TAjINE vs TANjIA

A delicious guide to Tajine and Tanjia

If you’re a fan of Moroccan cuisine or the Mediterranean diet, you’ll be aware of tajine (tagine), the succulent slow-cooked stew made with meat, spices, dried fruit and vegetables. It’s easy to make and tastes as heavenly as it smells!

However, there is also another similar dish called tanjia (tangia). Both tajine and tanjia are delicious savory Moroccan stews. They are similar in the fact they are both named after the clay pots they are cooked in.

However, there are also key differences between the two.

In this blog post we’ll take a look at the two dishes and their respective histories, the differences between them, and some mouth- watering recipe ideas we guarantee will make your mouth water! What are the differences between tajine and tanjia?

Both dishes sound very similar at first glance, but there are some fundamental differences for you to be aware of:

• The shape of the cooking pot: While a tajine is shaped like a cone, a tanjia is shaped like a Greek amphora

• The complexity of the cooking pot:

• A tajine comes in two parts, a cone/dome- shaped top and a dish-shaped bottom.

• A tanjia is a one-piece cooking pot

The way the pots were used in the past: Tagine used to be cooked in the coals of a fire. The tangia was nestled in hot sand or the ashes of a fire. Why was that? Because of the amount of time tangia took to cook…
The time each one takes to cook: A tajine can be out of your oven and on your kitchen table in the space of two hours, but a tanjia takes a little longer to cook. A good tangia can take upwards of five hours to cook. Like the old Moroccan proverb says… “People in a hurry are already dead!”
The meat that is used: As tangia takes a long time to cook, it is perfect for tough and cheap cuts of meat like oxtail and neck. These cuts will become tender and melt in your mouth when you cook them in your tanjia pot! Tangia dishes are best suited for meat. While vegetarian and vegan tajines are now common, vegetarian tangia are extremely rare.

A history of Tajine

The history of the tagine is widely debated (some people claim the Romans cooked food in a similar way), but it is generally understood that the tajine dates back to the 8th century. This method of cooking was even mentioned in the fairytale One Thousand and One Nights!
The tajine is the emblematic dish of North Africa (Maghreb), especially in Morocco. Both the tajine and tangia are dishes that are of Berber origin.
Different regions prepare their tajines in different ways. For example, some areas cook their tajines using clarified butter, while others prefer cooking theirs in oil.

A history of The Tanjia

The Tanjia has a more localized history than the tajine. The cooking pot is primarily associated with Marrakesh, although other versions of tangia have appeared in different parts of Morocco.

When Moroccans roamed the desert, they used hot sand to cook their tanjia. They’d light a fire over the sand to heat it, and then burrow the tanjia in the sand, leaving it there for several hours to cook. Because of this, you will find that tanjia are incredibly resistant to very high temperatures.

Similar to tajines, you didn’t need much water to cook the tanjia, making them the perfect choice if you were traveling in the dry desert, or needing substantial food for a picnic.
Many centuries ago, towns in Morocco had a communal oven, which was operated by a person known as a farnat’chi .(’Master of Fire’).

The marketplaces closed early on a Friday so artisans trading in the markets would come together to buy the meat, oil and spices needed to make the dish early in the morning. They’d give the food to the farnat’chi who would leave the tanjia to cook in the ashes of the oven.

When the markets closed at lunchtime, the artisans would meet in the local park and wait for the tanjia to arrive. They’d then come together to enjoy their delicious dish, fresh out of the oven! Because men primarily cooked the tanjia, it is sometimes referred to as ‘bachelor’s dish’. It is also known as bent r’mad or ‘daughter of ashes’ due to the fact it was cooked in the ashes.

Even today there are still communal ovens in Marrakesh. You can pay a local butcher for the ingredients to make tanjia and take them to the ovens to make a delicious meal that you can take home with you a few hours later!

Why are tajine and tanjia so great for cooking?

