The New Book of Middle Eastern Food Part 33

Chai Hamidh Dried Lime Tea A hot lime drink is made by breaking open dried limes (noomi basra (noomi basra, see page 44) and pouring boiling hot water over them. Strain, and sweeten to taste.

Ginger Tea This is made with ground ginger, but I prefer to use the fresh root. Drop 3 or 4 thin slices of ginger in each cup of boiling water. Stir in 1-2 teaspoons honey and a squeeze of lemon.

Laban al Loz Milk of Almonds Serves 8 * This fragrant drink was a favorite in my home. Commercial varieties of a concentrated version (a syrup) have an unpleasant synthetic taste. * This fragrant drink was a favorite in my home. Commercial varieties of a concentrated version (a syrup) have an unpleasant synthetic taste.

1 cups whole blanched almonds 9 cups water 1 cup sugar 3 or 4 drops of almond extract 2 teaspoons rose or orange-blossom water, or to taste Grind the almonds as finely as possible in the food processor (do not buy them already ground). Add about 3 cups of the water and blend very thoroughly for several minutes. Pour into a saucepan, add the sugar, and bring to the boil. Simmer for a minute or two, then add the almond extract. Pour the rest of the water in, and leave to macerate overnight. Strain into a jug through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Add rose or orange-blossom water and chill, covered, in the refrigerator.

Variations In Morocco, they stir in teaspoon pulverized mastic after boiling.

In Iraq, they flavor with teaspoon ground cardamom.

Sharbat Bortokal Orange Syrup This is very sweet, but it is a syrup and not to be compared to orange juice. We used the smallish, slightly acid oranges with thin skins for this, but now that we have bottled freshly squeezed orange juice, that is what we use. Dilute 2 tablespoons in a gla.s.s of iced water.

2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice 3 cups sugar Juice of lemon Pour the orange juice into a pan. Add sugar and lemon juice, and bring slowly to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat as soon as it reaches the boiling point.

Cool, and pour into thoroughly washed bottles. Serve diluted with ice-cold water.

Note: If you wish to store the syrup for a long time, here is a traditional method for preserving it. Grate the rind of 1 or 2 oranges, then squeeze it through a piece of fine muslin. Float a teaspoon of this oily "zest" at the top of each bottle. It will act as a perfect protection. Before using the syrup, remove the oily crust with the point of a knife. If you wish to store the syrup for a long time, here is a traditional method for preserving it. Grate the rind of 1 or 2 oranges, then squeeze it through a piece of fine muslin. Float a teaspoon of this oily "zest" at the top of each bottle. It will act as a perfect protection. Before using the syrup, remove the oily crust with the point of a knife.

Sharbat Sekanjabin Vinegar and Sugar Syrup A refreshing sweet-and-sour Persian syrup to be diluted in ice-cold water. refreshing sweet-and-sour Persian syrup to be diluted in ice-cold water.

3 cups water 5 cups sugar 1 cups white-wine vinegar 6 sprigs of fresh mint, washed Bring the water to the boil with the sugar, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Add the vinegar and simmer for 20 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and submerge the sprigs of mint in the syrup. The flavor of the mint will penetrate the syrup as it cools. Remove the mint, and pour into clean bottles. To serve, stir 5 tablespoons syrup into each gla.s.s of iced water (or water and ice cubes).

Variation Sometimes a little peeled and grated cuc.u.mber is added when serving, and a mint leaf is used to garnish.

RIDDLE:.

What is sweeter than honey?

ANSWER:.

Free vinegar.

APPENDIX.

About Early Culinary Manuals As early as the eighth century, writings on food were abundant and popular. So much so that the scientist Salih Abd al-Quddus, who was to be executed as a heretic, complained bitterly: "We live among animals who roam in search of pastures without seeking to understand. If we write about fish and vegetables we are invested in their eyes with great merit, but truly scientific subjects are for them painful and boring."

Many early cookbooks are mentioned in various works, but they have unfortunately been lost to us. Al Nadim, the well-known bibliographer who lived in Baghdad in the tenth century, lists eleven "Books Composed About Cooked Food" dating from between the eighth and the tenth centuries and gives the names of their authors.

