Morocco is famous for many things: its sandy beaches, the Sahara desert, marvellous rugs, and historical architecture. But, there is one thing that is often overlooked in Morocco – its cuisine. 

Moroccan cuisine is a fine mix of culture and flavour. It’s full of colour, and texture and elicits an aroma that makes your mouth water.

Home to an abundance of native spices like Safron, Moroccan cuisine is surprisingly simple to make, but that doesn’t take away from its delight. 

Many of Morocco’s dishes are cooked in a Tagine, a small clay pot with a round base and a domed cover. The pots are sometimes glazed with cultural patterns, giving them an impressive historic finish that adds wonder to the experience. 

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Tagines are often used to make stews, soups, and roast meat. Lamb and chicken are popular staples in the Moroccan diet. Moroccan main dishes are normally accompanied by smaller side dishes that include couscous, hummus, and salads that are mixed with an array of herbs and spices. 

Today, we are going to share one of our favourite chicken tagine recipes. It’s a simple, but effective dish and we hope you enjoy it. 

Ingredients you’ll need: 

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped 
  • 275ml/10fl oz chicken stock 
  • Himalayan sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 chicken breasts or 400 grams of lamb fillets 
  • 1 x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
  • A handful of chopped dried apricots or prunes (some people add both), 
  • 2 tablespoons of clear honey
  • A handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • Couscous, with chopped raisins (optional) to serve
  • natural yoghurt (optional), to serve 

Method

  1. Place the onions, garlic, and chicken stock into a saucepan. Apply medium heat, and bring the mix to a boil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and boil for 5 minutes, or until the volume is reduced by half.
  2. Add the chicken or lamb, tomatoes, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and dried apricots or prunes. Turn on the heat again and bring the mixture back to the boiling point, and then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
  3. Make the couscous according to the packet instructions. If possible, use chicken or lamb stock instead of plain water. If you have any raisins, finely chop them and add them to the dry mix. Season with spices to your taste.
  4. Just before serving, stir the honey and coriander into the pan and cook for a further five minutes.
  5. Serve with couscous and yoghurt.
  6. Enjoy! 

We hope you enjoyed Halal Origins tagine recipe. Stay tuned for more recipes and articles or sign up for our newsletter and get the best deals.