Stefan's Florilegium

fd-Mid-East-msg

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fd-Mid-East-msg - 7/24/02

Period Middle Easten food. Referances. Recipes.

NOTE: See also the files: fd-Bynzantine-msg, fd-Turkey-msg, fd-Spain-msg,
Arabs-msg, Ethiopia-msg, Jews-msg, Khazars-msg, Moors-msg, murri-msg.

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NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that
I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some
messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium.
These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with
seperate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes
extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were
removed to save space and remove clutter.

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I
make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the
individual authors.

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these
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time. If information is published from these messages, please give
credit to the orignator(s).

Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
mark.s.harris@motorola.com stefan@florilegium.org
************************************************************************

Date: Fri, 8 May 1998 16:03:14 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD@Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - advice/help: shish kebabs period?

> Can anyone give an estimation of whether the concept of shish kebab
> is period? (I'm not talking about California kay-bobs with cherry
> tomatoes, bell peppers and pineapple here. I'm just looking for a skewer
> or blade with meats impaled on it and grilled thusly; and how they were
> seasoned.)
>
> - kat

Maybe this will help you. It's from a web site with some information about
historic Turkish cuisine.

(quote)
Another work which enlightens the same period is the Dede Korkut Hikayeleri
(The Tales of Dede Korkut) compiled towards the end of the 14th century.
These twelve tales are a rich source of information about the customs of the
Oghuz Turks who lived in the southwestern Asia. Yahni (stew), kebabs (food
on skewers), togya corbasi (a soup made from wheat flour and yoghurt),
clotted cream, yoghurt, cheese, milk, ayran, koumiss, and wine were all
consumed in the Tales of Dede Korkut.
(end quote)

Should you wish to look the site over, the URL is:
http://palette.ecn.purdue.edu/~akcali/history.cuisine.html

Bear

Date: Fri, 8 May 1998 22:59:00 -0700
From: david friedman <ddfr@best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - advice/help: shish kebabs period?

At 1:12 PM -0700 5/8/98, kat wrote:
> Can anyone give an estimation of whether the concept of shish kebabis period?

The 13th c. Andalusian cookbook has one recipe that says: "Take pieces of
meat without bones and cut them as for shishkebab." So assuming the
translation can be trusted--and Charles Perry, the translator, knows more
about medieval Islamic cooking than anyone else I know--the answer to your
question is yes.

I believe, incidentally, that "kebab" simply means "meatball," although I'm
not certain.

David/Cariadoc
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/

Date: Sat, 09 May 1998 05:27:46 -0500
From: a14h@zebra.net (William Seibert)
Subject: Re: SC - advice/help: shish kebabs period?

Hans Wehr Dictionary of Written Arabic gives:

KBAB (kaf bab alef bab) fried or broiled meat; cabobs; meat
roasted in small pieces on a skewer; a kind of meatballs made of
finely chopped meat (syrian, egyptian).

WAJDI

Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 14:42:12 -0700
From: david friedman <ddfr@best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - advice/help: shish kebabs period?

At 1:12 PM -0700 5/8/98, kat wrote:
> Can anyone give an estimation of whether the concept of shish kebab
>is period?

Here is one we have tried only once; as I remember, it was pretty good.
Don't know if the marinade is too "wierd" for your problem person.

Meat Roasted Over Coals
Andalusian

Cut the meat however you wish and throw on a spoon of oil and another of
murri, salt, coriander seed, pepper and thyme; leave for a while until it
has absorbed the spices, prepare without smoke and roast on a spit and
watch it. [end of original]

meat: 2 lb lamb
1/4 c murri
1/4 c oil
1/2 t salt
1 t coriander
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t pepper

Mix all ingredients except meat to make a marinade. Cut meat into 1"
cubes, mix into marinade. Let sit one hour. Roast (time not noted).

Elizabeth/Betty Cook

Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 12:58:21 +1000
From: "Susan P Laing" <Susan.P.Laing@mainroads.qld.gov.au>
Subject: SC - Medieval arab cookery book

Quick check of "British Books in Print" shows -

Medieval Arab Cookery
by Rodinson Maxime etc. ( Yeomans Barbara (Tr.); Roden Claudia (Ed.) )
Prospect Bks. Dec 1998
23cm.300.
Binding: Cloth Price: L25.00 ISBN: 0907325912
Print Status: In Print
Country of Publication: England

Amazon UK -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/subst/home/home.html/026-9563264-2579854
has it listed as "4-6 week delivery" item at UK25.00

Mari de Paxford
Brisbane, Australia

Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 12:47:46 -0500
From: "Jennifer Conrad" <CONRAD3@prodigy.net>
Subject: SC - Food from the Arab World (link)

Here's a link some may find interesting

Luveday

http://almashriq.hiof.no/general/600.technology/640.home_economics_and_famil
y_living/641.food_and_drink/khayat/

Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 12:53:38 -0500
From: "Jennifer Conrad" <CONRAD3@prodigy.net>
Subject: SC - =?iso-8859-1?Q?U=C6_FOREVER_Dishes_=28Link=29?=

Another link (more Arabic dishes)
http://www.uaeforever.com/Dishes/

Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 21:54:37 EDT
From: LrdRas@aol.com
Subject: SC - Turkish feasts and other thoughts

Weaver8002@aol.com writes:
<< but that sounds like a lot of work for a caravan, >>

Not particularly. Field kitchens were brought along on any major trip. More
to the point these peoples were until quite recently a migratory people and
generally carried everything they owned with them. Cooking would have been no
harder traveling to China and back than traversing Pakistan or the Kurdish
highlands.

