Tagines From Morocco Find Their Way To Us Dinner Tables And Kitchens
Tagines is one of the popular North African dishes consumed mostly in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Also known as Tajine or mispronounced Tangines, this North African specialty has traveled all the way across the Atlantic to the kitchens in the US. Moroccan tagines are being served increasingly in specialty food or fast food restaurants all across the United States and has become quite popular.
Tagines are not just the name of the food but also the pot in which they are cooked. Tagine pots are made purely from terra cotta and have a shallow rimmed base. The lid of the tagines is usually conical in shape. The bottom of the pot is always glazed from the inside and this is where it comes in direct contact with the stew or food. The top part of the Moroccan tagines is glazed from the outside, so that it can assist in evaporation of the steam. As a result, the stew or food gets absorbed into the clay and the juice or gravy becomes more concentrated in nature.
There are always potters who try and make newer version of tagines especially the ones having glazed lids from the inside as well as...