The story
Tanjia is both a stew and the tall clay urn it cooks in, and it belongs to Marrakesh. It is said to have begun as food for working bachelors in the old medina, who would pool their money for lamb, preserved lemon, garlic, cumin and saffron, seal the jar with paper and leave it with the man who tended the furnace of a hammam. Buried in the hot ashes for hours, often overnight, the meat turned meltingly tender and was eaten with bread. No inventor is known. Families still take their urns to bathhouse furnaces, and small restaurants around the city serve it too.
Also known as tangia, tanjia marrakchia, طنجية.
On the Meridish menu
Tanjia was the main course on menu No. 29 on October 29, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Lamb, preserved lemon, cumin and saffron sealed in a clay urn and left all day in the ashes of a bathhouse furnace, a working man's lunch from this city's old medina.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanjia
- 177milkstreet.com/2018/02/rich-with-saffron-cumin-and-lemon-moroccos-tangia
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
