This is a Majmar, AKA Charcoal Brazier:
This is the food end of the deal, its called a Tagine
The instructions say to soak the Tagine for 3 hours in water. It is unglazed terracotta. Then it says to rub the insides down with Olive Oil and bake in a 350° degree oven for 2 hours. Allow to cool and its ready to use. The Majmar is glazed and doesn't need seasoning.
Together the rig looks like this:
These are hand made in Morocco under what is stated as "primitive conditions". If your interest is piqued, then point your browser to http://www.tagines.com" target="_blank" target="_blank . They have many different styles, glazed and unglazed. $30 to $60 bucks.
A recipe that is on the site:
Naima’s Chicken Tagine
3 medium carrots, peeled and cored (if core is bitter) and sliced in half lengthwise
½ Chicken, in pieces
1 large peeled potato, cut in 1 cm thick rounds
1 large green bell pepper, cut in chunks
1 medium red onion, cut in 1 cm thick rounds
2 medium tomatoes, cut in 1 cm thick rounds
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tsps ground ginger
½ tsp ground pepper
2 tsps paprika
Dash of yellow food colorant powder, or a few strands crushed saffron
½ cube or 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
Handful of pitted green olives
6 -8 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup of water
Splash 4 tbsp of oil on the bottom of the tagine. Layer your ingredients evenly in the tagine, starting with carrots, then going in order they are written. The carrots must be on the bottom, and the chicken pieces should be on top of the carrots, not touching the bottom of the tagine (When the carrots start to burn, they add delicious flavor and protect the rest of the ingredients – but if anything else burns, that’s not going to taste very good.) When you get to the spices and salt, sprinkle them evenly overtop the vegetables. Spread your olives on top, then drizzle the olive oil allover. If water is needed, add it now. Close your tagine and cook until your vegetables are tender, on a very low heat. This may take up to an hour – make sure you have liquid in the tagine or it will burn – and watch out for too much liquid, or it will bubble over.
Once it’s cooked, turn off the heat and drizzle the rest of your olive oil on top. Let the tagine rest for about 10 minutes to cool off, and enjoy!
Note, the recipe was written for using the Tagine in the oven or range top, not with the Majmar. And while its to be used outdoors, it's not yard art as it will stored indoors.
