[6] In the 1990s, the late Dr. Vivien Swan identified pottery from various sites on Scotland's Antonine Wall, built by the Numidian governor of Roman Britain, Quintus Lollius Urbicus, of a North African style, one being a casserole dish that may have been a precursor to the modern tagine.

[12] Today, the cooking pot and its traditional broth are primarily prepared in the Middle East and North Africa, although both are popular in many other countries.

In the original qidra style, saman (clarified butter) is used to lubricate the surface and a puree of chopped onion is added for flavour and aroma.

According to the historian of Jewish food Gil Marks, the unique two-piece cooking vessel made from red clay called a tagine originates from the Anti-Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

A famous description is the one from ibn al-Adim (1192–1262): Boil the meat and fry with fresh coriander, onions and hot spices and a little garlic.

In 1859, French explorer, geographer, archaeologist, librarian, and Maghreb expert Oscar Mac Carthy recounted encountering cooking tagines and pottery in the streets of Algeria.

Other methods are to use a tagine in a slow oven or on a gas or electric stove top, on the lowest heat necessary to keep the stew simmering gently.

[citation needed] First, a simple ragout is prepared, of meat cut into very small pieces, cooked with onions and spices, such as a blend of dried rose flower buds and ground cinnamon known as baharat or a robust combination of ground coriander and caraway seeds; this is called tabil.

Examples include fresh parsley, dried mint, saffron, sun-dried tomatoes, cooked vegetables and stewed calves' brains.

[citation needed] Maghrebi Jews also eat and prepare tagine, owing to their historic presence in North Africa.

[citation needed] Tagine is a mainstay of Sephardic cuisine[23] commonly prepared for Shabbat dinners in the Sephardi community, and served with couscous.