I don’t own a tagine, but you can make this delicious recipe in a cast iron or non-stick pan– with great results. The blend of spices is what gives this dish an aromatic Moroccan flavor– cinnamon, paprika, cumin, coriander, turmeric. The contrast sweetness of the dried fruits works beautifully with the aromatic spices. Best of all, this meal can be on the table in about 30 minutes, without sacrificing flavor. (You can easily substitute tofu or lamb and it would really delicious.)
My husband has a love affair with Middle Eastern spices. I wasn’t that familiar with these flavors, given that most of my childhood cuisine was German. Slowly, but surely, I’m learning to love the fragrance and flavors of what I consider to be “exotic”– cinnamon, curry, turmeric, coriander to name just a few. When I made this recipe, my husband was just as pleased as when I made the ” Greek Tacos/Easy Gyros“.
I love kitchen gadgets, but I have not been able to justify buying a genuine tagine. Even though I used a regular pot, this recipe captured a perfect blend of spices that lend this dish a nice Moroccan flavor. The best part is that you can make this in less than 45 minutes (maybe even less)!
I can tell you that the spices are so aromatic! I used paprika, turmeric, coriander, cumin and cinnamon.
Pleases trust me when I mention the addition of chopped dried prunes and golden raisins is delicious. (I added dried apricots, as well.) The total prep work time to cut up the chicken breast, slice onion, measure the spices and chop the dried fruits took less than 20 minutes. Chop, chop!!
We begin by cooking the chicken until lightly browned– followed by adding the remaining ingredients…
The spices, and chicken broth. Give it all a nice stir.
The aroma from the spice mixture can really get your hunger going. With a lid on, the dish is cooked for about 8 minutes. That gave me a chance to cut some cilantro, from my herb garden and to slice some scallions as garnish. Chutney is also a good garnish, but I didn’t have any on hand…next time.
I keep my secret weapon on standby when my sauces don’t thicken up the way I like. I make a slurry of water and some corn starch, whisked together on standby. I did add a bit of slurry to thicken up the sauce a bit.
TASTING NOTES: I’ve served this with brown rice, before. This time, I cooked Pearl Couscous. I really like the texture of this “pasta” and it’s now my favorite way to serve this. The spice blend is so aromatic and really makes the flavors “pop”. The contrast of the sweet dried apricots, prunes and raisins is perfect to the subtle heat from the spices. This dish tastes just as delicious the following day, since we had leftovers. I’ve used both boneless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs to make this recipe. Honestly, I think the chicken thighs have more flavor and moisture.
This recipe post has been updated with newer photos from it’s original post in 2009.
Quick, Easy and Flavorful Tagine-Style Moroccan Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large bite-size pieces I used boneless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 turns of the pan
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grill seasoning blend recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick or coarse salt and coarse pepper
- 2 medium or 1 large yellow skinned onion quartered and sliced
- 4 to 6 pitted prunes coarsely chopped
- 8 to10 dried apricots
- 1 cup cup golden raisins
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
Spice Blend:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon a couple pinches
Instructions
- Make the spice blend first, so you have it ready.
- Season the chicken with Montreal seasoning blend.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, in a slow stream, and add the garlic. Scatter chicken around the pan in an even layer.
- Cook chicken pieces 2 minutes on each side to brown, then add the onions, prunes, apricots, raisins.
- Add the spice blend to the pan and stir. Add the stock.
- Cover and reduce to moderate heat. Cook 7 or 8 minutes, remove the lid and stir.
- Uncover chicken and cook another 2 to 3 minutes to thicken slightly**.
- **NOTE: I have never gotten the sauce to thicken enough to suit my preference. I make a slurry of about 1/4 cup water and 1 tablespoon of corn starch, whisked to have no lumps.
- On a moderate heat, I add about 1 tablespoon at a time of the slurry until it thickens to our liking.
- Adjust the seasoning, to taste, and serve chicken on a bed of couscous or rice cooked in chicken stock.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and scallions.
- OPTIONAL:
- Serve with chutney.
Notes
I am told, under good authority, that a Dutch oven does a much better job than a tagine anyway. While the tagine is pretty, it looses too much heat. The cover of the Dutch oven has a much tighter fit.
Wow I can taste the heat it looks great and with a nice cold beer. Works for me.
Good for you for trying to branch out into the world of Indian cooking. I’m always afraid it will make my apartment smell for days, but I love the flavors. And would you believe that Rachel Ray made an Indian inspired dish that is very similar to this the other day when I went to her show?! It’s supposed to be on tv sometime this week, so I’ll keep a lookout and point it out to you. Hope you are getting your second wind – I love cookies! 🙂
wow, that looks so wonderful!
I know Craig and you better remove that picture quickly (smile). This recipe sounds so delicious… I’ll try it.
Aw! What a sweet tribute to the hubby. He’s lucky to get all of your delicious cooking 🙂
If we all say how cute your hubby is, do you think he’ll let you leave it up? 🙂
You even cookd it in a RR pot!
You should do a whole post on kitchen gadgets alone…hint hint!
I really like the sweet and savory ingredients you used, this sounds incredible!
Sounds yummy, I haven’t tried very many Indian dishes. I have eaten the butter chicken and totally felt nauseated, so I am a tad apprehensive about trying others. BTW your hubby looks far too thin to be enjoying your recipes appropriately! LOL. Also, btw, I was redoing something on my site and messed up, again, so you have to re-do the following thingy. Sorry. Guess I better leave it alone for awhile. LOL.
I made this same Rachael Ray recipe months back and posted it.
I thought it was excellent!
I have another Morrocan Chicken dish bookmarked from Bon Appetit w/ olives and lemons. I love the spices in this dish, and it was so easy!
What a cute story!! This one hooked the hubs, huh? I can’t wait to try out this recipe. I don’t own a real Tagine, but I do love that style of food. The spice blend sounds great. Looks delish!