At the Bodleian Library in Oxford there is a handwritten ma.n.u.script of one of the earliest existing Arabic cookbooks, copies of which are at the University Library of Helsinki and Topkapi Saray in Istanbul. It is an anonymous work adorned with poems and gastronomic anecdotes about famous men, written in the tenth century and ent.i.tled Kitab al-Tabikh wa-Islah al-Aghdhiya al-Makulat (Book of Cooking and Better Eating) Kitab al-Tabikh wa-Islah al-Aghdhiya al-Makulat (Book of Cooking and Better Eating). It quotes recipes from older books, such as those of Ibn al-Masawaih and Ibn al-Mawsili of the early ninth century. In Istanbul there are two ma.n.u.script copies of a book called Kitab al-Atima al-Mu'tada (Book of Daily Food) Kitab al-Atima al-Mu'tada (Book of Daily Food), which was written in the thirteenth century. Other very important culinary ma.n.u.scripts of the same period exist in Baghdad, Damascus, Morocco, and Spain.

In the first edition of this book I featured many recipes from two of the works from Baghdad and Damascus, but I have left them out of this edition to make room for all the new recipes, and because they are primarily of academic interest and scholars have made them available today in new translations. In the last few years European and American scholars have studied all the medieval culinary works which have come down to us, and their a.n.a.lyses, with added commentaries and translated recipes, are now available in English. Most important are Lucie Bolens's book La Cuisine andalouse, un art de vivre, XIe-XIIIe siecle La Cuisine andalouse, un art de vivre, XIe-XIIIe siecle, now also in an English translation; David Waines's In a Caliph's Kitchen In a Caliph's Kitchen-Medieval Arabic Cooking for the Modern Gourmet; and the forthcoming and the forthcoming Medieval Arab Cookery Medieval Arab Cookery-Papers by Maxime Rodinson and Charles Perry.

Ibn Sayyar al Warraq's Kitab Tabikh (Cookbook) from Baghdad A compilation of recipes recorded by a certain Abu Muhammad al Muzzafar ibn Nasr Ibn Sayyar al Warraq in Baghdad in the tenth century, during the Abbasid Caliphate, is the earliest collection of recipes to have survived. It is very extensive, includes culinary poems, and draws on previous, ninth-century sources. It reflects the cosmopolitan court cuisine at the heart of the Islamic Empire, and touches on subjects such as utensils, kitchen practices, and table manners.

The work has been edited by Kaj Ohrnberg and Sahban Mroueh (Helsinki, 1987). David Waines features some of the recipes in his In a Caliph's Kitchen In a Caliph's Kitchen-Medieval Arabic Cooking for the Modern Gourmet.

Muhammad ibn al-Ha.s.san al-Baghdadi's Kitab al-Tabikh In 1934 the Iraqi scholar Dr. Daoud Chelebi discovered two ma.n.u.scripts written in Baghdad in the year 1226 by a certain Muhammad ibn al-Ha.s.san ibn Muhammad ibn al-Karim al Katib al-Baghdadi, who died in 1239 A.D. Dr. Chelebi published it in Mosul with the same t.i.tle, 1934 the Iraqi scholar Dr. Daoud Chelebi discovered two ma.n.u.scripts written in Baghdad in the year 1226 by a certain Muhammad ibn al-Ha.s.san ibn Muhammad ibn al-Karim al Katib al-Baghdadi, who died in 1239 A.D. Dr. Chelebi published it in Mosul with the same t.i.tle, Kitab al-Tabikh (Cookbook) Kitab al-Tabikh (Cookbook). The late Professor A. J. Arberry translated it into English and included it in his article ent.i.tled "A Baghdad Cookery Book" published in the periodical Islamic Culture Islamic Culture 13 (1939). This is the work that I studied and cooked from extensively years ago. You will find it in a new translation by Charles Perry in the forthcoming 13 (1939). This is the work that I studied and cooked from extensively years ago. You will find it in a new translation by Charles Perry in the forthcoming Medieval Arab Cookery Medieval Arab Cookery-Papers by Maxime Rodinson and Charles Perry. David Waines features many of the recipes in In a Caliph's Kitchen In a Caliph's Kitchen-Medieval Arabic Cooking for the Modern Gourmet.

