Moroccan Street Food: Tangia Marrakechia
Tangia is the name of both the stew and the ceramic pot it’s cooked in. The dish involves chunks of beef with all the fat, bone marrow and trimmings which are marinated and slow cooked in a vase like ceramic pot with chopped preserved lemon, cilantro, parsley, garlic and onions.
Traditionally, the pots are taken to the furnace ovens inside the Medina of Marrakesh which heats water for the local ‘hammans’ (communal baths) and left to slow cook at a low temperature for long durations of time, sometimes for as long as 24hrs.
It is considered a specialty of Marrakesh where there are many street food stands still using this traditional method inside the old Medina, although it is also replicated in restaurants.
Finding a traditional stand popular among locals which uses the authentic method of cooking will rival any other beef dish on offer in Morocco.
The dish is joked to known as being a very ‘male’ dish in Morocco because it’s easy to prepare and the task of it’s preparation is ‘trusted’ to men.
It’s also known as a ‘working mans lunch’ in Marrakesh because of the large queues of young men on their lunch break often seen besides the stands in the old Medina in the past.