<<and besides, I don't know if that's a period way to go about your eggs!),
>>

Not particularly. Almost without exception period middle eastern recipes
which used eggs either broke the eggs whole across the top of the dish or
added it on top in layers. Occasionally hard boiled chopped eggs or whole
hard boiled yolks were used

There is a large corpus of easily understood period (better yet-medieval)
middle eastern recipes so there is little or no need to use ethnic/regional
recipes or modern recipes. Both His Grace, Duke Sir Cariadoc, myself and
others have redacted large numbers of period Middle Eastern and Andalusian
recipes so there is an extensive volume of ready recipes to choose from.
Modern middle eastern food has gone through just as many changes as our own
cuisine since the middle ages. The use of ethnic recipes may lend some bit of
the exotic to a feast but does not make a feast any more period than using
Betty Crocker or Lean Cuisine would.

Although it cheers me to see a renewed interest in period middle eastern
studies, I am saddened by the fact that so many, if not the majority, of
feasts make no attempt to use period middle eastern food which I have found
to be even tastier than period European food. There are a handful of SCA
cooks who consistently produce period feasts of several cuisines which are
worth 10 times the price you pay for them. I suggest anyone who has not eaten
good period food to seek out the events these people cook at and find out for
yourselves what a special treat these foods can be. :-)

Ras

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 14:17:48 -0600 (MDT)
From: Ann Sasahara <ariann@nmia.com>
Subject: SC - tagine

I remember a brief discussion on tagines in Claudia Roden's book of middle
eastern cooking. It is under the recipe "mishmishya", which is her
redaction of the al-bagdadi original (Arberry translation). I used her
redaction w/ the suggested rosewater. The dish was quite good and
fragrant. Even my non-SCA husband ate it and said "good stew, honey".

The al-bagdadi also has "rutibya", which is stuffed dates and a
coriander-spiced, ground lamb (similar to Lebanese kofta). I vaguely
remember the text saying to "heat it to dryness". I can't remember if it
was in the same section w/ mishmishya.

I won't be home (w/ my books) until Friday. I will post the al-baghdadi
mishmishya recipe and Claudia Roden's redaction on Sat morning.

Ariann
ariann@nmia.com

Date: Sat, 17 Jul 1999 18:48:45 -0600 (MDT)
From: Ann Sasahara <ariann@nmia.com>
Subject: SC - mishmishiya tagine recipe (LONG)

Here is the al-baghdadi recipe I promised. I recommend buying the book.

Ariann
_____________________________
Roden, Claudia, A Book of Middle Eastern Food, 1968, Vintage Books, NY,
453p. ISBN: 0-394-71948-4

Roden p.246, reproduced for educational purposes:

" M E A T S T E W S W I T H F R U I T

I have found many Moroccan touajen (the plural form of tagine) incredibly
like al-Baghdadi's medieval stews -- mysterious culinary bond between
ancient Persia and modern Morocco.

Many Moroccans originate from the regions of the Yemen, Iraq, and
Saudi Arabia. They came there at different times: first in the
pre-Christian era, then with the Arab Islamic invasion in the seventh
century, and then again in the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth
centuries. I suspect that the Arabs of the Abbassid period (the time of
al-Baghdadi) brought these dishes with them. They were then adopted and
perpetuated through the ephemeral Almovarid dynasty, the brilliant
Moroccan period of the dynasty of the Almohads which diffused Moorish
civilization throughout a vast empire, and again during the Sharifian
dynasty of the descendants of Fatima, daughter of the Prophet, who came
from Arabia at the end of the fourteenth century.

The same fruits -- apples, prunes, quinces, and currantsand to a
large extent the same spices are used by Moroccans today as were used by
the ancient Persians and the Arabs of the Abbassid period. Al-Baghdadi's
recipes recommended mashing the fruits to a pulp, but Moroccans leave them
whole or sliced and add them toward the end of cooking, to prevent their
disintegrating. Fasis (inhabitants of Fez) stew their ingredients, as
al-Baghdadi did, without preliminary frying, as they consider that frying
would add heaviness to otherwise delicate dishes.

Every Moroccan family prizes its own very special touajen which
generations of their cooks have prepared for them, keeping the recipes
fiercely secret, and I realize that I have been able to include only a few
from a vast culinary treasury.

Modern Persian stews (khoreshtha) have developed them and changed
them a little, remaining true to their own early traditions. I have
included these in the chapter on rice, as today they are intended as
sauces for rice.

Curiously, countries around the region of Baghdad, now the capital of
Iraq, where al-Baghdadi lived, have not perpetuated this particular
tradition.
__________________
Mishmishya

A splendid meat and apricot dish which derives its name from the Arabic
word for the fruit, mishmish. Lamb seems to have special affinity for
apricots, and a similar dish was a great favorite in our family.