In the preface, after the obligatory praises to G.o.d and some remarks on the importance of good wholesome eating, the author says he wrote the book for his own use and for those interested in "the Art of Cooking." He divides pleasure into six cla.s.ses: food, drink, clothes, s.e.x, scent, and sound. Of these, he says, the n.o.blest and most consequential is food, and he subscribes to the doctrine of the pre-eminence of the pleasure of eating above all other pleasures. It was for that reason that he composed the book. Al-Baghdadi chose to include, from among the recipes popular at the time, only those he personally liked, and discarded what he describes as "strange and unfamiliar dishes, in the composition of which unwholesome and unsatisfying ingredients are used." There is general advice about the necessity of keeping nails trimmed and pots clean, or rubbing copper pans bright with brick dust, potash, saffron, and citron leaves, and on such things as the value of using fresh and strongly scented spices ground very fine.

One hundred and sixty recipes follow, divided into ten chapters, which include "sour dishes," some of which are sweetened with sugar, syrup, honey, or date juice; and milk dishes made with "Persian" milk, which is actually curdled milk or yogurt. The "plain dishes" are not at all plain. The "fried" or "dry" dishes do not have much broth or sauce. The "simple" and "sweet" dishes are not desserts but meat dishes. Those grouped under "harissa" are of meats cooked with grains. There are fresh and salted fish dishes, and recipes for fish caught in Lake Wan in Armenia. And there are recipes for sauces, relishes and savories, vegetable pickles and salads, desserts, pastries, and sweetmeats.

The recipes are remarkable in their variety and in the imaginative combinations of a wide range of ingredients, including apples, prunes, quinces, currants, almonds, and pistachios, with vegetables and meats. They bear Persian names, and most are in the Persian tradition. Their delicate flavoring is the result of the subtle blending of herbs and spices, roots, resins, and flower extracts. Their preparation requires skill and patience, and their presentation calls for taste and artfulness. They are all perfectly explained and precise, but although they often give quant.i.ties of spices and aromatics, they do not usually give measures when dealing with main ingredients. A certain knowledge and experience on the part of the cook are a.s.sumed, but they are easy to follow in a modern kitchen more than seven centuries after they were written, and they are delicious if interpreted with taste.

The Kitab Wasf al-At'ima al-Mu'tada (The Description of Familiar Foods) Kitab Wasf al-At'ima al-Mu'tada (The Description of Familiar Foods) Charles Perry is bringing out a translation of a thirteenth-century cookbook called Kitab Wasf al-At'ima al-Mu'tada (The Description of Familiar Foods) Kitab Wasf al-At'ima al-Mu'tada (The Description of Familiar Foods) in his forthcoming in his forthcoming Medieval Arab Cookery Medieval Arab Cookery-Papers by Maxime Rodinson and Charles Perry. Recipes are from Syria, Iraq, and Egypt. There is a chapter on drinks and one on vegetarian dishes.

Two copies of the ma.n.u.script are at Topkapi Library in Istanbul.

A Syrian Cookbook-The Kitab al Wusla il al Habibfi Kitab al Wusla il al Habibfi Wasfi t-Tayyibati wat-Tib (Book of the Bond with the Friend, or Description of Good Dishes and Perfumes) This book exists in at least ten handwritten copies, each with minor variations and additions. One ma.n.u.script is in the British Library (shelfmark Or. 6388). Others are in Aleppo, Damascus, Cairo, Bursa, Mosul, Paris, and Bankipore in India. Professor Maxime Rodinson describes and a.n.a.lyzes the ma.n.u.scripts at length in his study "Recherches sur les doc.u.ments arabes relatifs a la cuisine" in the Revue des Revue des etudes islamiques etudes islamiques (1949). Unfortunately, circ.u.mstances prevented him from giving a full translation of the recipes. Charles Perry has been working in the United States on a full edition and translation. (1949). Unfortunately, circ.u.mstances prevented him from giving a full translation of the recipes. Charles Perry has been working in the United States on a full edition and translation.

