Cooking With Alia

Alia Al Kasimi is the chirpy chef behind “the show that brings you the flavors of Morocco” voiced in English, French and Arabic AND her channel Cooking with Alia. Viewers are introduced to the exotic spices that often grace Morocco travel brochures, and will learn how to make the quitessential Moroccan dish tagine and its many variations, along with other Moroccan staples such as harira (soup, often eaten during Ramadan), khlii (preserved meat), msemmen (pancake for breakfast and afternoon snack), harcha and m’hencha (breads), and makrout and ghriba (cookies), among the more than 600 episodes available on her YouTube channel.

With so many kitchen tutorials to choose from, viewers might find it helpful to follow a series if they are interested in a particular tutorial, like her tagine series, juice series, street food series, and ‘Dada’ series where she invited Moroccan chefs to prepare traditional dishes. She also features Berber cuisine occasionally.

Alia collaborates with other chefs, and has a section dedicated to international fares where her invited guests cook favorites from their own countries. She likewise has a special section for South Indian cuisine through the influence of her in-laws.

Alia’s passion for Moroccan cuisine started in childhood in her grandmother’s kitchen, which was filled with the colors of orange saffron, red paprika and golden ginger. For her, Moroccan food is not just for physical sustenance but for spiritual strengthening as well.

Launched in July 2008, Alia’s YouTiube channel has since become widely popular. It’s been viewed more than 60 million times, and followed by 280,000 subscribers.