Chicken with okra from the tagine

Recipe for a Moroccan tagine with chicken legs and okra / ladyfinger

The tagine is a traditional North African casserole made of natural clay, in which meat and vegetables are cooked tender and juicy over a long time. The small oven stores and distributes the heat evenly, so that the ingredients are cooked vitamin-friendly with little fat and liquid. The tagine is sensitive to rapid temperature differences and should therefore be heated only slowly.

The long stewing time of the ingredients with the spices creates an incomparable pleasure. Okras are also called gumbo or ladyfingers and when buying, look for young pods free of bruises, tender but not soft, and no more than four inches long. If you do not have a tajine - this dish is also successful in ta casserole.

Ingredients (serves four)

1 small chicken or 6 chicken legs
500 g of okras
500 g tomatoes (fresh or peeled from a can)
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
1 tsp tomato puree
2 tsp coriander seed (or ground)
1 tsp of ginger powder or 2 cm of fresh ginger
1 tsp mild chilli powder (to taste, e.g. Piment dEspelette) or smoked paprika powder
1 pinch of saffron
½ tsp brown raw cane sugar
1 lemon
½ bunch of parsley
Salt, pepper
olive oil
300 g couscous

Preparation

Cut the chicken into 6 to 8 parts and skin it if desired.
Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large pan or casselrole, brown the chicken in batches and set aside. Drain off excess fat from the pot, but dissolve the brown with some water to put later into the tagine.
Wash the tomatoes and cut into eighths. Rub the coriander seeds in the mortar. If you use fresh ginger, peel it and rub it with a fine grater.
Peel the onion, finely dice it , and then add the remaining olive oil and the onions in the pan. Cook, stirring, until they begin to soften, about three minutes. Peel and finely chop the garlic and add to the onions when they are soft. Slightly push aside and heat the tomato paste with some water and the sugar. Then add coriander, ginger, salt, chili and saffron and mix with the onion-garlic mass.
Now add the meat, the remaining roast broth (about 100 ml) and half the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and simmer covered in the oven with medium heat (approx. 160-170°C) for 60 min.
In the meantime, rinse the okras, drain them well and cut off the tip and hard stem. Fry the okras briefly in a pan with olive oil until they are slightly browned.
Add the remaining tomatoes, lemon juice and okras to the tajine, season with salt and pepper and simmer for an additional 40 minutes at medium heat.
Meanwhile prepare the couscous according to the package description.
After 40 minutes, test with a pointed kitchen knife if the meat is tender, if not, cover and simmer another 15 minutes.
Finely chop the parsley, sprinkle over the dish and serve hot with couscous and some natural yoghurt.

Image source: Fotolia - #106665639 © Marco Mayer