The true origin, date, and authorship of the original ma.n.u.script are uncertain; but it is very likely that it dates from before 1261, in the Ayyubid period in Syria, and that it was written by someone close to the courts, because of the many references to the Sultan, his cooks, and the royal kitchens. It may have been a prince or a grandson of Safadin and great-nephew of Saladin, or the historian Kamal ad-din ibn al-Adim, or the poet and historian Ibn al-Jazzar.

It is in two parts, one of which is on table manners, while the other contains the recipes. A chapter is devoted to perfumes and incense, another to drinks and juices. There are seventy-four recipes for cooking chicken, and recipes for fried and roast meats as well as omelets and stews. Vegetables, rice, wheat, fruit, and yogurt dishes are featured; and there is a chapter on desserts and pastries.

My father's family originally came from Aleppo in Syria, and I was thrilled to trace the origins of several of our own dishes. You will find a full translation of Maxime Rodinson's study "Recherches sur les doc.u.ments arabes relatifs a la cuisine" in the forthcoming Medieval Arab Cookery Medieval Arab Cookery-Papers by Maxime Rodinson and Charles Perry.

Spanish Arabic Cookbooks Another source of old Arabic cookbooks is Islamic Spain of the period when the Moors were there. Two ma.n.u.scripts have been recently published, from the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. The Kitab Fadalat al-Khiwan fi Tayyibat al Ta'am wal-Alwan (Book of Delicacies of the Table with the Pleasures from All Types of Food) Kitab Fadalat al-Khiwan fi Tayyibat al Ta'am wal-Alwan (Book of Delicacies of the Table with the Pleasures from All Types of Food) was written by Ibn Razin al Tujibi, a native of Murcia in Spain. It was translated by Fernando de la Granja, and was published in Madrid in 1960 under the t.i.tle was written by Ibn Razin al Tujibi, a native of Murcia in Spain. It was translated by Fernando de la Granja, and was published in Madrid in 1960 under the t.i.tle La Cocina Arabigoandaluza segun un Ma.n.u.scrito Inedito La Cocina Arabigoandaluza segun un Ma.n.u.scrito Inedito. Another translation, by Huici Miranda, published in Madrid in 1966, is the Traduccion Espanola de un Ma.n.u.scrito Anonimo del Siglo XIII sobre la Cocina Hispano-Magribi Traduccion Espanola de un Ma.n.u.scrito Anonimo del Siglo XIII sobre la Cocina Hispano-Magribi.

In La Cuisine Andalouse, un Art de Vivre, XIe-XIIIe Siecle La Cuisine Andalouse, un Art de Vivre, XIe-XIIIe Siecle, Lucie Bolens translates three hundred medieval Andalusian recipes into French and explains the place of gastronomy in that exceptional society. The majority of the recipes are from an anonymous thirteenth-century Arabic cookery manual first edited and translated into Spanish by Ambrosio Huici Miranda ent.i.tled Kitab al Tabikhfil Maghrib wal Andalus (Cookbook of the Maghreb and Andalusia) Kitab al Tabikhfil Maghrib wal Andalus (Cookbook of the Maghreb and Andalusia). The book has also been translated into English and richly annotated by Charles Perry in A Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Cookbooks A Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Cookbooks (David Friedman and Betty Cook, volume 2, 5th edition [Chicago, 1992]). (David Friedman and Betty Cook, volume 2, 5th edition [Chicago, 1992]).

An Early Egyptian Cookbook An anonymous collection of about eight hundred recipes, ent.i.tled Kanz al Fawa'id fi Tanwi al-Fawa'id (Treasury of the Benefits in Food Organization) Kanz al Fawa'id fi Tanwi al-Fawa'id (Treasury of the Benefits in Food Organization), which contains recipes similar to those of the same period in Baghdad and Damascus and many that are different, is believed to have been compiled in Egypt around the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries during Mamluk rule. It has been edited by David Waines and Manuela Marin and published with an introduction in English.

