M'rouzia - Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Ras el Hanout
A Moroccan lamb tagine (mrouzia) spiced with ras el hanout and sweetened with honey, raisins and chickpeas. Ras el hanout pairs with honey, almonds and dates, which feature in many Moroccan meat dishes; in some regions of Morocco it is even added to coffee. Ras el hanout is the most prized product in any spice shop and every seller keeps the recipe for their own blend secret. It usually contains 10-20 spices, but the number can reach 100. By tradition at least one of the spices must be an aphrodisiac. It commonly includes cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, rosebuds and lavender. The blend used here (from the Baharat spice shop) contains turmeric, ginger, cloves, cardamom, white pepper, cayenne, allspice, mace and fennel. Recipe adapted from epicurious.com. Ras el hanout can be replaced with your own blend of the spices listed above.
Ingredients
| 700 g | lamb (leg used), cut into bite-size pieces | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | ras el hanout |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | salt |
| 0.5 tsp | 2.5 ml | black pepper |
| 0.5 tsp | 2.5 ml | ground ginger |
| 0.25 tsp | 1.3 ml | saffron (optional) |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | water |
| 1 | onion, small, grated | |
| 1 | garlic clove, finely chopped | |
| 1 | cinnamon stick | |
| 25 g | butter | |
| 100 g | raisins | |
| 50 g | cooked chickpeas | |
| 0.125 cup | 30 ml | honey |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | ground cinnamon |
| шепа | sesame seeds or flaked almonds, for serving |
Instructions
- A day ahead, mix all the spices (ras el hanout, salt, black pepper, ginger and saffron) and rub them evenly into the lamb. Leave in the fridge until the next day, or at least for a few hours. If you don't have time the marinating is not essential, but it makes it tastier.
- Put the meat, onion, garlic and butter in a pot, cover with a lid and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring periodically so the meat browns evenly.
- Add the water and the cinnamon stick and leave to simmer, covered, over low heat for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is done.
- Then add the raisins, chickpeas, honey and ground cinnamon, put the lid back on and braise for about another 30 minutes, until the lamb becomes completely tender.
- Remove the lid and increase the heat. Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes, stirring periodically, until some of the water in the sauce has evaporated.
- Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds or toasted flaked almonds. Serve with Moroccan couscous with ras el hanout, or with rice.