>From al-Baghdadi's cooking manual
"Cut fat meat small, put into the saucepan with a little salt, and cover
with water. Boil and remove the scum. Cut up onions, wash, and throw in
on top of the meat. Add seasonings, coriander, cumin, mastic, cinnamon,
pepper and ginger, well ground. Take dry apricots, soak in hot water,
then wash and put in a separate saucepan, and boil lightly: take out, wipe
in the hands, and strain through a sieve. Take sweet almonds, grind fine,
moisten with a little apricot juice and throw in. Some color with a
trifle of saffron. Spray the saucepan with a little rose water, wipe its
sides with a clean rag, and leave to settle over the fire: then remove."

S U G G E S T E D Q U A N T I T I E S

2 lbs. lean lamb, cubed
Black pepper
Salt
1-2 onions, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 lb. dried apricots, soaked and passed through a food mill
1/2-1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2-1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup ground almonds
1/4 teaspoon pulverized mastic
1/4 teaspoon saffron (optional)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1
1 teaspoon rose water

This is one of the dishes on which the meat is not fried before stewing.
It may seem dull at first, but the apricot sauce thickened with the ground
almonds gives it a particular richness which makes frying superfluous.

The stew requires about 2 hours of gentle cooking, preferably on an
asbestos mat. Leave out the mastic and saffron if you wishI do not think
they are necessary."

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 15:59:10 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD@Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - request for info

> I the same book by Notaker I took the references to the Danish Cookbook
> by Harperenge, I found another comments about an Arabic cookbook,
> written in Bagdad 1266. He says the manuscript is enterely translated to
> English.
>
> Ana

I think you are referring to the translation by Prof. A.J. Arberry, A
Baghdad Cookery Book, published in 1939.

This is to be reprinted in Medieval Arab Cookery by Maxime Rodinson and
Charles Perry, published by Prospect Books, London. Unfortunately, it is
not yet available.

Bear

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 18:17:20 EDT
From: LrdRas@aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - request for info

TerryD@Health.State.OK.US writes:
<< I think you are referring to the translation by Prof. A.J. Arberry, A
Baghdad Cookery Book, published in 1939. >>

Charles Perry's translation IS available in Cariadoc's collection. Why wish
for the unavailable when the best is inexpensively to be had?

Ras

Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 19:24:44 EDT
From: LrdRas@aol.com
Subject: SC - Period Hummus-recipe

His Grace had indicated that he could not find any recipes similar to Hummus
in period sources. He also indicated that he could not find any reference to
sesame seed paste in period sources. I must disagree with His Grace's
findings. I found the following recipe (one of 2 containing Tahini) in A
Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Cookbooks, Vol. 2, pg. Misc-3. It is
one of the three recipes translated from Kitab al-Tabikh (The Book of
Dishes): Oriental 5000 (British Library) pp.70b, 71a, 74b.

The finished dish looked and tasted so much like garbanzo based hummus that a
person with an untrained palette would be hard pressed to tell them apart. In
fact we made modern hummus and were able to compare them ourselves. I much
prefer the medieval version below.

Original (translation)-
White sals. Walnut meats, garlic, pepper, cinnamon, white mustard, Tahini and
lemon juice.

Redaction-
White sals
(copyright c 1999 Ras, Elysant, Puck)

1 cp. Walnuts
2 cloves Garlic
1/8 tsp. Black pepper, ground
1/2 tsp. True cinnamon, ground
3/4 tsp. prepared mustard (see notes below)
2 Tblsp Tahini
Lemon juice, as needed

In a food processor combine walnuts and garlic until they form a smooth
paste. Put walnut mixture in a bowl. Add pepper. cinnamon, mustard and
Tahini. Mix thoroughly adding lemon juice by the teaspoonful until a smooth
very thick mixture is achieved.

NOTE: There is a description of mustard as prepared in the medieval middle
east in another section of Caraidoc's Collection. We used a modern mustard
that most fit this description. Any country-style mustard would work.

Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 23:38:53 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy@asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Period Hummus-recipe and a added question

LrdRas@aol.com wrote:
> troy@asan.com writes:
> << Yup. There's _some_ evidence to suggest, but perhaps not conclusively,
> that the tahini referred to in medieval Islamic texts is not the same
> stuff. >>
>
> Source please?

In the Charles Perry translation of the 15th century Kitab Al-Tibakhah
(See PPC #21), there is a general set of instructions for hulwa, with
specifics for the various types. It included the following somewhat
ambiguous line (bearing in mind that to me, black and white are
ambiguous): [General instructions for a candy not unlike nougat, kinda
like Swiss meringue on steroids, snipped] If you want almond candy [name
snipped] put in toasted almonds, etc., etc., simsimiyyah, toasted
sesame; tahiniyyah, flour (tah�n).

> <<In some cases (in particular the halwah recipes from period) it
> appears to be less oily, and less of a smooth paste, at least from
> recipe context.>>
>
> Ok. I can see that. Tahini does separate though. And the oil can be poured
> off. :-) I am still interested in seeing where this theory that period tahini
> was 'different' comes from though. The recipe for White sals. Did not seem to
> suffer in using an oil based product. In fact the opposite was true. The
> again Halwah and sals are as different as bread and butter. :-)

It _seems_ as if Perry is translating "tah�n" as "flour". Whether this
is a reference to some kind of sesame flour, based on text ordering,
which the context seems to make at least possible, or to something like
barley flour, is not clear. I note that in addition to Perry's implicit
claim that "tah�n" = "flour", your AOL online dictionary says the first
use of "tahini" (or is that only in English usage?) is in 1950.

