Morocco | Main dish

Rfissa

Name: Rfissa
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 145 min
Yield: 6 plates
Cuisine: Morocco, North Africa
Ingredients: 1.4 kg chicken pieces; 3 large onions, sliced; 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed; 2 tbsp fenugreek seeds, soaked; 2 tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp turmeric; ½ tsp saffron threads; 3 tbsp olive oil; 6 whole msemen or thin flatbreads, shredded; salt and black pepper, to taste

Moroccan chicken, lentil, and fenugreek stew served over shredded msemen or trid pastry.

Country

Morocco

Region

North Africa

Time

145 min

Serves

Level

hard

Start cooking Explore Morocco recipes

01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 6 plates

Main dish

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Morocco

4 steps 45 min prep 100 min cook (check method) 145 min total hard

Season chicken

Season chicken with ginger, turmeric, saffron if using, salt, and pepper.

season 15:00

Start stew

Cook onions in oil, add chicken, and brown lightly.

onion chicken 15:00

Simmer lentils

Add lentils, soaked fenugreek, and enough water to cover. Simmer until chicken and lentils are tender.

long simmer 60:00

Serve over bread

Pile shredded msemen on a platter and spoon chicken, lentils, and broth over it.

serve 05:00

Some versions use ras el hanout, smen, or extra fenugreek, and the bread base may be homemade or store-bought msemen.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for family gatherings, postpartum meals, and special lunches.. Plan on a hard cook. Allow about 145 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Msemen, trid pastry, or other thin flatbread.

Regional lane

Tagines and special mains. Slow-cooked, spiced, sweet-savory, and celebratory dishes that anchor the table.

Chef watch-outs

Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
Rushing the rest or fermentation period.

How you know it is ready

The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
The bread or batter should smell pleasantly fermented, toasted, or nutty rather than floury.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.

Pantry lane

preserved lemon, green olives, saffron, ras el hanout, semolina

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Rfissa recipe from Morocco — Rfissa finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Rfissa

Msemen, trid pastry, or other thin flatbread.

Best route from here

Tagines and special mains

Collections to keep cooking

Moroccan Salads, Soups, and Breads

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