Lamb Tagine

 

 

Lamb Tagine

By Kimberly Vardeman (originally posted to Flickr as African Dinner) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

If you are tired of western flavors, have lamb tagine for a change. The Moroccan spices infuse their flavors into the succulent lamb chunks, which in turn pairs with the dried fruits to create a masterpiece for dinner.

The dish gets its name from special pot ‘tagine’ in which it is originally cooked. It’s a casserole with a conical lid on top. The lid traps most of the steam within the pot and thus allows minimal loss of cooking liquid. Hence, most of it seeps into the meat and packs it with zesty goodness. No wonder, every meat morsel is bursting with a cocktail of sweet and spicy flavors and turning a dinner worth remembering. However, it’s hard to find tagine pot in a Western household. But don’t be disheartened and cook it the way Drilldoggy does! Bring out your slow cooker, dump all the ingredients and set it on while you wear yourself off in the office. As you enter home, let the wonderful smell of the lamb tagine cooking invite you.  The very first spoonful will make sure that you are refilled with energy.

The Moroccans love to enjoy their lamb tagine with couscous salad. Though couscous isn’t allowed in our nutrition concept, make your own couscous with cauliflower and toss it into a crunchy salad with nuts. Just kick back and enjoy your dinner with a Middle Eastern twist!

Ingredients:

Serves: 2

  • 2 lamb shoulder
  • 1-2 cups water
  • Handful of pearl onions, peeled and left whole
  • Eight 1’’ ginger
  • 2 tbsp chopped garlic
  • 250 gm prunes
  • 100 gm dried apricots
  • 5 carrots, chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
  • 2 tbsp lamb spice mix ( pinch each of dried rose petals, ground cumin, garlic powder, dried mint, paprika crushed and blended together)

Method:

  • Toss the carrot chunks and pearl onions into the crockpot.
  • Pour in enough water to just immerse them and set aside.
  • Rub the spices mix all over the lamb and cut out few shallow slashes on its surface.
  • Stuff them with the rosemary leaves and chopped garlic within the cuts and lay out the meat on top of the veggie layer in the crockpot.
  • Throw in the ginger and the dried fruits.
  • Fasten the lid and cook for 8-10 hours on Low.
  • Once done, transfer the lamb onto a cutting board and pull the meat apart in fine shreds using two forks.
  • Pile them up onto a large serving bowl.
  • Discard the ginger and pour rest of the gravy on top of shredded lamb.
  • Serve hot.