This recipe is part of Asif’s Open Kitchen Project where cooks who were evacuated during the war are invited to a home in Tel Aviv to cook a dish that they miss from their own home. Would you like to participate in the project? Register here.
Sarit Ben Simon, 48, who was evacuated from her home in Kiryat Shmona, used to make tanzia for her children on weekends. “They look forward to it so much that by the end of the meal, there’s nothing left in the pot,” she says.
Tanzia is a rich and festive Moroccan dish featuring chicken or lamb combined with dried fruits, explains food researcher Michal Waxman. It’s customarily made on Rosh Hashanah for a sweet new year and on Shabbat. It originated in the northern region of Morocco, near Fez. The ancient Arab capital and a culinary hub, Fez was home to early palaces and royal families, whose cooks were known for their sophisticated cuisine that was ultimately copied by homecooks.
Like many other dishes in Jewish-Moroccan tradition, tanzia has undergone numerous variations over time — butter in the original preparation was omitted to make the dish kosher, and Jewish involvement in the spice trade enriched the seasoning. You can also see Spanish influence in the dish, with the use of sweet dried fruits, a tradition from Andalusia in southern Spain.
For the tanzia:
¼ cup olive oil
4 large onions, peeled and halved
8 pitted prunes, coarsely chopped
10 dried apricots, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons golden raisins
A pinch of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 cup water
3 tablespoons date molasses
1 cup walnuts, chopped
For the chicken:
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
6 chicken legs (totalling 1.2 kg/1.75 lb)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon turmeric
3 cups water
For the rice:
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 cups jasmine rice
¼ cup golden raisins
⅓ cup sliced blanched almonds
1 ½ tablespoons salt
3 cups lukewarm water
- Prepare the tanzia: Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and deep golden brown, 10-15 minutes.
- Add the prunes, dried apricots, raisins, cinnamon and cloves and mix well. Reduce to low-medium heat and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add water, bring to a boil and gently simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- Add the date molasses and chopped nuts, mix well, and gently simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
- Prepare the chicken: Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute over low heat, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 7-10 minutes.
- Raise the heat to medium-high and add the chicken, cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Stir in the salt and turmeric and mix well.
- Add the fried chicken legs and onion to the tanzia. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low heat, cover, and cook for 2 hours, stirring gently every 30 minutes or so.
- Prepare the rice: In the meantime, heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the rice and cook for 3 minutes. Add the raisins, almonds, salt and water and bring to a boil. Cover and gently simmer for 16 minutes. When the rice is ready, turn off the heat, cover the pot with a kitchen towel, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve the tanzia with the chicken and rice.