I guess what this boils down to is, what word do you think is being used
in the original Arabic recipe for white sals (which I assume is the name
supplied by the English translator), that is being translated as tahini?
If it's tahini, and we believe Perry, it could mean flour, and/or could
be at odds with the dictionary entry you quoted. If, on the other hand,
it's a sesame paste product that we'd now call tahini, what did they
call it then?

As I said, this is far from conclusive evidence that what is intended is
_not_ tahini in the modern usage, but the questions are there. Yes, the
dish could work very well using tahini, but the fact that it works well
with modern tahini doesn't preclude its working well with some other
ingredient, if that's what's intended. There may be a slight assumption
being made here (and one I'm generally in agreement with) that if it
tastes good to us it probably tasted good to them. The key word is
"probably", I'd say.

Adamantius

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 00:10:40 EDT
From: LrdRas@aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Period Hummus-recipe and a added question

troy@asan.com writes:
<< n the original Arabic recipe for white sals (which I assume is the name
supplied by the English translator), that is being translated as tahini?
If it's tahini, and we believe Perry, it could mean flour, and/or could
be at odds with the dictionary entry you quoted. If, on the other hand,
it's a sesame paste product that we'd now call tahini, what did they
call it then? >>

The AOL dictionary is in fact the current Mirriam-Webster dictionary to get
that particular bit out of the way. :-)

Anyway the word translated as tahinae by the translator is derived, I assume,
from the Arabic dialect tahina, from tahana to grind. The question then
becomes what is the difference between the Arabic ending -ina and -ana. I am
not an expert in Arabic. I can't even read Arabic unless you count the
meaning of my SCA name. :-)

However, the translator seemed to think that the word meant tahini as that is
what they translated it as. I am aware that my redaction is only valid so far
as the translator is accurate.

In my home test of the recipe, which is the version posted, I actually ground
sesame seeds and did not use the store bought version of tahini. Yes, the
texture was slightly different (e.g., not as smooth as commercial tahini).
And it needed slightly more lemon juice to get a good texture. However, do
you have any reason to believe that this redaction was not as close as
possible to the translation I had to work with. If I have used an ingredient
not intended, I would be most willing to redo the correct version. But again
the question of the translator's use of the word tahinae suggests that the
sesame product is meant.

Ras

Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 23:46:39 -0700
From: david friedman <ddfr@best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Apicius / Kitab al-Tabikh

At 10:45 PM +0200 7/28/99, Thomas Gloning wrote:
>You mentioned a Kitab al-Tabikh in a Manuscript 'Oriental 5000' of the
>British library.
>
>Is it edited and/or translated somewhere?
>
>Besides the Kitab al-Tabikh that Arberry used for his translation in
>'Islamic Culture' 1939, he mentions another one in the Bodleian Library
>in Oxford (Hunt 187): Kitab al-Tabikh by Abu Muhammad al-Muzaffar b.
>Nasr ibn Saiyar al Warraq. Arberry says: "I hope to show in a
>forthcoming paper that this work which is of the greatest interest, was
>written some time during the 4/10th century, by a writer who had access
>to the actual recipe-book of the Abbasid Caliphs" (p. 30 note 5).
>
>Where, if ever, did this paper appear?

I don't know about the paper, but the Arabic text of the cookbook was
published by Studia Orientalia in Helsinki some years back.

David/Cariadoc
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/

Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 19:36:33 -0800
From: Lilinah biti-Anat <lilinah@grin.net>
Subject: SC - In a Caliph's Kitchen

I *finally* got a copy of Waines' "In a Caliph's Kitchen" through ILL
(bless my neighborhood library). I'm in the SF Bay Area. A copy of
the book was apparently difficult to locate. The librarian said he
could only locate about 6 copies, and many were unavailable. This one
came from the University of Minnesota (!!!). I get to have it until
Dec 11.

I've merely glanced through it. To my inexperienced eye, it looks very good.

The book begins with several chapters of background on Medieval
Middle Eastern cookbooks, food, history, etc. And there are some
footnotes and a bibliography. Then, for each recipe, there is:
1) a modern redaction
2) a paragraph or more of commentary about the source, the original
recipe and its history.
3) a color photo of the modern dish (drool)
4) a translation of the recipe
The author takes some liberties with his redactions, as other
redactors of Medieval recipes do, and often comments on them, as
other redactors of Medieval recipes do.

But i noticed that some folks (in webbed commentaries) said this was
not a very good book. Will those who are knowledgeable please comment
on this book. Is it good or is it not useful? What are its bad
points? its good points? Are there *lots* of errors in the recipe
translations? Other issues?

I'm less interested in discussing the author's redactions, since i
prefer to do my own redactions, although I like seeing someone else's
to compare with mine.

I really want to own a copy, but have had no luck through abebooks,
bookfinder, bibliofind, etc. for 4 months or more. I will photocopy
this one, but i'm frustrated that color photo copies are too
expensive to copy all those yummy food pictures :-( I may end up
scanning them. I'd still rather have a real bound book. I'll keep
searching...

Anahita

Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 23:00:54 EST
From: LrdRas@aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - In a Caliph's Kitchen

lilinah@grin.net writes:
<< But I noticed that some folks (in webbed commentaries) said this was
not a very good book. Will those who are knowledgeable please comment
on this book? Is it good or is it not useful? What are its bad
points? its good points? Are there *lots* of errors in the recipe
translations? Other issues?

