tajine

Noun

tajine (countable and uncountable, plural tajines)

1. (countable) An earthenware cooking pot of North African origin, consisting of a shallow, round dish without handles and a tall, conical or dome-shaped lid.
   • On a round table, food is served in a central platter or tagine or in shallow dishes so that it can be easily picked up with the fingers.2005, Tess Mallos, Cooking Moroccan, Millers Point, N.S.W.: Murdoch Books, →ISBN, page 8
   • Sometimes, in very densely populated urban areas in Egypt, one can still see children navigating their way through the labyrinthine maze of shops in the souk (marketplace) to bring their tagins to the bread baker.2011, Amy Riolo, “Egypt”, in Ken Albala, editor, Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia, volumes I (Africa and the Middle East), Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 54, column 2
2. (broadly) A stew, originally from Morocco, the ingredients of which are traditionally cooked slowly in such a pot; the dish is normally served with couscous.
   • [T]he term couscous is applied to the cereal along with a great variety of accompanying tajins (stews) and desserts.1997, Habeeb Salloum, James Peters, “Glossary of Spices, Herbs, and Other Delights”, in Ruth Lane Moushabeck, editor, From the Lands of Figs and Olives: Over 300 Delicious and Unusual Recipes from...
   • One of Morocco's most famous traditional specialities tajine (also spelled tahine or tadjine) gets its name from glazed earthenware pot used to prepare it, the tajine slaoui. It consists of a saucepan with a tall, often nicely decorated, very tight-fitting, cone-shaped lid that transforms it into a...2004, Julia Weiss, transl., edited by Paolo Piazzesi, Moroccan Cooking, English edition, Florence: Casa Editrice Bonechi, →ISBN, page 57