Moroccan Lamb Tagine (Mrouzia)

A delicious, sweet, and fragrant tagine usually made for Eid al-Adha, but also perfect for winter days. This dish is best made a day in advance, as it tastes twice as good the next day! Serve with couscous, rice, or bread.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 20 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins
• Calories: 494 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ cup butter
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup water
• ⅓ cup honey
• salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or more to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (Optional)
• 3 cups chicken stock, or more as needed
• 1 ½ teaspoons ras el hanout (Optional)
• 3 pounds lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into cubes
• 2 cups whole blanched almonds
• ½ cup pitted, chopped prunes (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Mix water, paprika, ras el hanout, black pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, cayenne pepper, turmeric, and salt in a small bowl. Add red pepper flakes to the spice paste if you want more of a kick to your dish.

Step 2

Place lamb cubes in a large bowl and rub in the spice paste. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours to overnight.

Step 3

Melt butter in a Dutch oven. Add onions, shallot, garlic, and cinnamon sticks; saute for 6 to 8 minutes. Add lamb with the spice paste. Cover with chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add more stock if lamb looks dry.

Step 4

Add almonds, carrots, apricots, raisins, prunes, and honey to the Dutch oven. Simmer until lamb is completely tender, carrots are cooked, and almonds are slightly softened, 15 to 30 minutes more. Add lemon juice. Season with salt.