What better to make for a Moroccan dinner party but a tanijne. Not only are tanjines the quintessential Moroccan dish, but they are relatively easy to prepare. Tanjine refers to the pot the dish is cooked in which is a clay pot. The pot is flat but has dome shaped lid. The purpose of the lid is to bring back all the condensation back to the dish, keeping it nice and moist.I didn't know what a tanjine was until last year during a family visit to Philly. My cousin wanted to make a lamb tanjine. She had bought the clay pot as a Christmas present for her brother several years back. Her brother never used it. Since she was house sitting she was determined to make use of her gift. We all headed over to Reading Terminal Market and loaded up on supplies.I didn't know what to expect. I'm not much of a big date, apricot, or raisin person. The idea of dried fruit and meat didn't sound all that appealing. However, as a guest, I kept my mouth shut. It was a fun afternoon cooking and preparing the stew together. When dinner time rolled around I was surprised at how good the tanjine was. I thought that the dried fruit and numerous spices would create a strong funky array of tastes. The stew did not have an odd taste at all. The dried fruit melted into the stew and was not noticeable. The different spices blended in together and formed an amazing dish! Even the kids liked it. Enjoy! Ingredients: Serves Six 1 1/2 cup dried chick peas soaked overnight 4 tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon paprika 3 pounds lamb, cut into 2 inch pieces 2 onions, coarsely chopped 3 garlic cloves, chopped 2 tomatoes, pealed, seeded, and chopped 2/3 cup raisins, soaked in warm water
24 pitted black olives 2 preserved lemons, thinly slicedMethod:
- Drain the chick peas, rince under cold water and place in a large saucepan, then cover with water and boil. Drain the chick peas and return to a cleans saucepan. Cover with fresh cold water, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and cook covered for about 1 1/2 hours till tender. Remove from heat and add a little salt, set aside.
- In a large bowl, comine half of the olive oil with the sugar, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, tumeric, paprika, pepper, and lamb, toss to coat well and set aside for 20 minutes.
- In a large frying pan, heat the reamining olive oil over medium high heat. Add enough lamb to fit easily in one layer and cook for 4-5 minutes, turing the pieces to color all sides, until well browned. Tranfer to another container and brown all the meat in batches, adding oil if necessary.
- Add the oinons to the pan and stir constantly until well browned. Stir in the garlic and tomatoes with 1 cup water. Pour into the tanjine and add enough water to boil over high heat, skimming any foam that rises to the surface.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for one hour or until the meat is tender.
- Drain the chick peas, reserving the liquid, and add to the lamb with about 1 cup of the liquid. Simmer for about 30 more minutes. Stir in the olives and lemons and simmer for 20 more minutes. Add half of the cilantro.
- About 1/2 hour before serving prepare couscous, spoon the stew over the couscous and sprinkle with remaining cilantro.