Moroccan · Main course
Draa Valley Date & Chicken Tagine
The Draa is Morocco's great palm valley, and its cooks pair the sweet, sticky local dates with chicken, onions and a warm blanket of cinnamon and ginger. The dates half-dissolve into the sauce, turning it dark and honeyed, with toasted almonds and sesame scattered over — a desert-oasis tagine built on the fruit that grows at the door.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 65 min
- Total
- 85 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
- 1 chicken, jointed
- 250 g soft dates (Medjool or local), half pitted and halved
- 2 onions, grated
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon plus 1 stick
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- Pinch of saffron
- 3 tbsp olive oil plus 20 g butter
- 1 tbsp honey
- 80 g almonds, fried
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
- Salt and pepper
Method
- 1
Brown
Colour the chicken in the oil and butter, then add the grated onion, saffron, ginger, cinnamon stick, salt and pepper.
- 2
Braise
Add a cup of water, cover and simmer 35 minutes until the chicken is tender and the onions are soft.
- 3
Add dates
Stir in the halved dates, honey and ground cinnamon, and cook 10 minutes until the dates soften and thicken the sauce.
- 4
Reduce
Uncover and reduce until the sauce is dark and glossy, spooning it over the chicken.
- 5
Garnish
Scatter with the fried almonds and toasted sesame just before serving.
- 6
Serve
Serve hot with bread — this one is rich, so keep sides simple.
Chef's tips
- Use genuinely soft dates; hard ones stay chewy and won't thicken the sauce.
- Go easy on extra honey — the dates already bring a lot of sweetness.
- Toast the sesame in a dry pan until it just colours for the best aroma.
Frequently asked questions
Which dates are best for cooking?
Soft, fleshy varieties like Medjool or Moroccan Boufeggous melt into the sauce. Drier deglet nour dates work but need a little soaking first.
Is this too sweet as a main?
It's a sweet-savoury tagine, so serve it as Moroccans do — with plain bread and perhaps a sharp salad to balance the richness.