Tagine de Viande à la Tfaya (طاجين بالتفاية)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy clay tagine or 5 liter braising pot
• •Wide skillet for the tfaya
• •Small bowl for blooming saffron

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the meat

   Rub the meat with the grated onions, ginger, turmeric, black pepper, salt, and bloomed saffron. Work it in with your hands so the onion clings to every piece. Let it sit 30 minutes if the house gives you that time.

2. 2

   Start the braise

   Warm the olive oil and smen in a heavy tagine or braising pot over medium heat. Add the meat with all its seasoning, the cinnamon stick, and the tied coriander. Turn the pieces until they lose their raw color and the onions begin to smell sweet, not sharp.

3. 3

   Cook it tender

   Add the water, cover, and lower the heat until the sauce murmurs gently. Cook 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, turning the meat now and then, until it gives easily when pressed with a spoon. Add small splashes of water only if the pot threatens to dry before the meat is tender.

4. 4

   Make the tfaya

   While the meat cooks, put the sliced onions in a wide pan with a ladle of the meat sauce if you can spare it. Cook slowly until the onions slump and turn golden. Add the drained raisins, honey, ground cinnamon, and orange blossom water if using. Keep cooking until the mixture is glossy and thick, with no watery puddle left in the pan.

5. 5

   Reduce the sauce

   Lift out the coriander bundle and cinnamon stick. If the meat is tender but the sauce is thin, uncover the pot and simmer until the sauce coats the spoon. This matters: tfaya is sweet, so the meat sauce needs depth and salt underneath it or the dish becomes flat.

6. 6

   Crown and serve

   Arrange the meat on a warm central platter or leave it in the open tagine. Spoon the dark tfaya over the top and scatter the fried almonds. Bring it to the table with round khobz, and let people reach from the same dish. Une table, c'est une porte qu'on laisse ouverte.

Chef Tips

• •Use real saffron threads and bloom them in warm water before they touch the meat. The powdered yellow stuff gives color without honor.
• •Tfaya needs time more than force. If the onions brown too fast, they turn bitter before they turn sweet.
• •If you serve this with couscous, steam the grain in passes over the broth, never boil it. Couscous is the mountain the meal is built on, not a neutral side.
• •La balance est dans les yeux, the scale is in the eyes. Taste the tfaya near the end: it should be sweet, spiced, and onion-deep, not candy.

Advance Preparation

• •The meat can be braised one day ahead and chilled in its sauce. Reheat gently, then make or warm the tfaya before serving.
• •The raisins can be soaked and drained several hours ahead.
• •Fried almonds keep one day in an airtight jar, but scatter them at the table so they stay crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 305g)