This dish is scrumptious!!! I paired it with the Sweet and Nutty Moroccan Couscous on this site and the combination of flavors was phenominal. I highly recommend!!!
loved this. but next time i will skip the carrots, did not like the flavor they added. in the last half hour i threw in some chopped mango, pine nuts and currants. yum!
I followed the advice in Lumiere's review (except for the extra-spicy harissa) and the dish was fantastic. Lamb isn't carried in my local supermarkets so I used vennison and it turned out wonderful. This is going into my recipe favorites!
This is a really delicious stew. I brought it to a dinner along wtih the couscous and cumcumber salad and everyone enjoyed it. I found another very similar recipe and made a couple of additions just before serving. 1/4 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley and 3/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved.
This recipe had all the flavor and tenderness of a lamb dish I have been seeking for a while. I only made some minor modifications--left the spice rub on for 36 hours, used regular tomato paste instead of sun-dried--and it came out very well. The cooking time was a little long for a weeknight dinner, but I will definitely be making this again during the weekend.
Superb flavors. The only change was I substituted ketchup for the sun-dried tomato paste (& only because I didn't have it in the house)-other than that I followed recipe exactly as submitted (something I wish others would do before changing all the ingredients and then rating. You will love this if you enjoy what I call "ethnic" flavors. Yum.
Delicious! I threw this into the slow cooker at 10 (on high) and it was ready by 2:30pm. I didn't have cayenne but it still tastes great. I served it over a bed of rice. To make the rice, I put some jasmine rice I had into the rice cooker and added some cinnamon and raisins to the water. Yummy! It is a little greasy and it is basically lamb stew but the spices add a delicious twist. Next time, I'd like to eliminate the oil and add more cornstarch for a thicker stew.
This was very good and interesting. I would not recommend using lamb, or an expensive piece of meat the spices are so strong it is not worth it to spend extra. Go with chicken :)
I made a leg of lamb and my family is not used to the flavor of the lamb. So when I used this recipe my family was just excited and didn't even know they were eating lamb! This one is a keeper.
The first thing my guests said when they came into the house was "what smells so good?" This is such a fragrant recipe. And despite the daunting list of ingredients, it is easy to make. I used "lamb stew" lamb which was already cubed, but next time I think I will get a better cut of meat . The only other change I'd make is to use a little less broth. I will definitely make this again, thanks!
I substituted goat for the lamb. Goat is very low cost here in SW Az. I also marinated the meat 24 hours.
I loved it! I will cut down on the cumin in the future though, that was a bit much for my taste.
Really a wonderful blend of spices. I didn't have tomato paste or stock so added a can of diced oven roasted tomatoes instead with a little extra water. It turned out wonderfully.
Excellent base recipe! It lends itself to tinkering to suit your tastes. If you happen to have a stove-ready clay tagine pot, it was made for this. **A note about saffron... others have said it isn't really a marinade ingredient. This is true, but if like me you love saffron and have handfuls of the stuff you bought at a spice market, by all means, throw in a large pinch and then throw in some more while the lamb simmers. Its unique flavor is irreplaceable.** I used a little smoked paprika (1/4 tsp max), ground up a little caraway seed and added a dash of allspice. In place of the tomato paste I used finely chopped oil-cured sund-dried tomatoes. I skipped the carrots but added a can of rinsed and drained garbanzo beans near the end with a half pound of dried apricots and a couple of TBL chopped preserved lemon peel in place of the lemon zest. I even tossed in a few wedges of an old-ish tomato I had laying around. Once you have the lamb tender enough, you can really play around with the rest of the recipe. It was served with couscous topped with toasted slivered almonds, steamed zucchini matchsticks on the side and I raked in the kudos....
I was looking for a recipe that would bring back the happy memories of our family trip to Marrakech. This was it! From the minute the spices started heating, my house smelled divine. We ate the tagine with couscous, and it was almost as good as being back in Morocco. Yum!
Was looking for a beef tagine recipe but used this one and substituted the beef instead of the lamb. Was really tasty and would love to try with lamb.
The flavors were rich and fragrant; just like a tagine I loved in my old college town. To make it more like my favorite version, I added about two handfuls of golden raisins and chickpeas, each, about 45 minutes before the dish was done. I added a bit of extra stock to make up for the liquid the raisins would absorb.
This is one of the best recipes I've found here! Thanks! The spice combination is superb and I think it would translate well to a slow simmered vegetarian stew. I will definitely use this recipe again.
