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Tanjia marrakchia
Slow-cooked beef with preserved lemon
Tanjia marrakchia: Marrakech's bachelor's stew of beef with preserved lemon, garlic, saffron and smen
Marrakech men's dish par excellence, tanjia is packed into a tall clay urn on a Friday morning, sealed with paper and string, and carried to the furnace man of the local hammam, who buries it in the warm ashes all day. Nothing is browned and almost no water goes in: the beef shin collapses in its own juices with preserved lemon, a whole head of garlic, cumin, saffron and smen into soft, sticky strands with a sharp, salty, lemony sauce. It comes to the table in the evening with bread and nothing else. At home, a lidded casserole in a low oven gives the same result. Chef's tip: wrap the lid of the pot in foil before closing it; a tight seal keeps in the steam that braises the meat without adding water.
- Total time
- 375 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ⅝ lb beef shin or veal shankon the bone if possible, in large chunks
- 1 preserved lemonquartered, flesh and peel
- 1 head garliccloves peeled and left whole
- 1 tbsp smenmade from pasteurised butter, or ghee
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 pinch saffron threadscrumbled
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp saltthe lemon is salty
- ¾ cup water
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 275°F (fan 250°F).
Step 2: Put 2 ⅝ lb beef shin or veal shank, 1 preserved lemon, 1 head garlic, 1 tbsp smen, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 pinch saffron threads, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground black pepper and ½ tsp salt in a clay tanjia, a bean pot or a heavy lidded casserole and mix with your hands until the meat is well coated.
5 minStep 3: Pour in ¾ cup water. Cover the top tightly with baking paper and foil, then the lid.
Step 4: Cook in the oven for 5–6 hours without opening, until the meat falls apart when pressed with a spoon and sits in a thick, oily, golden sauce.
330 minStep 5: Open the pot and shake it gently to mix the juices. If the sauce is thin, pour it into a small pan and boil it for 5 minutes until syrupy. A common mistake is adding more salt before tasting: the preserved lemon releases plenty as it cooks.
5 minStep 6: Tip the tanjia into a shallow dish and serve hot with bread for scooping.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 60 g
- Carbs
- 4 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tanjia marrakchia take?
- About 375 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 360 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of preserved lemon?
- Lime, or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice per lemon (no zest from bottled juice).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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