Seykouk

Seykouk is a more fun take on yoghurt and muesli. It’s perfect as part of a breakfast or as a light snack. Or why not as a light light snack: something to eat between meals and snacks.

Seykouk is super simple. It consists of just two ingredients. One of them is buttermilk.

What exactly is buttermilk, you might ask. That’s a good question. Originally, buttermilk is what’s left over after churning butter. But nowadays, buttermilk can be produced in other ways, by adding bacteria.

What does buttermilk taste like, you might also wonder. That’s an even better question. Like milk, but tangier. It also has a tingling sensation, like fizzy soft drinks. The consistency is thicker than milk.

Buttermilk is usually served with couscous. It is called laban in Darija and oghi in Rifiya.

The other ingredient in seykouk is wheat grains that have been cooked and dried. Plain wheat puffs, you might call them.

I’ve tried seykouk once. It was a sunny February day at the Molay Yakoub bathing spot outside Fez. It was tangy and refreshing. The buttermilk was thicker than the sort I usually get when I eat couscous in a restaurant. Above all, it was much more tingling.

What I appreciated most about seykouk was that it contained no sugar. Here are some suggestions if you’d like to try other light, sugar-free snacks.

• Grilled corn on the cob
• Moroccan salad
• Bissara

A dish similar to seykouk is zaza baladi. It also contains wheat grains. But instead of buttermilk, it contains yoghurt. It also contains avocado, fruit and lots of other ingredients. If you’re looking for a light snack, seykouk is the best choice; if you want to feel full for longer, zaza baladi is a better option.