Persian Cookbooks The earliest Persian cookbook to be found was written in 1520, during Safavid rule by a cook in the service of a prince, a certain Mohammad Ali Ba'urchi Bagh-dadi. His recipes represent dishes from the period of Timur, in the fifteenth century.

Another Persian collection of recipes-by Ostad Nurollah, who was the head cook of Shah Abbas at the end of the sixteenth century-reveals a courtly cuisine similar to the grand style of cooking in Iran today, where rice dishes hold a prominent place.

Apart from the recipes, there are references to health and nutrition.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Cookbooks Abdennour, Samia. Egyptian Cooking Egyptian Cooking-A Practical Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1984.

Alford, Jeffrey, and Naomi Duguid. Flatbreads and Flavors Flatbreads and Flavors. New York: William Morrow, 1995. Aoun, Fayez. 280 Recettes de cuisinefamiliale libanaise 280 Recettes de cuisinefamiliale libanaise. Paris: Jacques Grancher, 1980. Baron, Rosemary. Flavours of Greece Flavours of Greece. London: Ebury Press, 1992. Basan, Ghillie. Cla.s.sic Turkish Cookery Cla.s.sic Turkish Cookery. London: Tauris Parke Books, 1997. Batmanglij, Najmieh. A Taste of Persia A Taste of Persia. London: I. B. Tauris, 1999. Beattie, May H., ed. Recipes From Baghdad Recipes From Baghdad. With contributions from more than a hundred ladies. Baghdad: Indian Red Cross, 1946.

Benkirane, Fettouma. La Nouvelle Cuisine marocaine La Nouvelle Cuisine marocaine. Paris: J. P. Taillandier, 1979. Bennani-Smires, Latifa. Moroccan Cooking Moroccan Cooking. Casablanca: Al Madariss, n.d. Detroit Women's Chapter of the Armenian General Benevolent Union. Treasured Armenian Treasured Armenian Recipes. New York, 1963.

Doniguian, Mireille. H. La Cuisine armenienne et orientale La Cuisine armenienne et orientale. Paris: Doniguian Freres, 1989. El-Kareh, Rudolph. Le Mezze libanais Le Mezze libanais. France: Actes Sud, 1998. Eren Neset. The Delights of Turkish Cooking The Delights of Turkish Cooking. Istanbul: Redhouse Press, 1988. Guineadeau-Franc, Zette. Fes vuparsa cuisine Fes vuparsa cuisine. Morocco, 1958.

Les Secrets des cuisines en terre marocaine. Paris: Jean Pierre Taillandier Vilo, 1958.

Hal, Fatema. Les Saveurs & les gestes Les Saveurs & les gestes-Cuisines et traditions du Maroc. Paris: Stock, 1996. Halici, Nevin. Nevin Halici's Turkish Cookbook Nevin Halici's Turkish Cookbook. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1989.

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Hamady, Mary Laird. Lebanese Mountain Cookery Lebanese Mountain Cookery. Boston: G.o.dine, 1987.

Helou, Anissa. Lebanese Cuisine Lebanese Cuisine. London: Grub Street, 1994.

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Kahayat, Marie Karam, and Margaret Clark Keatinge. Food from the Arab World Food from the Arab World. Beirut: Khayats, 1965.

Karaoglan, Aida. A Gourmet's Delight A Gourmet's Delight. Beirut: Dar An-Nahar, 1969. Khalil, Nagwa E. Egyptian Cuisine Egyptian Cuisine. Washington, D.C.: Worldwide Graphics, 1980. Khawam, Rene. La Cuisine arabe La Cuisine arabe. Paris: Albin Michel, 1970. Kouki, Mohamed. La Cuisine tunisienne La Cuisine tunisienne-d'Ommok Sannafa. Tunis, 1974.

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Krmezi, Aglaia. The Foods of Greece The Foods of Greece. New York: Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 1993. Laasri, Ahmed 240 Recettes de cuisine marocaine 240 Recettes de cuisine marocaine. Paris: Jacques Graucher, 1976. Mallos, Tess. The Complete Middle East Cookbook The Complete Middle East Cookbook. Sydney: Weldon Publishing, 1990. Mardam-Bey, Farouk. La Cuisine de Ziryab La Cuisine de Ziryab. Ma.r.s.eille: Actes Sud, 1998.

