Tanjia Marrakshia — Print Recipe

A signature dish of Marrakech where beef is slow-cooked for hours in a special urn-shaped clay pot with preserved lemons, saffron, and smen, traditionally prepared by men for gatherings.

Ingredients

1.5kg beef shank, cubed
2 preserved lemons, quartered
1 tbsp smen (aged butter) or ghee
1 tsp saffron threads
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 cloves garlic, whole
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1 Place the beef chunks in a deep oven-safe pot or Dutch oven and add all the spices, garlic, preserved lemons, smen, olive oil, and water, mixing to coat evenly.
2 Seal the pot tightly with a double layer of foil and then the lid to trap all steam inside, ensuring no moisture escapes during the long cooking.
3 Place in a 150C oven and cook undisturbed for approximately 3.5 hours until the beef is meltingly tender and falls apart at the touch of a fork.
4 Remove from oven, carefully open the lid, and serve the tender beef in its concentrated aromatic sauce with plenty of crusty bread for soaking up the juices.

Did You Know?

Traditionally, Marrakech bachelors would prepare tanjia by bringing their sealed clay pots to the local hammam (bathhouse) furnace keeper, who would slow-cook it in the ashes overnight.