Mini Morrocco in the heart of Balsall Heath

With ornate carved wood panels, swathes of rich fabric and hanging lanterns scattering light patterns across warm, terracotta walls, I lingered for a peaceful moment in what could have been a sun-baked riad in Marrakech.

I heard the faint bustle of cooks preparing tajines filled with lamb and well-seasoned cous cous (so nice they named it twice!) as Berber teapots sat warmly brewing herbal teas.

I wasn’t in Marrakech, however. I wasn’t even in Morocco. I was in the back room of a little eatery in Balsall Heath, Birmingham.

This part of town, I’d been told, was home to a mini-Morocco. Behind the facades of doors that look like any other in our inner-city neighbourhoods, a little ramshackle and weathered, lie Moroccan gems, transporting you far away from the cold, wet street otherwise only remarkable by the Syrian souk, Damascena, and a local branch of Aldi.

The beautiful room I found myself in is hidden away in the back room of Tajine Cave on the Moseley Road. When you first enter, it just looks like a well-presented, Moroccan-flavoured cafe, with little comfy nooks in which to sit and share Abda spicy coffee or Marakesh Khodnjal tea with friends.

But it’s in the back where the magic happens. It was a design from the artistic mind of Rhea Faoudi who grew up in Birmingham but lived and travelled through Morocco with her husband Rashid, who moved to Britain 20 years ago.

“We didn’t feel that there were many places that offered authentic Moroccan food and we wanted to bring that to the community,” said Rashid.

“As well as a Moroccan population, Birmingham is home to Somalian, Yemeni and Pakistani people and we feel that Morocco is close to those places, culturally. So it gives them a feeling of home too.”

Rashid explains how she got the inspiration for the menu, which includes chicken zaytoun – spiced chicken with preserved lemons, onions and olives – and koufta koutban, a dish of skewered kebabs.

Then, of course, there are the tajines, filled with lamb, prunes and dried fruit or lamb with soft artichoke, preserved lemons and sweet julbanna peas.

“When we go back to Morocco, we travel a lot,” he said. “I am from Agadir and that’s very different to Marrakesh, which is very different to Tangier. We travel to try food from everywhere and then try to recreate that here.”

The pair had initially planned to set up the Tajine Cave in Moseley, though they couldn’t find the right spot for the job. They found the Balsall Heath location, near to a Moroccan souk (market) and a cafe and opened it up just as the pandemic struck.

Despite the challenges of the last year, Rhea is pushing forward with her plans to make the restaurant great – there’s a lot of work happening at the front of the building already, which the pair say will extend the authentic atmosphere outward.

It’s not just the front of the building that is important for the Tajine Cave – there are special things happening in the back yard too.

Rhea explains: “In many cuisines cooks prepare the meat separately from their sauces and that way it’s easier for commercial cooking – Chinese food and Italian food lends itself well to that. But Moroccan food is different.

“All the meat we cook in spices, home-cooked tajines from scratch. So you may have to wait for up to 40 minutes for a dish. We are not fast food! But we offer a lot of different starters to make it a dining experience.

“It’s an experience for us too. We cook tangier in a traditional way, in our back garden! So if you want that you’ll have to order it 24 hours in advance, and it’s cooked very slowly.”

Tangiers are meaty dishes, usually lamb, cooked slowly over hot coals outdoors. I imagined it as I left the Tanjier Cave, looking for more Moroccan hotspots on the weather-beaten road.

I didn’t have to wander far. A group of men were watching football and drinking coffee in the Moroccan Coffee Lounge, though it was more a community hang-out than an eatery, Moroccan mostly in name; I couldn’t see any traditional drinks or snacks on the menu.

However, crossing the road and entering the Moroccan Souk opposite was another entirely authentic experience.

Inside there were countless traditional tea sets in bright silver and rich gold hues. Tajines lined the shelves in every size and shape, for those who wanted to cook in the terracotta pots at home.

I was entranced by the large vats of dried fruit, glimmering like jewels, and nuts with scoops in for customers to choose their own.

The shelves offered up more, pre-packaged fruit, dates of many origins and types – wadi, khudri and medjool to name a few.

There were woven hats and baskets as well as traditional clothes in between shelves of spices and giant tubs of olives. It was spectacular.

Though I didn’t buy anything, I added a Berber teapot to my wish list. Before I purchase a tajine and attempt at Moroccan cooking myself, I want to sample what the chefs at the Cave has to offer, learning about the cuisine from those who have travelled and uncovered the best.

Patience, I learnt there, is everything when it comes to Moroccan food.

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