Mark, Theonie. Greek Island Cooking Greek Island Cooking. London: Batsford Ltd., 1978 Mazda, Maideh. In a Persian Kitchen In a Persian Kitchen. Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle, 1960.

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Pekin, Ersu, and Ayse Sumer, eds. Timeless Tastes Timeless Tastes-Turkish Culinary Culture. Istanbul: Vehbi Koc Vakfi, 1996. Ramazani, Nesta. Persian Cooking Persian Cooking-A Table of Exotic Delights. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1974.

Rayess, George N. Art of Lebanese Cooking Art of Lebanese Cooking. Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1966. Salaman, Rena. Greek Food Greek Food. London: Fontana Paperbacks, 1983.

Saleh, Nada. Fragrance of the Earth Fragrance of the Earth-Lebanese Home Cooking. London: Saqi Books, 1996. Shaida, Margaret. The Legendary Cuisine of Persia The Legendary Cuisine of Persia. London: Lieuse Publications, 1992. Smouha, Patricia. Middle Eastern Cooking Middle Eastern Cooking. London: Andre Deutsch, 1955. Waines, David. In a Caliph's Kitchen In a Caliph's Kitchen-Medieval Arabic Cooking for the Modern Gourmet. London: Riad el Rayyes Books, 1989.

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A NOTE ABOUT THE THE AUTHOR AUTHOR.

Claudia Roden was born and raised in Cairo. She completed her formal education in Paris and then moved to London to study art. She travels extensively as a food writer. Her previous books include the James Beard Award-winning The Book of Jewish Food The Book of Jewish Food, as well as Coffee: A Connoisseur's Companion, The Good Food of Italy Coffee: A Connoisseur's Companion, The Good Food of Italy-Region by Region, Every thing Tastes Better Outdoors, and Mediterranean Cookery Mediterranean Cookery, which was published in conjunction with her BBC television series on the Mediterranean. In 1989 she won the two most prestigious food prizes in Italy, the Premio Orio Vergani and the Premio Maria Luigia, d.u.c.h.essa di Parma, for her London Sunday Times Magazine Sunday Times Magazine series series The Taste of Italy The Taste of Italy. She has won six Glenfiddich prizes, including 1992 Food Writer of the Year for articles in the Daily Telegraph Daily Telegraph and and The Observer The Observer magazine, and the Glenfiddich Trophy awarded "in celebration of a unique contribution to the food that we eat in Britain today." In 1999 she won a Versailles Award in France, and Prince Claus of the Netherlands presented her with the Prince Claus Award "in recognition of exceptional initiatives and achievements in the field of culture." She lives in London. magazine, and the Glenfiddich Trophy awarded "in celebration of a unique contribution to the food that we eat in Britain today." In 1999 she won a Versailles Award in France, and Prince Claus of the Netherlands presented her with the Prince Claus Award "in recognition of exceptional initiatives and achievements in the field of culture." She lives in London.

A N O T E O N T H E T Y P E.

The text of this book was set in Bembo, a facsimile of a typeface cut by Francesco Griffo for Aldus Manutius, the celebrated Venetian printer, in 1495. The face was named for Pietro Cardinal Bembo, the author of the small treatise ent.i.tled De Aetna De Aetna in which it first appeared. Through the research of Stanley Morison, it is now generally acknowledged that all old-style type designs up to the time of William Caslon can be traced to the Bembo cut. in which it first appeared. Through the research of Stanley Morison, it is now generally acknowledged that all old-style type designs up to the time of William Caslon can be traced to the Bembo cut.

The present-day version of Bembo was introduced by the Monotype Corporation of London in 1929. St.u.r.dy, well balanced, and finely proportioned, Bembo is a face of rare beauty and great legibility in all of its sizes.

Composed by North Market Street Graphics, Lancaster, Pennsylvania Printed and bound by R. R. Donnelley & Sons, Harrisonburg, Virginia All photographs on color insert pages copyright 1999 by Gus Filgate