[Sca-cooks] The Priest Fainted

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Lowry wrote:
>I'm trying to find documentation for a "traditional" middle eastern eggplant
>(aubergine) recipe. The name translates as "the priest fainted" the arabic
>name starts with Imam- but I can't remember the rest.
>
>It is supposed to be a really tasty aubergine and garlic pate style dish,
>usually served in the shell. The cook book says traditional but doesn't say
>whether it is 12th century tradition or 19th century tradition...
>
>This is for a "Crusader" style feast to be held in August ... that is spring
>in Lochac.

I suspect you are thinking of baba ganouj, which is an puree of
eggplant and tahini (sesame butter).

I've certainly never seen such a recipe in the historic corpus,
although there are still some 9th c. recipes that haven't been
translated.

I made an eggplant puree from an early recipe:

Badhinjan Buran - Princess Buran's Eggplant
Eggplant pureed with yogurt and spices

As for the history of the dish, Charles Perry has an entire essay
devoted to it in "Medieval Arab Cookery". I'm sure that my
interpretation was also colored by all the multitude of other Buran
and Buraniyya recipes I read.

Original Recipe:
Take eggplant and boil lightly in water and salt, then take out and
dry for an hour. Fry this in fresh sesame oil until cooked: peel, put
into a dish or large cup, and beat well with a ladle, until it
becomes like khabis [pudding]. Add a little salt and dry coriander.
Take some Persian milk, mix in garlic, pour over the eggplant, and
mix together well. Take red meat, mince fine, make into small kabobs,
add melting fresh tail, throw the meat into it stirring until
browned. Then cover with water, and stew until the water has
evaporated and only the oils remain. Pour on top of this eggplant,
sprinkle with fine-ground cumin and cinnamon, and serve.

From: al-Kitab al-Tabikh (The Book of Dishes) by Muhammad ibn
al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Karim al-Katib al-Baghdadi, a 13th century
cookbook. Complete text in "A Baghdad Cookery Book", trans. A.J.
Arberry, reproduced with updated notes by Charles Perry in "Medieval
Arab Cookery", p. 59-60.

My Recipe:

12 pounds eggplant
I used the large ones because they were cheaper, but smaller Asian
eggplants would taste even better
1 pint *light* sesame oil (or olive oil)
2 quarts whole milk yogurt with NO additives, gums, gelatin,
stabilizers, or thickeners
1/4 cup salt
1 Tablespoon pepper
2 to 3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground coriander seed
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground cumin seed

1. If using large eggplants, remove stem end and quarter. Small
eggplants, leave whole.
2. Boil briefly, until just barely tender. I did this in multiple
stages as all the eggplant wouldn't fit into one pot.
3. Put eggplant in a sieve or colander over a bowl or in a clean sink
and let drain. Again I did this in stages. Since modern eggplants
have been bred to be less bitter than Medieval eggplants, I didn't
drain the pieces for a whole hour. After batches had drained for 15
minutes or so, I removed them to a large bowl.
4. Put enough sesame oil in a large frying pan to cover the bottom,
then heat on a medium-high fire.
5. When oil is hot, add some of drained eggplants - one layer of
eggplant only. Cook until tender, then remove - I drained them in a
colander as I removed them from the pan.
6. When all have been cooked and allowed to cool, puree them. I used
a food processor but a blender would work. And a potato masher or
ricer should work too.
7. When all the eggplants were pureed and in a big container, I added
two quarts of Pavel's yogurt. I honestly believe the quality of the
yogurt affected the taste of the finished dish. But use the best
plain yogurt you can find.
8. After mixing yogurt and eggplant, add spices. Allow to sit
overnight in a cool place for flavor to develop.

NOTE: Do not use Chinese/Oriental roasted sesame oil. It is
distinguished by its quite dark color and smokey scent. It is all
wrong for Near Eastern cooking. If you can't find light sesame oil in
a health food store or Near Eastern market, substitute olive oil.

The original says: Take red meat - most likely lamb - mince fine and
make meatballs. Brown them in fat. Then just cover them with water
and cook uncovered until the water evaporates. Serve to omnivores by
putting meatballs on top of the eggplant puree and sprinkle with
finely ground cumin and cinnamon.

Because we have numerous vegetarians in our Kingdom, i served it
without the meatballs, but decorated as follows:

Fresh mint
1 fresh pomegranate
1 pint whole milk yogurt

Peel pomegranate and remove white pith. Separate seeds into a bowl.
Dish eggplant into serving bowls, decorate the edge with fresh mint
leaves or sprigs, place a dollop of yogurt in the center of each dish
and top with pomegranate seeds.

I also have a meatball recipe on my website, but it's Andalusian, not
from Baghdadi
http://witch.drak.net/lilinah/PurgAccompaniments.html

Anahita