I'm less interested in discussing the author's redactions, since i
prefer to do my own redactions, although i like seeing someone else's
to compare with mine. >>

I think the books bad features are the redactions. He, as some other cooks
do, take liberties where none are justified and are definitely unnecessary.
Since redacting period middle eastern is a passion of mine and I have been
told I am good at it by those who actually have eaten them prepared, I found
that particular bugaboo problem enough to not purchase the book. With more
than enough books containing poor redactions, I felt that I couldn't justify
adding another one to my collection. After looking at the redactions, I did
not peruse the volume any further so others will have to comment on the rest
of the work.

Ras

Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 23:00:47 -0600
From: david friedman <ddfr@best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - New World Foods-rant (was: turkey)

At 11:09 PM +0100 2/15/00, Thomas Gloning wrote:
>BTW, do we know anything about post 13th-century arabic sources?

Ibn al Mubarrad wrote a short 15th c. cookbook; Charles Perry's
translation was published in PPC (and is in my collection). That's
the only one I know of, but there are probably more.

David/Cariadoc
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/

Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 08:57:09 -0000
From: "=?iso-8859-1?Q?Nanna_R=F6gnvaldard=F3ttir?=" <nannar@isholf.is>
Subject: Re: SC - New World Foods-rant (was: turkey)

David/Cariadoc wrote:
>Ibn al Mubarrad wrote a short 15th c. cookbook; Charles Perry's
>translation was published in PPC (and is in my collection). That's
>the only one I know of, but there are probably more.

Charles Perry mentions several in The Fate of the Tail, among them Kit�b
Wasf (14th c, actually al-Baghdadi with a few dozen additional recipes), and
two Iranian 16th and 17th century collections.

He also says the most popular cookbook of the Arab Middle ages, judging from
the number of surviving manuscripts, seems to have been the Syrian 13th c.
Kit�b al-Wusla (I'm a bit confused here - has this book been translated?),
and says virtually every MS of it has a section of recipes that have been
added at a later time.

Nanna

Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 20:51:57 -0600
From: david friedman <ddfr@best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Another Arabic Cookbook

At 9:14 PM -0500 3/9/00, Aldyth@aol.com wrote:
>While at a research gathering last night, one of the ladies had me look at
>her newest cookbook. It is Arabic Recipes and History for the Medieval
>Feast. Written by J. Corbin. It gives a web page of :
>
>http://celticcat.com/jcorbin/arabicrecipes/index.html
>
>It shows the cover, the recipe titles, and to order send $25 to....
>
>Does anyone have this one?
>It has pumpkins, tomatoes and bell peppers....
>
>Aldyth

Actually, it is at:
http://www.celticcat.com/JCorbin/ArabicRecipes/index.html

Apparently the server is case sensitive, because the lower case
version of the URL didn't work, at least for me.

Judging by the recipes listed, it is a collection of modern recipes
from the Islamic world, not of period recipes. I note, for example,
two recipes for "harisa," in both cases a pepper sauce--the modern
North African dish. There are no recipes for the medieval harisa,
which was a very common and entirely different dish.

I didn't notice any recipes that I recognized as period Islamic--and
there are lots that use New World ingredients. So far as I know,
there are no surviving Islamic cookbooks from between 1492 and 1600.

I have no idea how good the historical information is. So far as I
can tell, the author doesn't list an email address, so can't ask her
about it--(snailmail? what's snailmail?)

Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 08:12:13 -0600
From: "maddie teller-kook" <meadhbh@austin.rr.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #2046

From: Guenevere Nelson-Melby <Guenevere_Nelson-Melby@needham.k12.ma.us>
> Has anyone read A Mediterranean Feast: The Story of the Birth of the
> Celebrated Cuisines of the Mediterranean from the Merchants of Venice to
> the Barbary Corsairs, with More than 500 Recipes
> by Clifford A. Wright ?

> Perhaps it has been discussed previously. I am new to the list and have
> no sense of history here. But his thesis is that we have underestimated
> Arab influence on European culture and cuisine and it's quite exhaustively
> documented? I know that it isn't technically all medieval, but it is
> rooted in history. Any other fans, readers?

> Guenevere

My biggest disappointment with this book is the recipes. No originals (well,
very few). Most recipes look more ethnic than medieval.

meadhbh

Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 11:29:38 -0400
From: Christine A Seelye-King <mermayde@juno.com>
Subject: SC - Megadarra

I just got finished typing this in for a friend, so I thought I would
send it along to the list for your benefit as well. Can someone with
access to al-Baghdadi put their hands on the original, and perhaps type
it in as well?
Thanks,
Christianna

From :
"A Book of Middle Eastern Food" by Claudia Roden Vintage Books, c. 1972

"Megadarra

Here is a modern version of a medieval dish called 'mujadarra',
described by al -Baghdadi as a dish of the poor, and still known today as
Esau's favorite. In fact, it is such a great favorite that although said
to be for misers, it is a compliment to serve it.
An aunt of mine used to present it regularly to guests with the comment:
"Excuse the food of the poor!" - to which the unanimous repy always was:
"Keep your food of kings and give us megadarra every day!".
The proportions for this lentil and rice dish vary with every family.
Here is my family's recipe for a rather large quantity. Whereas I have
used twice the weight of rice to lentils, many other people use equal
amounts. Today, meat is not included as it was in the medieval recipe.

