The elusive Tangia clay cooking vessel

[new old timer]

I've got many clay pots from all over the world and prefer the type that can be placed directly onto the coals of an open fire. The one the eludes me to this day is the Tangia, commonly used in Marrakesh by men only and is named the same as the dish that is made in them. Mostly used by single men who take their Tangia to the market in the morning and fill it with lamb chunks, garlic, cumin, aged butter, preserved lemons, saffron and a little water, then they drop it off at the local bath-house (hamman) where it is placed in the coals of the fire that is used to heat the bath-house. It cooks slowly for a minimum of 5 or 6 hours (or more) and is picked up by the man at the end of the day.

I was on a waiting list for 7 months and finally got an email a few weeks ago saying that it was now in stock. I placed the order and paid the same day, but so far I haven't heard anything from the vendor. Now I'm worried that they got my money and it may never arrive.

I've been trying to buy one of these for years without luck (yes, I've searched the internet profusely), so I'm looking on here for someone that might know where to get one (without going to Marrakesh). There's one on ebay but it is very small and the pics show several different pots so I'm not sure exactly what pot is for sale and I can't get a response from the seller to verify.

I'll post a pic if need be, but if you know where to get one, you already know what it looks like.

This is a Tangia or Tanjia, not a Tagine or Tajine, I have several of those already.

Sorry for the long read, any and all help finding one would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
new old timer

 

[new old timer]

Here is the Tangia that eludes me, the one in the middle looks good to me, if you have one, please sell it to me

 

[Rascal]

Lol, I have one here, wife uses it as a flower vase,lol.

Russ

 

[jennyema]

I was just in Marrakesh and didn't see any evidence of this at all …..

 

[new old timer]

See what I mean!

The "elusive" Tangia!

And it's a local dish and vessel found almost exclusively in Marrakesh.

Some say that these Tangia's are cheap cookware over there, used by bachelors mostly but always men, but trying to buy an authentic Tangia vessel in the U.S. is like pulling horse teeth.

 

[Andy M.]

I saw an episode of Bizarre Foods once where AZ and a friend when through the market, bought meats, veggies and seasonings to fill and sealed the pot (like the ones pictured) and took it to a communal oven for baking.

 

[tenspeed]

I've had an earworm ever since reading this thread.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9l1Cgyjr5I

 

[gadzooks]

I was gifted one by a friend, who lives in Spain. She bought it in Morocco, and shipped it. Unglazed terra cotta. Had to season it before using, I used coconut oil in a hot oven. It works, but it's not an every day go-to.

 

[buckytom]

I saw an episode of Bizarre Foods once where AZ and a friend when through the market, bought meats, veggies and seasonings to fill and sealed the pot (like the ones pictured) and took it to a communal oven for baking.

Andy, you're pretty sharp. I vaguely remembered that episode.
I remember it because I saw my old neighbors use a couple of them to cook lamb for a post Eid meal.

n.o.t., check this out: Moroccan tangia/Tanjia | Marrakesh Tangia/Tanjia | Fes Tangia/Tanjia

I've been on the lookout for a safe (lead free) tagine that's about 14" across or more, and deep. Since it'll only be an occasional thing, I want to be able to use it for a lot of guests (in the Muslim tradition), or to make enough for leftovers.

 

[roadfix]

https://youtu.be/csE7d_ALYKg

 

[buckytom]

Oh, that is so cool,

Thanks very much, roadfix!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Cool video, roadfix. Now if the whole world could just sit down and break bread and share food together...

 

[tenspeed]

Very interesting video. Is there anything that can't be found on youtube?


Not sure what the narrator meant by his comment at the end that you can achieve similar results by slow cooking in a pressure cooker (5:00), but agree that it just wouldn't be the same as the tangia.

 

[roadfix]

Not sure what the narrator meant by his comment at the end that you can achieve similar results by slow cooking in a pressure cooker (5:00), but agree that it just wouldn't be the same as the tangia.

I think it’s this whole ritual and use of this unique (to us) cooking vessel that can’t be compared..

 

[jennyema]

I saw an episode of Bizarre Foods once where AZ and a friend when through the market, bought meats, veggies and seasonings to fill and sealed the pot (like the ones pictured) and took it to a communal oven for baking.

There were assorted devices baking inside the communal ovens we saw in Marrakesh. Cant recall any that looked like the above pic though. We saw probably 70 million tagines ….

 

[new old timer]

Andy, you're pretty sharp. I vaguely remembered that episode.
I remember it because I saw my old neighbors use a couple of them to cook lamb for a post Eid meal.

n.o.t., check this out: Moroccan tangia/Tanjia | Marrakesh Tangia/Tanjia | Fes Tangia/Tanjia

I've been on the lookout for a safe (lead free) tagine that's about 14" across or more, and deep. Since it'll only be an occasional thing, I want to be able to use it for a lot of guests (in the Muslim tradition), or to make enough for leftovers.

Thanks for the link b.t., that is the one I ordered a while back, I was on a waiting list for a long time and they finally e-mailed me and said it was in stock. I ordered it and got a confirmation e-mail that said they wouldn't charge my card until it shipped. Well, they charged my card and now they won't reply to my e-mails, I'm not sure if it will ever get here.

I think the biggest Tagine I have is 12", it is glazed but I have used it over coals without problems, just not directly in the fire. I'm not sure if you will find an unglazed Tagine bigger than 12", but I'm wrong all the time, so who knows.

Some Tagines have a deeper bottom part and a shorter dome, some have a shallow bottom and a big dome. Sounds like you need a deep bottom design, It's more forgiving when it comes to a dish that needs a lot of water or more capacity. You have to be careful with the shallow bottom ones because adding just a little water when starting can have your liquid overflowing once the pile of meat and veggies let loose of their liquid.

Most everything I cook outside in clay starts out with no water at all, it's like a SHTF technique, if you have some veggies and some meat but very little or no water, you can still make a dish that has liquid at the end, you just have to know how to keep the stuff from burning before it lets loose of it's liquid. (and this is some very tasty "non-watered down" liquid)

n.o.t.

 

[di reston]

I have quite a collection of tagines - collected in Morocco and Turkish. First of all, they need 'seasoning' before you can use them:

It's simple: you simply brush the pots with oil, preferably olive oil, and then then bake - yes, bake them - at a moderate temperature - for two or three hours, and then let them cool at room temperature. Do this two or three times, then they'll be perfect for your recipes!!

di reston

Peeple of ze wurl, relax

Tom Robbins - Fierce invalids home from from hot climates

 

[new old timer]

well, maybe my luck is changing, I just got an e-mail saying that my Tangia is on it's way, I don't know if anyone noticed or not, but the link that buckytom posted is the one that I ordered and it is already out of stock again, good thing I was on a waiting list.

Anyway, I'll post some pics when it gets here and some more when I use it.

new old timer