Tagine and tanjia have been used for cooking food for centuries, and with good reason! They both use steam to cook the food inside, making it moist and juicy. Any meat you cook using these cooking pots will be deliciously tender.

There are a variety of different sizes of both pots available. This makes them the perfect choice whether you are cooking for two, or if you are cooking for an entire party of people! Some tajine are large enough to cook for twenty people in one sitting.
Tagine and tanjia are fantastic for low maintenance cooking. Just add your ingredients, place in the oven, and you will have a mouth- watering meal in a few hours.

You can serve your meal straight out of the pot too, meaning that you save on the washing up. Just remember that the base of your tajine or tanjia will be hot, so don’t forget to protect your table.
As both types of pot are made of clay, they will last for a very long time if you look after them. Hand wash them after use and avoid extreme changes in temperatures as this will cause the pot to crack. We’d recommend curing them before you use them for the first time. Here’s our easy guide to curing your cooking pot:

How to cure your tajine or tanjia

Whichever cooking pot you use, you should cure and season it before you use it for the first time. This will help to strengthen the clay and help it last for longer.
If you have purchased an unglazed pot, it will also help ensure your food does not taste like clay and detract from the deliciousness of your dish.

To season it, you need to:

• Soak your tajine or tanjia in water for a minimum of two hours (six hours is ideal) and let it fully dry

• If your pot is unglazed, brush the inside and outside of the pot with olive oil

• Place the pot in a cold oven and set the temperature to 300°F (150°C). Don’t put
  your pot straight into a hot oven as this will damage it

• Bake the pot for two hours. Once finished, turn the oven off and let your tajine or tanjia completely cool

• Wash your pot and let it dry

• When you’re ready to use your tajine or tanjia, brush it with olive oil again before you use it.
  If you haven’t used your pot for six months, we’d recommend seasoning it again.
  When you’ve finished with your tajine or tanjia, hand wash it in warm soapy water. Some glazed pots can be put in the dishwasher, but we’d recommend checking the instructions that the pot came with.
  If you have a tajine, store it with the lid slightly ajar so air can circulate through it.
  Popular recipes:
  Are you looking for a dish that is spicy, sour and sweet at the same time? If the answer is yes, both cookware are a perfect choice.
  There are a variety of different things you can put in a tajine including:

• Meats: Lamb, beef, chicken or fish. Fish tajine is very popular on the coast of Morocco, Safi, Essaouria and Agadir.

• Fruit: Apricots, dates, prunes and pomegranates. Preserved lemons are an integral part of Moroccan cuisine and are commonly used.

• Vegetables: Potatoes, carrots, onions and tomatoes.

• Herbs and spices: Saffron, cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger, cinnamon and pepper. There is a Moroccan spice mix called Ras El Hanout, “Head of the shop” “House spice blend” and implies a mixture of the best spices the seller has to offer, which is very intense and smells absolutely beautiful.

• Nuts and other things: Almonds, pistachios, honey and hard- boiled eggs. Tangia dishes are a little more specific than tajines, and although vegetables feature in them, meat is much more prevalent.

• As tanjia are slow-cooked, tender meats such as neck, tail and shoulder are excellent choices. Gamey meats like rabbit work well too. As the meats are cooked for over five hours at a time, they are steamed to perfection and will fall off the bone. As with tajine dishes, spices like saffron and cumin are used liberally to create a delectable smell and flavor. A typical tanjia may contain meat, garlic, preserved lemon, oil and spices including cumin, ginger and saffron.
  Food made in these cooking vessels can be eaten with couscous or bread. Both are excellent choices as they absorb the heady aromatic liquid. For a truly authentic Moroccan experience, accompany your stew with some refreshing mint tea.Like all stews, tajines and tanjia taste even better the day after! We hope that this article has given you some insight into the differences between tajine and tanjia, and has given you some Moroccan inspiration!

  Have you ever eaten tajine or tanjia? Which is your favorite?