OH My Goodness!! This is a great Lamb!! I have been anticipating to try this recipe for the longest, but was thrown off by the amount of ingredients. I enjoyed how well the seasoning blend together and the flavor of lamb. "Ras El Hanout" seasoning can also be used in place of most spices. I usually bake my lamb everytime I prepare it, however; I decided to try a new method for cooking lamb and this is a great recipe!! A good combination of food to have with lamb are rice and cabbage. The recipe mentioned 1 1/2 to 2hrs, but it only took my lamb about 40-45 minutes to simmer. I used lamb steak, therefore; it did not take as long.
Smells delicious and tastes almost as good. 4 out of 5 because it takes a lot of prep time.
My family loved this recipe! I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs and added two handfuls of golden raisin. I left out the saffron, but we didn't seem to miss it. I served it with plain couscous topped with parsely and crumbled feta. The feta gave the dish a tang that seem to round it out perfectly. Also made the cucumber raita.
I'm just learning to cook and this was a really great, easy and delicious recipe. My 15 month old son and chef husband loved it as well!! I don't think I would change a thing, except maybe experiment with adding raisins or other veggies in the future.
I made it today - I already had all the spices and it seemed like the perfect dish for a snowy Saturday - and served it in deep bowls over your Moroccan Couscous - just heavenly! I'll make and enjoy these frequently in the future. Thank you so much for sharing it!
This was a huge hit! I fed 3 men and myself (I'm a woman) and there wasn't anything left. I suggest that you double the recipe!
Fantastic! I used leg of lamb meat that I allowed to marinade for 3 days rather than just overnight. I also used beef broth instead of chicken broth. Best tagine I've made so far!!
This was fantastic. My husband loved it and has already requested it again a week later. I really enjoyed it too dispite the fact that I'm not a big lamb fan. The spices are delicious and smell amazing while cooking.
The seasonings on this are simply to die for. I used lamb and followed the recipe exactly and it was wonderful. I am going to do chicken next time and it promises to be just as good, I'm sure.
I have made this 3 times now,twice in the oven and once in a slow cooker it works perfect both ways.If it was left to my partner we would have it every day. Thank you for the recipe.
I made this while I was staying with my daughter in Dubai. It was amazing! I made it with everything you listed but added pickled lemons (sliced) and added some dried apricots. Now that I'm back home, I'm planning to make it for a crowd on Saturday. Thank you for the great recipe!
I will second many of the comments made by others... I browned the lamb in a skillet, then put everything in my crock pot in the morning. I only used a can of chicken stock, and at first it doesn't look like it will be enough, but it is just the right amount. I actually had to add some cornstarch like suggested. My boyfriend and I could not wait to eat, we were thinking about dinner all day! The smell was marvelous! This dish is definitley worth the time. The lamb turned out so tender, it fell apart in your mouth. I served it over some boxed cous cous, with some fresh foccacia bread. Thank you for sharing this very ethnic and traditional recipe!
Wow!!! I tripled the recipe for a larger group using chicken and it was still wonderful (it took 2 crock pots). I didn't do any shortcuts, which made this quite labor intensive - so next time I will chop things in my food processor and maybe use jar garlic and ginger (not as good, but time-saving.) This is too good not to make again! It was great with the attached couscous and cucumber raita recipes.
we really enjoyed this.. halved the onion and added celery.. left out the saffron and the honey.. forgot the tomato paste.. used 2/3 lamb chops and 1/3 pork chops.. added the caraway and allspice as orannaise suggested.. threw in the crockpot as Lana did.. ty for the recipe
I made this with chicken....definitely cut the chicken into bite sizes first and roll in spices and let sit for a few days in the fridge. The spices on fantastic... I was tempted to add a little curry, and glad that I didn't . Served with couscous and I wanted to roll on the floor like a happy dog when I was done.
Just made this tonight on my back porch using dutch ovens and charcoal. It was fantastic!
This my third time making this recipe. The flavor gives you an OMG moment from your first bite! I used beef and it was amazing. I didn't have all the spices and used curry powder. The main ingredients in curry powder are: tumeric, coriander, black pepper, garlic, fennel and cumin. Since it has most of the spices listed in this recipe I figured it was worth a shot (besides, I have a LOT of it. Lol!) The end result DOES NOT taste like curry AT ALL! It's just this, honest to goodness, I'm in heaven, no you can't have mine taste! It's waaaay better than traditional American beef stew! Word to the wise, ALWAYS double this recipe. You will regret it every time you don't!
This recipe is excellent; even my kids love it! I followed the recipe almost exactly except I didn't have saffron and I used regular tomato paste. I would say try this recipe if your looking for something a little different with a lot of flavor.
This recipe turned out great. Just enough heat. I added chick peas since I only had a pound of meat. This one's a keeper!
Wow this was so good. The lamb was tender and flavorful. I will definitely make again.
