[Sca-cooks] period sweets

[Elaine Koogler]

You know, this is very similar to the Dates Alexandrine recipe in Apicius....

Kiri

lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:

> >...I shall be IN persona.. a woman of 10th century Al-Andalus... what would
> >be the proper sweetmeats that I would make and offer to my 'guests'...
> >
> >Islamic Empire - 10th century..
> >
> >thanks
> >'bella / Aine
>
> Here are two 13th century Muslim recipes:
>
> They're from the book "In A Caliph's Kitchen" by David Waines. His
> worked out recipes don't always follow the originals, but for the
> sweets they are pretty close. It is long out of print and i searched
> for nearly 2 years for a used copy before i gave up and got it via
> Inter-Library Loan.
>
> I've included the Original (as published in "In a Caliph's Kitchen")
> and David Waine's version, along with my notes and one of Lord
> Cariadoc's redactions. I've never made these myself because i don't
> like sweets much.
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> Khushknanaj
> (khushk = dry and nan = bread in Persian)
> from the cookbook by al-Baghdadi, 13th c.
>
> ORIGINAL
>
> Take fine white flour and with every ratl mix 3 uqiya of sesame oil,
> kneading into a firm paste. Leave to rise. Then make into long
> loaves. Put into the middle of each loaf a suitable quantity of
> ground almonds and scented sugar mixed with rose water, using half as
> much almonds as sugar. Then press together as usual and bake in the
> oven. Remove.
> -----
> David Waines' version:
> 6 oz white flour
> 1/2 oz yeast
> pinch of salt
> 1 tsp. granulated sugar
> 1 Tb. sesame oil [MY NOTE: you can find in the health food store
>       it's good for cooking period Near Eastern food with
>       Note: this is *not* the Chinese roasted kind]
> 2 oz. ground almonds
> 2 oz castor sugar [extra fine granulated sugar, not powdered sugar]
> 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
> 2-3 Tb. rose water [possibly less]
>
> Sift flour into a bowl, add salt
> Mix yeast with granulated sugar and a little water. Add to flour.
> Add sesame oil to mixture. Mix.
> Add enough water to make a dough with a firm consistency.
> Knead for 10 min. then cover with a towel and leave to rise in a warm
> place 1-1/2 hour.
>
> Mix together ground almonds, castor sugar, cinnamon.
> When well blended gradually add rosewater to make a stiff paste - may
> need to add a little water.
>
> When the dough has risen, turn onto a floured board and knead for a
> few minutes.
> Cut the dough into 10 equal portions. Roll each into a flat thin oval.
> Place 1/10 of the filling on one dough oval, roll the dough over it,
> moistening the edges with water so they'll stick. Form into sealed
> cylinders. Make sure filling is well covered so it doesn't burst out
> when cooking.
> Place on greased baking pan and cook in preheated oven at 450 until
> just golden.
>
> Cool before serving.
> -----
> His Grace, Lord Cariadoc's version, from the Miscellany:
>
> 2 c white +1 c whole wheat flour
> 1/2 c sesame oil (from untoasted sesame!!!)
> 6 oz almonds = 1 c before chopping
> additional flour for rolling out dough
> 12 oz = 1 1/2 c sugar
> 1 T rose water
> 3/4 to 7/8 c cold water or 1/2 c water, 1/2 c sourdough starter
>
> "Leave to rise" is a puzzle, since the recipe includes neither yeast
> nor water. The recipe does not seem to work without water; perhaps
> the author took it for granted that making a paste implied adding
> water. We originally developed the recipe without leavening, but
> currently use sourdough, which is our best guess at what the original
> intended (and also seems to work a little better). The two versions
> are:
>
> Without leavening: Mix the flour, stir in the oil. Sprinkle the water
> onto the dough, stir in. Knead briefly together.
>
> Sourdough: Mix the flour, stir in the oil. Mix the water and the sour
> dough starter together. Add gradually to the flour/oil mixture, and
> knead briefly together. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise about 8
> hours in a warm place, then knead a little more.
>
