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Kasbah

Stephanie Drescher ct | Daniela Schulz
May 24, 2017

Tagine is a standard in the Moroccan kitchen: both as a dish and as a cooking tool. In his "Moroccan salon," as Driss Haggoud calls his restaurant Kasbah in Berlin, there are, of course, tagines.

https://p.dw.com/p/2YlVB
Tagine with lemon (Photo: Lena Ganssmann)
Image: Lena Ganssmann

Video: Cooking step-by-step, Lamb tagine with prune, Morocco


Driss Haggoud: "I live and belong here."

Dris Haggoud loves his hometown of Fes, Morocco. You notice that as soon as you start talking with him. He needs to visit at least once a year to gather his strength, imbibe the local aromas, and conjure up new ideas for his restaurant, Kasbah. He hasn't lived in his home country for over 30 years now. He originally left Morocco for Paris to study at the university, then he moved to London, working as a dishwasher and a server. That's where he met his future wife, Ingrid, a German. It was love at first sight. The couple moved to Berlin together, and in 2003, Haggoud turned his dream of opening his own restaurant into a reality.

Driss Haggoud (Photo: Lena Ganssmann)
Driss HaggoudImage: Lena Ganssmann

Kasbah in Berlin's Mitte district

His idea was to create a "salon marocain," a place that would be as authentic as possible. He even went so far as to have the furniture specially produced in Morocco. It's a place that invites guests to stay and sample some of the delicious Moroccan specialities.

Moroccan cuisine in Berlin

 

Lamb tagine with prunes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the lamb tagine:

  • ½ kg leg of lamb, fatless and boneless
  • 4 onions
  • 3 t salt
  • 1 t turmeric
  • 2 t pepper
  • 3 t ground ginger
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 t honey
  • Olive oil

For the prunes:

  • 24 dried prunes
  • 2 t sugar
  • 3 t orange water
  • 2 t cinnamon
  • 50 ml honey
  • 1 pinch of sesame

Preparation:

To make tagine, finely dice onions. Chop meat into small pieces and marinate in a bowl with spices, oil, and half of diced onions. Sauté marinated meat in a pot with olive oil until meat browns. Cover with water and bring to a boil. 

Add other half of diced onions and 1 t olive oil. Cook slowly until lamb is tender. Depending on the quality of the meat, this may take over two hours. When meat is finished cooking, add 1 t cinnamon and cook 5 minutes, uncovered. Stir in honey before serving.

Wash dried prunes with cold water. Bring water, sugar, orange water, and a pinch of cinnamon to a boil in a pan, then add prunes. Fry for five minutes, then add honey. Cook for an additional two minutes, then remove prunes and drape prunes over meat.

Garnish with almonds sautéed in butter and homemade bread.

Restaurant Kasbah
Gipsstraße 2
10119 Berlin

Tel.: +49 30 27594361

Kasbah website