Excellent recipe and one of my favourites. I cooked mine in a slow cooker and did find the carrots got a bit soggy, so next time I will add them later on in the cooking process.
Loved this recipe! Tried it out. However, doubled up ALL the spices, and let it marinate for 16hrs (only because I marinated the previous night n cooked it for dinner the next day). The only change I would recommend to this recipe is to add the carrots much later, coz they had become very mushy by the end. Would have been nice if they preserved a tiny bit of crunch!Paired up the dish with Greek style buttered saffron rice
I made this dish on a wim and it was delicious,I made it with moroccan couscouse and it blended so well,it will be a family favorite
Restaurant grade! Took less time to simmer than the recipe said (40-50 minutes), but this may have been because my hob wasn't on the lowest setting. My only criticism would be perhaps a little salty for my palate. Served it with cucumber raita and cous cous. Everyone loved it, and I'll definitely make it again!
Very good flavor combinations - beware of the marinating and simmer time though. Excellent over couscous!
Excellent recipe, loved the outcome but for some reason my lamb was a little dry. I used the shank of lamb cut into pieces and slow cooked for 2 hours
We did not know quite what to expect, never having tried Moroccan food. We really enjoyed the flavor. The spices complimented one another very well, and although there are a lot of ingredients, the dish is really not difficult to make.
Made the recipe as is, except for adding half a large butternut squash. We cubed the squash and added it with the carrots. The squash was a bit mushy but tasted great! For the spices, I added them as directed except for the saffron. As directed in most other recipes that use saffron, I put the pinch of saffron in a bowl with about 2 tbsp of water to let the flavour come out. Then I added the saffron and the saffron water to the lamb along with the other spices. Love the flavour of this recipe. Will definitely make again!
Looking for an easy tagine recipe for lamb and found this one......ITS BRILLIANT!. brought me back to Marrakech!! marinated actually only an hour or so(sure its even better longer) added touch more salt and cayenne but left out garlic pouder in marinade as I dont like it and prefer fresh. Bit more stock as well and sauce was amazing! Will be making this often!!! Thanks Benevolent Empress!!
Perfect. I make it exactly as instructed and it turns out perfectly. Sometimes I substitute chicken thighs which works beautifully.
This is a fantastic dish. I added a can of fire-roasted tomatoes and about 1/4 cup of golden raisins to it as well. The tomatoes make it even MORE robust, while the raisins add a little bit of sweetness to it. I will definitely make this one again!
I cooked this for 100 people over the weekend,i served the lamb shanks with butternut squash,snowpeas and baby maris pipers,the only change i made was to add tinned plum tomatos to the sauce.The resulting orange powder is the same as osmenish powder i loved when i was in turkey its great to finally get the ingrediants which also work very well with chicken.A great success thanks for the recipe
This was just a perfect recipe, my husband loved it. I added the onions then the garlic, then ginger then I added the meat & stirred till all sides were brown & continued normally with the other ingredients. I added also a can of chickpeas & 10 minutes before it was done I added one sweet potatoe cut into cubes. It was great & definitely a keeper.
I didnt have cayenne pepper, cardamom, saffron or honey. I used regular tomato paste instead of sundried. My husband is Mauritanian and he liked it. Next time I will try to have those ingredients on hand, and I think I will try leaving the carrots sliced into coins. I like the sweet taste of boiled carrot, it was not discernable with such small pieces of carrot.
great easy and fun recipe, just be careful the types of honey you use - the first time i used a very mild syrupy honey and 1tbsp was perfect, the second time i use a very intense non-syrupy type of honey and it was too sweet. other than that, its great! I also put some harrisa in and gave it a bit more kick! love love love
so delicious! lamb cuts are really expensive here, so we used ground lamb and it still turned out great.
I made this last year for Thanksgiving and it was delicious. My family kept walking in the kitchen look for the flavors that tickled their noses, they absolutely loved it!
Delicious, this is one of those spectacular dishes that are really easy to make. Family loved it!!!!!!
There seem to be a lot of ingredients, but it goes together very easily. I used wild goose instead of lamb as to me lamb is similar to venison and I thought goose would match the spices. I marinated overnight and the next afternoon when I started to cook the goose, there was almost a need to wear a bib! I was salivating very strongly due to the delicous aroma coming from the dutch oven. Best of all, the flavour lived up to the smells. I will definitely be making this again with venison, elk, and chicken. Very nice with served up with millet.
Everyone in my family liked it. Next time I think I'll adjust the flavoring to dial down on the sweet and kick up the hot a little. Thanks for posting!
