Morocco – Chicken Tagine

by Y Shomwi

Tagine cuisines in Morocco refers to the undisturbed recipe, meaning a recipe is cooked until ready undisturbed. It is mostly used while preparing vegetable Tagine. These cuisines are normally prepared on Fridays where all the family, friends or relative are home and it’s normally a day for week off. People like these dishes a lot. Let us taste the Chicken Tagine from Morocco.

Morocco has the unique style of sharing both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea water. The country is bordered by Algeria to the east, Western Sahara to the south, Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north.

The picture shows Vegetable Tagine of long white tomatoes with spices like;

• paprika
• cumin
• cayenne pepper
• ginger e.t.c

When it comes to the Chicken or any meat Tagine, cooking processes may be the same but vary with the ingredient, either meat or veggies.

Chicken Tagine however, it will be a little different as we will cook using the oven.

Traditionally every Tagine is boiled until ready for meal. The recipe is set with all the ingredients on it, boiled without any shakes until ready.

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 large carrots
• 1/2 cup Greek green olives
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• Cilantro leaves

Cooking Methods

• Prepare chicken thighs by removing bones..
• Chop the onions and carrots into pieces.
• Zest the lemon.
• Mix 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest with 1 minced garlic clove.
• Marinate chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
• Brown the chicken both sides in a smokey heated oil using any frying pan.
• Browning process may take about 8 minutes. Once done browning, wait it until cool and remove chicken skin.
• Reduce heat and fry onions until browned on the edges. After 5 minutes of frying the onions will get browned without shape distortion.
• Add the remaining minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add the spices and flour and cook for about 30 seconds.
• Stir in the broth, remaining lemon zest, add the chicken back in the cooking pan, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the carrots, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender. Check for chicken burns.
• Stir in the olives, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Check for taste and adjust with seasonings. Boil a little for 2 minutes less and remove it from heat.
• The cuisine is ready for day meal.

Enjoy.