Bringing Medieval Arab Cooking to Life
This recipe from 10th-century Baghdad is both flavoursome and easy to make. Cut tender lamb into slices ((شَرائح, sharā’iḥ) and marinate in fresh coriander (cilantro) juice, mixed with asafoetida. Coat the kebabs with olive oil before skewering, and then cook. Serve with rice and a wonderfully delicate dip made with red wine vinegar, murrī (use …
Despite its uninspiring name, this type of dish was a particular favourite in classical Abbasid cuisine, and involved meat simmered in water and salt, though there is a lot more to it than that, of course! According to the compiler of a 10th-century cookbook, this particular recipe was the creation of the caliph al-Ma’mun, who …
Continue reading “Water-and-salt stew (ماء وملح, ma wa milh)”
This most precious of spices is known in Arabic as za’farān (زعفران), which is the origin of our English word.In cooking it was used as an aromatic and, more frequently, to colour dishes, in which case it tended to be added at the end of the cooking process. It is also found in incense recipes …
Continue reading “Spotlight on: Saffron, the Queen of Spices”
A 13th-century vegetarian dish which is made by cutting gourd into the shape of a fish before frying it in a batter made of eggs and flour seasoned with cinnamon and coriander. It is served sprinkled with vinegar, murri (a fermented barley condiment which can be replaced with soya sauce) and coriander juice. Vegetarian dishes …
For these 13th-century fish cakes, you need two meaty fish of your choosing (we opted for cod), which are boned, cleaned and mashed. The following are added to the mixture before kneading it into cakes: salt, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, mastic, cumin, saffron, dried coriander, onion juice, garlic, mint juice, murri (a fermented barley condiment which …
Unlike in modern Western cuisines, the order of individual dishes was generally not rigidly fixed, at least in the Muslim East. The meal consisted generally of a number of courses: appetizers included dips, pickles and other snacks, including hot and cold dishes, both meat and vegetables. The mains would always have included several rich stews …