Followed the recipe exactly. Spices were wonderfully flavorful but not overpowering. The butcher cut the lamb into cubes for me, though I ended up removing a bit more of the fat. It was incredibly tender after 2 hours. Great way to celebrate cooler weather
This was a fantastic recipe as written, but I did tweak it a little bit. In reading other reviews from oranaise and njoynjp, I didn't brown the meat and added it to the cooked veggies. I did add more veggies than the recipe stated and it turned out wonderful the flavor was amazing! I used beef broth instead of chicken. I skipped the saffron all together. Then when simmering I juiced half a lemon and threw in the spent peel. When it was time to eat I fished out the lemon peel and dished it up with rice and a cool cucumber salad.
Very tasty, indeed!!!I cooked it accordingly and as a side I made raisins, almonds& butternut squash couscous.
Fabulous. The spice mix is terrific. I followed the recipe but not did not use cornstarch as I prefer a 'soupy' couscous. Whole family loved this meal. It will come a family classic. Thank you. Lisa - can I blog about your wonderful recipe? lynn@mamasays.us
I don't comment or rate, but for this one I had to my kids and husband don't eat lamb but they loved it. And I didn't change a thing. Will be making this may nights to come.
I used ras al hanout season blend from Cosst Plus as noted by other reviewers. I used that instead of all of the other spices and it came out great. I also made lamb and chicken together and it came out perfect. I cooked the chicken and veggies and then put it in a slow cooker for a couple hours. My husband really liked this recipe - although, he did say he would have liked it served with rice (he's a simple eater). This went perfectly with the Moroccan Couscous and Cucumber Raita. Thanks for the recipe.
I really liked this recipe and have made it several times this winter. It is really comforting during the cold winter nights. The sweetness of the carrots really balance out the spiciness.
I had leftover lamb and was looking to use it up. I was so disappointed when I saw that the meat was supposed to marinate for several hours and then simmer for a while too. I needed dinner faster than that. :( Anyway...the meat only marinated an hour and the simmering was only for 30 minutes, but it was still delicious. I ended up using chicken and lamb together, chicken broth and omitted several spices like cloves, coriander, and cardamom (b/c I didn't have them). My husband and I enjoyed the flavor and my toddler gobbled up the meat served with rice. This recipe is a keeper even if you're not good at planning ahead.
Absolutely amazing! This is one of the best things I've ever made! I've made it a few times and the last time substituted chicken for the lamb just because it was cheaper and with all of the spices, you don't really tell the difference. I usually make a huge batch and freeze the rest. This is great served with cous cous! I really love the Moroccan cous cous on this site, but I've found that the spices in that and the spices in this are just too overwhelming together, so I usually just serve it with lightly salted plain cous cous.
Wonderful flavor and the lamb was so tender. I ended up marinating it in the fridge for 3 days (didn't intend to but life happens.) I used only 3 carrots since that's all I had and it was just the right amount for us. Next time I make this, I will add a bit of cayenne since I like a ittle spicier.
I have made this recipe so many times I’ve lost count. My daughter and I really enjoye it and my daughter took a dish of it to the hospital for a resident she knows there who was too busy to go and get a meal in the cafeteria and he loved the dish.
I've eaten tagines in plenty of Moroccan restaurants (even though I haven't been to Morocco unfortunately).. but this is one of the BEST tagines I've ever tasted. Definitely a keeper!!!
Excellent. I used chunks of leg of lamb. My husband was skeptical at first, but he loved it. Not at all gamey. I served it with the couscous, also excellent, but because they both have complex flavors I think the pairing was overkill. Way better with roasted or boiled potatoes. Yum!
I’m using that recipe for the last 9 months and it’s always a good meal for my friends and family. Really taste and brings us a warming feeling when eating over the winter. Valéria - London
This was a delicious dish. I used all the odd bits of lamb from buying a 1/2 lamb. I could it on a slow simmer for 5-6 hours. Instead of using stock, i used left over marinade from the day before's barbecue and water.
Made it per recipient including 8 hr marinade period. Fantastic dinner! Served with saffron rice and curry chickpeas.
I made this for dinner last night, but used chicken breast instead of lamb. Instead of sun-dried tomato paste, I used regular tomato paste. For the rice, I used Zatarain's Yellow Rice. Everybody loved it! It was amazing! Will definitely be making this again, but will probably double-up on it so we can have a repeat the next night! Next time I make it, though, I will not put the saffron in the marinade - another reviewer (Oranaise) is right about two things: 1) you don't use chicken broth with lamb. Use beef broth instead. and 2) Saffron is too expensive of a spice to waste on a marinade. Instead, prepare it the correct way ahead of time and add it to the mix, when it's time to simmer for 2 hours. I will, also, add in the other 2 spices Oranaise recommends (1/2 tsp caraway and 1/2 tsp allspice).