2 cups large brown lentils, soaked if required
1 onion, finely chopped
Oil

Salt and Black Pepper
1 cup long grain rice, washed
2 onions, sliced into half-moon shapes

Boil lentils in a fresh portion of water to cover for 3/4 to 1 1/2 hours,
or until tender. Fry the chopped onion in 2 tablespoons oil until soft
and golden. Add it to the lentils and season to taste with salt and
pepper. Mix well and add rice, together with enough water to make the
liquid in the pan up to 2 cups. Season again and simmer gently, covered,
for about 20 minutes until the rice becomes soft and well cooked, adding
a little more water if it becomes absorbed too quickly.
Fry the sliced onions in 2 tablespoons very hot oil until they are dark
brown and sweet, almost carmelized.
Serve the rice and lentils on a large shallow dish, garnished with the
fried onion slices.
This dish is delicious served either hot or cold, and accompanied by
yogurt. "

Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 13:09:14 -0600 (MDT)
From: grasse@mscd.edu (Martina Grasse)
Subject: SC - re: digest 2144 - Megadarra

Christianna wrote
"Megadarra

Here is a modern version of a medieval dish called 'mujadarra'"

I love that stuff... I often bring it to potlucks because it is vegitarian
(even vegan) safe, sticks to the ribs, and tastes great. I do not add the
pepper, and I actually brown all my onions to the really really caramelized
stage, it adds nice color and depth of flavor to the dish, then serve with
additional caramelized onions, salt and yogurt for people to add to their
serving.
Just for the record, I use equal parts lentils and rice, use olive oil to
brown my onions, and cook it in my Japanese electric rice steamer (have
steamer, will travel!) it works great.

I would love to see more in the way of documentation for it.

Gwen Catrin von Berlin

Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 18:57:50 EDT
From: Varju@aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Megadarra

I was first introduced to this dish when I was an exchange student in
Hungary. One of the other exchange students was half Lebanese and made her
family's version of megadarra for us all the time. That version was similar
to the recipe Christianna posted except Neda would fry the onion slices in
olive oil and the pour both the onions and the oil over the top of the dish
before serving. . .

Noemi

Date: Mon, 8 May 2000 22:13:03 EDT
From: RButler96@aol.com
Subject: SC - Period cookery recipes

Since I have had so many inquiries, I felt it necessary to share this on the
list.

A Baghdad Cookery Book
al-Baghdadi 1229
Translated in "Islamic Culture" (a journal)
the January 1939 edition

Be patient when requesting it. One of the Ivy League schools has a hard
copy, and U of F has a microfiche copy that I have a print out of the
complete thing. It's about 40 or 50 pages, and details many recipes, and
some great stories of the time. It's basically one man's favorite dishes.
There are a couple that resemble dolma.

My Lord husband and I recently presented a feast taken from this publication,
and it went over absolutely beautifully.

Khadijah bint Mika'il al-Zarqa'

Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 00:53:35 EDT
From: LrdRas@aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Period cookery recipes

RButler96@aol.com writes:
<< A Baghdad Cookery Book
al-Baghdadi 1229
Translated in "Islamic Culture" (a journal)
the January 1939 edition >>

I have also used this manuscript for several feasts and I agree the food is
great. My ongoing project is to redact every recipe contained in the book
but so far I only have 67 finished. :-)

A translation appears in His Grace Cariadoc's Collection of Medieval and
Renaissance Cookbooks, Vol.I. The 2 volume collection contains translations
of many of the cookbooks we mention on this list. And both volumes together
cost less than a single volume of most any book. I would highly recommend
that the serious student of medieval cookery purchase this collection.

Ras

Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 17:49:04 -0500
From: david friedman <ddfr@best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Redacted recipes

At 9:26 PM -0400 5/9/00, RButler96@aol.com wrote:
>grizly@mindspring.com writes:
> > Recipes are not falling from trees for us in regards East of Venice.
>
> I would suggest that you look up the Islamic Cookery Book I listed.
>
> This lists mainly items served in Baghdad. They do have to be redacted.
>However, there is another book "A Book of Middle Eastern Food" by Claudia
>Roden. This one is not completely period, but contains some recipes from the
>above period reference that are redacted for convenience.

Claudia Roden is a fine source; it was through her that I first
discovered al-Baghdadi about thirty years ago. But almost none of her
recipes are period.

You have to be careful to distinguish between the statement that a
dish exists in a medieval source and the statement that this is the
recipe for it. Take a look, for example, at Rishta. She correctly
says that Rista is in al-Baghdadi. But if you compare her recipe with
his, you can see that they have very little to do with each other.
She is giving a modern recipe for a modern version of a dish that
existed, in a different version, in the thirteenth c.

David Friedman
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/

Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 23:48:12 EDT
From: LrdRas@aol.com
Subject: recipe-Re: Fw: SC - hummus-LONG

rkappler@home.com writes:
<< Hmmm.... Are you sure about this Ras? >>

Yes.

