loosen the paste
Put the amlou in the blender with a splash of the cold milk and pulse for a few seconds. This small gesture matters: it opens the almond paste into the milk, so the smoothie turns even and silky instead of leaving a heavy spoonful stuck under the blade.
- 3
Blend the glass
Add the bananas, remaining milk, salt, yogurt if using, and ice if you want it colder. Blend until the drink is smooth, thick, and pale beige, with tiny specks of roasted almond running through it.
If it is too thick to pour, add milk by the splash. La balance est dans les yeux, the scale is in the eyes. - 4
Sweeten and serve
Taste before adding honey. A ripe banana and good amlou may be enough. Pour into cold glasses, scatter the chopped toasted almonds on top, and serve at once while the glass is still cold and full.
Chef Tips
- •Use culinary argan oil amlou, never cosmetic argan oil. The culinary oil is made from roasted kernels and smells round and nutty.
- •Amlou varies from house to house. Some is thick like paste, some pours slowly, some carries more honey. Adjust the milk after blending, not before.
- •Use bananas with a few brown freckles. Green bananas make the drink chalky and need too much honey to forgive them.
- •If you make amlou at home, grind roasted almonds while still faintly warm, then work in culinary argan oil and honey until glossy. Don't rush the grind.
Advance Preparation
- •Chill the milk and glasses up to 1 day ahead.
- •If making your own amlou, prepare it up to 2 weeks ahead and keep it covered in a cool cupboard, stirring before use.
- •Blend just before serving. Banana darkens and thickens as it sits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 380g)
Calories
390 calories
Total Fat
21 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
16 g
Cholesterol
20 mg
Sodium
160 mg
Total Carbohydrates
46 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
30 g
Protein
10 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Moroccan Mint Tea & the Hospitality Table
Browse the full collection
Chef Zohra
Atay (Moroccan Mint Tea)
Atay is Morocco's welcome made liquid: green tea rinsed clean, mint pressed into the pot, sugar dissolved into the whole house, then poured high into small glasses.
Chef Zohra
Café Noir
The plain daily cup of the Moroccan café: short, dark, and unsweetened unless your hand reaches for sugar, served with water and enough time for talk.
Chef Zohra
Citronnade à la Menthe (عصير الليمون بالنعناع)
Whole lemons, mint, sugar, and cold water, blended briefly and strained. This is the summer glass of Moroccan homes and juice counters, tart enough to wake you up.