Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon & Olives (Djaj M'qualli)

Name: Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon & Olives (Djaj M'qualli)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Moroccan Imperial & Coastal
Ingredients: 1.5 kg chicken (jointed, bone-in); 2 onion; 1 coriander + parsley bundle; saffron + ginger + turmeric; 1 preserved lemon; 150 g cracked green olives

Morocco's most iconic everyday tagine: chicken stewed gold with saffron, ginger, and onion, brightened by the funky salinity of preserved lemon and cracked green olives. The benchmark of the m'qualli (yellow, ginger-saffron) style.

1 hr 30 min · Serves 4 · Medium

Recipe by Halal Gourmet Editorial Team

Ingredients

Base

1.5 kgchicken (jointed, bone-in), zabiha
2 onion, grated
1 coriander + parsley bundle

Spice

saffron + ginger + turmeric

Finish

1–2 preserved lemon, rind only, sliced
150 gcracked green olives

Method

Start cooking mode

Time: Prep 20 min · Cook 70 min · 90 min total
Difficulty: medium

1
Marinate chicken in saffron, ginger, turmeric, garlic, oil; soften grated onion in the tagine.
15 min
2
Braise chicken low under the cone with the herb bundle and a little water until tender and the sauce silky.
55 min
3
Add preserved-lemon rind and olives in the last 10 minutes to warm through without going bitter.
15 min