<< IIRC the resource you had with you on the sailing trip was Curye on
Inglysche, not Cariadoc's wonderful volumes, >>

I had brought all my period cookery books with me. You are correct in that
the White Sals recipe used at Ladies was The garlic and yogurt one. It is in
fact, the white sals recipe found in the Book of the Beloved in Cariadoc's
Collection. HOWEVER, the White Sals recipe that was redacted and made on the
boat was the White Sals recipe from A Collection of Medieval and Renaissance
Cookbooks, Vol. 2, pg. Misc-3. It is one of the three recipes translated from
Kitab al-Tabikh (The Book of Dishes): Oriental 5000 (British Library) pp.70b,
71a, 74b.

Original (translation)-
White sals. Walnut meats, garlic, pepper, cinnamon, white mustard, Tahini and
lemon juice.

1 cp. Walnuts
2 cloves Garlic
1/8 tsp. Black pepper, ground
1/2 tsp. True cinnamon, ground
3/4 tsp. prepared mustard (see notes below)
2 Tblsp Tahini
Lemon juice, as needed

<<Sals is the dish we did for the first course at the Ladies Champions feast
in Confed and consists of yoghurt and seasonings, >>

Correct. See above. There are at least 2 recipes with the title of White Sals
in at least 2 different manuscripts. The White Sals done on the boat did not
contain chickpeas and very closely resembles modern hummus when prepared.

<<Why substitute peanut butter for chickpeas or tahini when both are so
readily available? Again, my memory is a little fuzzy, but perhaps it was
because we were out and about on the Narragannsett and had neither of those
with us, but plenty of peanut butter? >>

Correct. It was during the time we were stranded in the water after we our
little adventure with the non-running engine and becalmed seas. There were no
chickpeas in the recipe but Tahini was mentioned.

<< I cannot otherwise imagine why a man as renowned for meticulous adherence
to period practices and ingredients would use a new world food in a period
recipe.>>

IIRC, the addition of peanut butter was done because of a lack of tahini at
the time. The recipe was subsequently prepared correctly without the
offending ingredient according to our actual redaction after the boat trip
and was fine. It was prepared by Margali at Pennsic before last. Again it
turned out fine.

<<hummus is actually a cheese like spread and not a paste of roasted sesame
seeds and/or chickpeas as I thought. >>

Modern hummus is as you describe. White Sals, OTOH, can be a garlic flavored
yogurt cheese or a walnut paste/sesame seed dish that resembles modern hummus
in flavor and texture.

<< Would it be possible for me to get a copy of this from you, or would that
be in violation of copyright protections?>>

His Grace kindly provides that up to 500 copies can be made for educational
purposes. I think it is in the back of Vol II though. If not the back of II
then I. It is in there. Again the Walnut paste sals is NOT in The Book of the
Beloved. It is from the Kitab al-Tabikh. The Yogurt based sals is from the
Book of the Beloved.

<<regards, Puck >>

Ras

Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 22:56:05 -0700
From: david friedman <ddfr@best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Re: SC dried squid

At 8:17 PM -0700 9/19/00, lilinah@EARTHLINK.NET wrote:
>The Near East is not just one big expanse of well-stocked
>sophisticated urban environment. There are plenty of harsh dry
>environments, too, with limited availability of foodstuffs. I
>realize i have no documentation, I can only argue that it is
>possible.

I've just been reading two books (_God's Banquet_, which is about
food in classical Arabic literature, and a book on life under the
Abbasids, with a chapter on food) that have lots of period references
to food. One thing that is pretty clear is that the bedouin were
regarded as eating primitive and gross things--one of the more common
insults is that they ate lizards. I don't remember any references to
dried meat, however.
- --
David/Cariadoc
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/

Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 22:44:49 EDT
From: LrdRas@aol.com
Subject: SC - HELP requested

A book entitled 'Al-Wuslah Ilal-Habeeb fi Wasfil-Tayyibat wal-Teeb,
attributed to Ibn al Adeem. Edited by Durrieh al Khatib and Sulaima Mahjoub.
Published by the Institute for the History of Arabic Science, University of
Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria. Volume one was published in 1987 and volume two in
1988. In Arabic.

Volume one is a treatise on the History of Foods of the Arabs by Sulaima
Mahjoub, and volume two is the complete text of the edited book with
extensive indices by Durrieh al Khatib. The book lists approximately 550
recipes for foods and drinks.
_________

The question is, does anyone know if these works have been translated into
English or if these works are being considered for translation? Since English
has replaced Latin as the language of Academia, I find it hard to believe
that such important works would be only available in Arabic.

Ras

From: lilinah@earthlink.net
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 22:12:58 -0800
To: sca-cooks@ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Pt. 2 - Medieval Persian Iron Chef

Here are the recipes three dishes that were served on one tray:

Bustaniyya - Orchard Dish - spiced chicken and lamb with pears,
peaches, and almonds
Saffron Rice
Rutab Mu'assal - Honeyed Dates, stuffed with almonds

Anahita

---------------------

Bustaniya - Orchard Dish
Spiced Chicken and Lamb with Pears, Peaches, and Almonds

Fruit and meat cooked together is typically Near Eastern. "Bustan"
means "orchard" and this dish contains pears, peaches, and almonds
from the orchard.

