Moroccan Tagine Chicken

I wanted to try Moroccan Chicken with preserved lemon for a long time. The spices used in the recipe look delicious. We finally brought a Tagine over a month ago, I can't wait to try the recipe but cannot because I couldn't find preserve lemon anywhere in the nearby supermarkets. Out of frustration I made my own. The lemons are supposed  to be preserved for at least a month. I couldn't wait and used it after a week hahahah... and it turned out fine. I have made another patch after that, this time I will wait for a  month at least, anyway you can use fresh lemon, I haven't tried that yet. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do. This is another delicious comfort food that we love.

Ingredients:

1 tsp Cumin

2 cardamon

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon powder

2 tsp ground paprika

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 of a chicken, cut into medium size

1 tsp fresh ginger, I used a microplane to grate

Salt

1  medium Onion, chop 

2  clove garlic, chop

1 preserved lemon, rinsed, (discard pulp) and cut lemon into thin strips

1/2 cup olive, pitted
1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sour cream

fresh cilantro or parsley or both

Method:

1. Grind cumin, cardamon and pepper in a grinder, place in a small bowl, add in the rest of the spices, mix well and set a side.

2. Wash chicken with cold water, pat dry with paper tower and cut into medium size pieces, rub oil, ginger, salt (hold your horses on the salt here, as the preserved lemon has a lot of salt) and the mixed spice over the chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours or over night.

3.  Heat oil in a tagine or a heavy pot, on medium high heat, lightly brown all sides of the chicken, once ready add onion and garlic, stir well, add water, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn chicken, add sour cream, olives, preserved lemon and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked (about 30 minutes). Add salt to taste.

4.  Skim oil, mix in fresh parsley and serve hot with rice or couscous. 

Note: Tagine may crack with sudden change of temperature, If chicken is marinated in the fridge overnight, let the chicken sit in room temperature for a while before cooking.