How to Cure & Season your Tagine or Tangia (2024)

FAQs

How to Cure & Season your Tagine or Tangia? ›

Tagine seasoning is done once only, before the very first use. The objective of seasoning is to seal the material (clay) and make it stronger and more durable. Once the seasoning is done, your clay tagine pot is ready for a lifetime of use, and you don't have to re-season it again.

Tagine seasoning is done once only, before the very first use. The objective of seasoning is to seal the material (clay) and make it stronger and more durable. Once the seasoning is done, your clay tagine pot is ready for a lifetime of use, and you don't have to re-season it again.

Seasoning a glazed tagine is not as essential as unglazed, as there's no risk of any raw clay contaminating the taste of the meal. However, the process does strengthen the tagine, so it is recommended anyway to prolong the life of the pot.

Tagines are definitely flavor-dense but are not necessarily spicy or hot. The use of fruits such as apricots or dates and almonds are common, and honey often adds a slight sweetness to an otherwise savory dish. The word “tagine” also refers to the traditional clay and ceramic pots in which the tagines are prepared.

Soak the base and lid in water for 24 hours. Before curing your tagine, you need to make sure that it is completely soaked in water for a full day. This helps to prevent the tagine from cracking when it's exposed to high temperatures during the curing process.

Less water is required when cooking in a tagine because the cone-shaped top condenses steam and returns it to the dish. If you've erred by adding too much water, reduce the liquids at the end of cooking into a thick sauce because a watery sauce is not desirable.

The conical lid allows steam to circulate during cooking, which then creates condensation that drips back onto the meat, fish or vegies, keeping food moist. Some tagines are designed for the oven or stovetop, while others are simply used as decorative serving dishes.

Classic clay or earthenware tagines are usually unglazed, which lends the dishes they cook an earthy flavour, but you can find them nowadays in different types of materials, including glazed ceramics, and in a multitude of colours and designs.

The glaze on a tagine makes it more resistant to burning, but also prevents all those delicious Moroccan flavors from permeating the clay. Soaking a glazed tagine is still recommended to prevent cracking when heated.

The way a tagine is designed, with a cone-shaped top, means water condenses into steam and is retained in the dish; so tagines can become watery if you're not careful with your liquid measures. If you have added too much water, don't worry, you can reduce the liquids at the end of cooking to a thick sauce.

Should a tagine have a hole in the lid? ›

Some tagines have a small hole at the top of the lid that releases steam, meaning the sauce reduces as the steam escapes. But if your tagine doesn't have a hole, reduce the sauce by removing the lid in the last 15-30 minutes of cooking.

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp of argan (or vegetable) oil in a large casserole dish. Add the grated onion and the remaining spice mix and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes so that the onions are soft but not coloured. Add the crushed garlic for the final 3 minutes.

Tagine seasoning is done once only, before the very first use. The objective of seasoning is to seal the material (clay) and make it stronger and more durable. Once the seasoning is done, your clay tagine pot is ready for a lifetime of use, and you don't have to re-season it again.

Tajine is a kind of stew cooked in a stew that can be a mixture of meat, poultry or fish, vegetables or fruit and spices and olive oil. Its origin is a mystery. Its etymology would come from the Greek Teganene which means "earthen dish". Since ancient times, pottery has been used to cook food.

If the consistency of tagine is too thin, you may thicken it with cornstarch and water slurry during the last 5 minutes. Serve over couscous.

Traditionally, tagines would be cooked over coals or open flame, but you can use them over gas flames, electric elements or even in the oven. When heated, the ceramic expands slightly, sometimes creating small, thin cracks in the glaze. This is fine as it will improve the tagine's resistance to temperature changes.