Original:
Take small sour pears, wash and wrap in a moist cloth if they are
dried pears, but if they are fresh, then macerate them in water and
strain through a sieve. Then take chicken breasts, and cut them
lengthwise in finger-sized strips and add to it as much meat [lamb]
as you wish. Next throw in peaches and boil. Season the pot with
pepper and ma'kamakh, oil, some spices, some sugar, wine vinegar,
some almonds ground up fine; add to the pot. Then break eggs over and
allow to settle.
(by Abu Samin, "Father of Corpulence", in al-Wattaq, p. 119, in Waines)

I was not sure what was going on with the pears. Were the dried pears
being soaked and drained? soaked and sieved? Was only the liquid
used? Or was a puree used? It wasn't clear to me, so I used firm,
tangy Winter pears which cooked down.

25 Bosc pears
50 dried sulfured peach halves
10 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
10 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
10 pounds of cubed lamb (cut as for stew or kabobs)
water, as needed
1 ounce Ceylon cinnamon sticks
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 ounce powdered ginger
2 Tablespoons ground coriander seed
2 Tablespoons white pepper
1/4 cup salt, to taste
water, as needed
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 cups red wine vinegar
2 cups ground blanched almonds
20 eggs, beaten

1. Cut of stem and blossom ends from pears, halve, core, then cut so
each pear is in eight pieces.
2. Cut peach halves in half.
3. Cut chicken into finger-like or fajita-like strips.
4. Check lamb and trim off excess fat and remove any bones.
5. In wide deep pot place fruit, meats, spices, and salt. Add water,
a couple cups to each pot - more liquid will develop out of both the
meat and the fruit as the dish cooks.
6. Put on high heat, bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium or
medium-low, so liquid develops out of meat and fruit, and contents
simmer until done, about 1 hour.
7. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary - I added more salt.
8. Add sugar and vinegar, tasting and adjusting as necessary - should
have a pleasant slightly sweet-and-sour flavor.
9. Stir in almonds - sauce should thicken.
10. Stir in eggs - sauce should thicken further. I did not pour eggs
on top as original recipe suggests, since i was cooking all the meat
in two 3 gallon pots and there would be no way to distribute the eggs
evenly over the meat in the serving dishes.
11. Dish meat into serving dishes - surround with rice, and garnish.

---------------------

Arruz al-Zafran - Saffron Rice
<snip - see rice-msg>
---------------------

Rutab Mu'assal - Honeyed Dates stuffed with almonds, scented with
rosewater
<snip - see dates-msg>
---------------------

These were served thus:
On ten round flat serving trays, a ring of rice was made around the
outside. The meat was mounded in the middle. And 10 dates were placed
evenly around the outer edge of the rice, the spaces between them
filled with garbanzo beans.

Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 12:31:21 -0700
To: sca-cooks@ansteorra.org
From: lilinah@earthlink.net
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Hummus period source wanted

Greetings, Violante:

You wrote:
>Does anyone know of or have a medieval or ancient recipe for hummus?

Hummos means chick peas, and chick peas are used in many surviving
Medieval Near Eastern recipes. However, i suspect you mean
hummos-bi-tahini, the puree of chick peas and tahini used in the
Levant as a sauce for falafel. I know of no Medieval or even
Renaissance period recipes for it.

The closest are a few recipes for salsa, the Arabic plural of sals, a
word most likely borrowed by Medieval Arabic speakers from a European
language, probably French. While the name is European in origin, the
recipes are quite Middle Eastern.

The surviving Middle Eastern recipe closest to modern
hummos-bi-tahini is Sals Abyad (White Sauce) which is a spiced
mixture of ground walnuts and tahini. While the original is
identified as a sauce, it doesn't say what it would be served with.

I hope this is of some help. If someone discovers another recipe that
is closer to hummos-bi-tahini, i'd love to see it, as it is a
favorite of mine, too.

Anahita

SALS ABYAD - White Sauce
Spiced Walnut-Sesame Sauce/Spread

ORIGINAL RECIPE:
from the 1373 CE "al-Kitab Wasf al-At'ima al-Mu'tada"
("The Book of the Description of Familiar Foods"),
translated by Charles Perry, in "Medieval Arab Cookery", p. 389

Walnuts, garlic, pepper, Chinese cinnamon, white mustard, tahineh and
lemon juice.

[that's the whole recipe]

MY RECIPE:
this has been adjusted downward from the one i made for 100 people.
This should make 2 to 3 cups.

1/2 pound shelled walnuts
2 cups sesame tahini from a Middle Eastern brand -
health food sesame paste doesn't work as well
1/2 to 1 ounce prepared garlic paste
with NO additives or preservatives
(or puree 1/2 to 1 ounce fresh garlic)
3/4 tsp ground black or white pepper
1-1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon
1/4 ounce yellow mustard powder (or you could experiment with Dijon
mustard)
juice from 1 to 2 lemons
1-1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

1. Grind walnuts finely, in nut grinder, blender, or food processor -
or pound in a mortar with a pestle. Do not grind to a paste, but
leave some texture.
2. Stir walnuts with one cup tahini.
3. Mix pureed garlic, pepper, cinnamon, mustard powder, and salt into
the other cup of tahini.
4. Blend seasoned tahini into walnut-tahini blend.
5. Let stand overnight for flavors to develop.
6. Shortly before serving stir in fresh lemon juice and add water to
achieve desired consistency.
7. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with Near Eastern flat breads - I served Lavosh and a Persian
flat bread whose name I have forgotten. It would probably be good as
a vegetable dip in a modern setting.

<the end>