This is another example of a so-called ‘counterfeit’ dish (مزوّرة, muzawwara), which derived its name from the fact that they were vegetable variants of meat dishes. They were intended for sick people as vegetables were thought to be lighter, but a conscious attempt was made to try and make the vegetarian counterpart look like the original in order to deceive the diner to persuade them to eat!
This particular recipe is a counterfeit version of the sanbusaj (سنبوسج), which usually had a meat filling, and was made by pounding chard (silq, سلق) with coriander, lemon juice and vinegar. The mixture is then wrapped in thin leavened sheets of dough (ruqaq, رقاق) and deep-fried in olive oil.
It was designed — and prescribed — by the private physician for the great Ayyubid Sultan Salah al-Din (Saladin), who drove out the Crusaders. His name was Ibn Jumayʿ (ابن جميع, d. 1198); born in Cairo, his expertise was such that he was called ‘the teacher of his Age’ (Ustādh zamānihi). One of the most noteworthy facts recorded about him is that he allegedly saved someone from being buried alive.
Ibn Jumayʿ wrote a number of medical works, such as al-Irshād li-maṣāliḥ al-anfus wa-al-ajsād (الإرشاد لمصالح الأنفس والأجساد, ‘Guidance for the Welfare of Souls and Bodies’) and a highly interesting ‘Treatise to Salah al-Din on the Revival of the Art of Medicine’ (المقالة الصلاحية في إحياء الصناعة الطبّية , al-Maqāla al-Salāḥiyya fī Iḥyā’ al-ṣina’a al-ṭibbiyya), a history of (Greek) medicine. He also wrote treatises on the properties and uses of individual foodstuffs, such as the lemon and rhubarb.