> We also have two interpretations of how the loaves are made; they are:
>
> Almost Baklava: Divide in four parts. Roll each one out to about
> 8"x16" on a floured board. Grind almonds, combine with sugar and rose
> water. Spread the mixture over the rolled out dough and roll up like
> a jelly roll, sealing the ends and edges (use a wet finger if
> necessary). You may want to roll out the dough in one place and roll
> it up in another, so as not to have bits of nuts on the board you are
> trying to roll it out on. You can vary how thin you roll the dough
> and how much filling you use over a considerable range, to your own
> taste.
>
> Long thin loaves: Divide the dough into six or eight parts, roll each
> out to a long loaf (about 16"), flatten down the middle so that you
> can fill it with the sugar and almond mixture, then seal it together
> over the filling. You end up with a tube of dough with filling in the
> middle.
>
> Bake at 350 deg. about 45-50 minutes.
>
> Notes: At least some of the almonds should be only coarsely ground,
> for texture. The sesame oil is the Middle Eastern version, which is
> almost flavorless [Anahita's Note: i find sesame oil i get at the
> health food store to be *quite* flavorful]; you can get something
> similar at health food stores. Chinese sesame oil, made from toasted
> sesame seeds, is very strongly flavored and results in a nearly
> inedible pastry. We do not know what scented sugar contained.
> -----
> Anahita's suggested short cut, if you don't feel the need to be
> really authentic:
> I suspect you can cheat by using a simple cookie dough made with
> sesame oil instead of butter and with NO vanilla. Roll dough into
> flat thin ovals and fill and bake as directed above. Do check on
> them, because they shouldn't be brown, just golden. Shouldn't take
> more than 15 min, and maybe less.
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> Rutab mu'assal
> "Honeyed Dates" (literally)
> 13th c. recipe - source not specified
>
> ORIGINAL
> Take freshly gathered dates and lay in the shade and air for a day.
> Then remove the stones and stuff with peeled almonds. For every 10
> ratls of dates take 2 ratls of honey. Boil over the fire with two
> uqiya of rose water and half a dirham of saffron, then throw in the
> dates, stirring for an hour. Remove and allow to cool. When cold,
> sprinkle with fine-ground sugar scented with musk, camphor,and
> hyacinth. Put into glass preserving jars, sprinkling on top some of
> the scented ground sugar. Cover until the weather is cold and chafing
> dishes are brought in. [my note: might "chafing dishes" be "braziers"
> used to warm the house?]
>
> David Waines' version:
> 1 lb. fresh dates
> 2 Tb. honey
> 4 oz. blanched almonds
> 3 Tb. rosewater
> big pinch saffron
> 2 Tb. castor sugar (extra fine granulated sugar)
> 2 Tb. ground cinnamon [i think that's a bit much!]
>
> 1.) Carefully slit each date down one side and remove the pit.
> 2.) Into each date place one blanched almond, then squeeze closed.
> 3.) Mix together rosewater, honey, and saffron in a small saucepan.
> Bring to a boil and simmer 3 minutes. Remove and allow to cool
> slightly.
> 4.) Add dates to syrup, spooning it over the dates so each is
> thoroughly coated. Leave them in the syrup for a couple of hours.
> 5.) Remove dates and roll each one in caster sugar mixed with cinnamon.
> -----
> My notes:
> I have never made this. That said... (1) i've seen some dates that
> were a bit hard. If you end up with these, you can simmer them in
> water to cover until they're tender, probably a few minutes. Drain
> and cool before proceeding. (2) Also, you can sometimes find pitted
> dates, which could save a bit of work. (3) you might want to put more
> than one almond in a date, depending on the size of the almonds and
> of the dates. (almonds in Morocco were rather small, but they were
> incredibly flavorful.)
>
> Well, that's it for these two recipes... There some others, but these
> sounded not bad to me and like they might work for your schtick.
>
> Anahita
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