Tagine of Chicken in Cumin Sauce

By

A fusion of Moroccan & Palestinian Cuisines

Don’t let the simplicity of this dish fool you!

It has some really deep earthy flavours and is delicious. You, your family and guests will love this, and if you are familiar with the Palestinian dish Maftool, then this will take you right there! Because what I have done is: inspired by the traditional Palestinian Maftool Recipe (which you can find in my book Plated Heirlooms), I have fused the flavours of both Palestinian Maftool & Moroccan Chicken Tagine together to create this twist on the two classics. I Really recommend you try it, every one who did really loved it 😉

I have adapted this recipe for Nestle (as I usually also develop recipes for clients). The video below shows that recipe, and I have included it here to show you how it’s made. Please do note though that – while work is work – I personally always cook with homemade chicken broth (my recipe on this link), and do not recommend you use processed alternatives. As you all know I am all about eating organic foods, natural homemade ingredients and keeping away from processed foods. However, the choice is totally yours, as am sure you are aware of all the health risks of consuming processed foods…etc.

Ingredients

Serves: 4 Cook Time: 1:30 hours
  • 1 whole chicken (1kg) cut into 4 pieces
  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas (200g), peeled
  • 1 tbsp (13g) DS Premium Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 large onion (200g), peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp (5g) whole cumin
  • ½ tsp (2g) cumin powder
  • 1 tsp (5g) ground coriander
  • 1 tsp (5g) ground ginger
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tbsp (20g) lemon zest
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp DS Organic Almond Butter
  • 1-2 tbsp DS Organic Green Shtta (Green Chili Sauce), optional for spicy
  • 2 cups (500ml) water
  • 2 tbsp (20g) toasted sliced almonds to garnish
  • 1 tbsp (5g) chopped parsley to garnish

For couscous

  • 2 ½ cups couscous
  • 1L Chicken Broth

In a bowl, mix well together all the ground spices, half the quantity of olive oil, almond butter, lemon zest and lemon juice. Rub the chicken pieces in this mixture to coat and set aside. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the bottom of a tagine pot, then place the sliced onions on top. Top with the coated chicken pieces together with any remaining spice rub. Add the chickpeas and whole spices then add the water and cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Right before serving, prepare the couscous. Simply cover the couscous with chicken stock and cover until rehydrated and fluffy. Mix in the toasted slithered almonds. Place the couscous in a large serving plate, make a well at the center and pour in the chicken tagine. Garnish all with toasted almonds and chopped parsley.

Serve hot.

When cooking at home we have so much space to experiment, do fusions of our favourite recipes, ingredients and even between two very different cuisines. After all that is the fun in home cooking, the freedom that we have, knowing that we cook the food that we like, the way we like it. What are your favourite fusions or personal take on specific recipes. I like to be inspired by you guys so go on share, even if not recipes, just inspiring concepts 🙂

Relative Links

You may also like…