Tagine of Lamb and Dried Fruit

A tagine is a Middle Eastern/North African meat or chicken stew, slowly cooked till meltingly tender, often coloured with saffron, buzzed up with various spices and characteristically given a haunting sweetness by adding various dried fruits. I use halal lamb (closer to mutton, hence stronger tasting) from Asian shops, where it is sold for curries. I prefer prunes or dried figs for the fruit element; dried apricots are oversweet. If your budget won’t run to saffron, substitute turmeric; the