Tanjia, a slow-cooked meat dish from Marrakech, has long been tied to the city's social and culinary traditions. Its historical significance is underscored by a 17th-century poem from scholar Abu Abdallah al-Marghiti, who described in detail how it should be prepared and cooked. Tanjia is a dish unique to the city of Marrakech, deeply intertwined with its traditions and way of life. Its very name comes from the terracotta vessel in which it is prepared, a reflection of the city's long history of pottery and craftsmanship. As Marrakech is a city of artisans, craftsmen, and merchants, tanjia was born in the narrow alleys of the medina. Traditionally, it is a men's dish—slow-cooked, hearty, and prepared by merchants and artisans who spent their days in workshops. «They would entrust the most skilled among them with preparing the meal, and before the afternoon prayer they would gather to eat just enough to sustain themselves while waiting for the auction (dallala) to sell their products», Marrakech-born author Latifa Assimi told Al Jazeera. Assimi, who dedicated an entire book to the dish «The Marrakchi Tanjia and Its Surroundings in Popular Literature», explains that tanjia is more than food. It became a social ritual, prepared collectively, eaten at gatherings, picnics, and even celebratory feasts, such as those held when a young boy completes memorizing the Qur'an. Its simplicity also explains why it is considered a men's dish. Tanjia is not cooked indoors but outdoors, often in hammams (public baths), or most precisely in «farnatchi», the wood-burning oven that heats hammams. Once the meat, spices, oil, and water are placed inside the vessel, it is sealed and taken to the farnatchi, where it is buried in hot ashes to cook slowly. For this reason, it is known as bent rmad, «the daughter of ashes». Tanjia, already famous in 17th-century Marrakech The dish's historical roots run deep. By the 17th century, tanjia was already considered a popular dish in Marrakech, as evidenced by its mention in the writings of Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Saʿid al-Marghiti al-Susi al-Marrakushi, a renowned scholar of Soussi origin who lived, taught, and was buried in the city. An imam of hadith, he was also accomplished in astronomy, medicine, literature, mathematics, and other sciences. Al-Marghiti, who became imam of Mouassine Mosque and played a central role in reviving Marrakech's intellectual life, even offered detailed instructions for preparing tanjia in one of his poems. In his work Tuhfat al-Muhtāj fī Ḥukm Akli al-Nās lil-Dajāj (The Gift for the Needy on the Ruling of People Eating Chicken), he writes: «First, prepare the meat as you walk, to have it cooked at the farnatchi». He insisted that the clay vessel (qlousha) be tightly sealed: «With sturdy leather straps or a tightened wrapping. Or with a lid of wood or earthenware, well-fastened, to protect it from dust and air. Seal the edges with dough to close any opening that might appear or be feared». He then instructed that it be buried in ashes until a third of the vessel was hidden, keeping it steady, a method still in use today. All of this, he explained, was to protect the contents from contamination, since «the bathhouse-keeper does not usually heat his fires with anything but dung as fuel». He also warned: «Keep your clothes away from its ashes, for they defile if they touch you». Finally, he advised washing the vessel once cooked: «Place it in a basket or the like, and wash it clean, pouring water over it until it covers all sides, above and below, until fully rinsed. Then press out what remains, as is the custom, following the way of people of refinement and honor». These instructions, centuries old, show how deeply rooted the ritual of tanjia was in Marrakchi life. Tanjia recipe Today, tanjia remains a hallmark of the city, still prepared in public baths but also adapted to modern techniques such as the pressure cooker. Celebrity chef Mohamed Fedal, or Chef Moha, himself from Marrakech, shares the ultimate traditional tanjia recipe: For 1.5 kilograms of beef shank, you will need a medium preserved lemon, a tablespoon of melted smen (salted, fermented butter), or half a teaspoon of aged smen for those who prefer stronger flavor, a whole head of garlic, a pinch of saffron, a tablespoon of cumin, and half a tea glass of olive oil. When cooked in a clay vessel, add a small glass of water. In a pressure cooker, add half a liter. In the farnatchi, tanjia takes around three hours. In a pressure cooker, once it begins to whistle, leave it on a gentle flame for one to one and a half hours, depending on the type of meat and the quality of the pot. Tougher cuts may require longer.
