[Sca-cooks] Adadina

[vicki shaw]

Hello again!
I grew up in casablanca, Anahita, but my grandmother was born and raised in
Tanger, spoke Spanish, French, and Arabic.  Her people fled the Spanish
Inquisition and settled in Morocco.
In everyday life I am liberal-minded and flexible, but I get all bent out of
shape when people modify recipes to suit the modern day cook and dare to
call it authentic.  To me a fairer alternative would be to give the
traditional way as well as the modified way and let the cook decide for
her/himself how they want to proceed.  If I purchase a cookbook of Mongolian
food, I want it to be authentic Mongolian food.  If I cant find an
ingredient, then I can select an alternative (and many book writers will
propose alternatives).  If there are a number of recipes that require
three-days' preparation, i would rather be able to choose to either make it
the traditional way or not make it at all, ever.  I guess I dont like ersatz
anything or, to be more precise, give me the real thing and let me work with
it.

Basmati rice would do just as well.  Jasmine is far too aromatic and would
introduce a perfume that does not belong in the dish.
Please dont beat me up!  please.

Angharad ferch Iorwerth; MKA Vicki Shaw
Barony Beyond the Mountain
East Kingdom
vhsjvs at gis.net

www.omygoddess.biz
----- Original Message -----
From: <lilinah at earthlink.net>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 3:04 PM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Adadina


> First, sorry for the typo in the Subject line...
>
> Angharad wrote:
> >The recipe you give from the Danielle Mamane book is very different from
the
> >one my granmother used to make. It is not cooked overnight the
traditional
> >way.  Also, there is no jasmine rice in morocco.  this recipe might turn
out
> >good, but it is not traditional but modified to suite the modern-day
cook.
> >I will stick to the age old way.
> >
> >As for the recipe below, we did not used dates at all, but then there are
> >always regional differences and few cooks can resist a variation here and
> >there to suit her taste.  The recipe below also does not call for sweet
> >potatoes or the pata.......
>
> Well, the Morse/Mamane recipe has undoubtedly been adapted to modern
> cooking methods - and probably also the expectation that most people
> using the cookbook won't be Orthodox Jewish and won't be cooking the
> recipe over night.
>
> Additionally, I think Morse may have recommended jasmine rice because
> average American rice is so nasty tasting. After living in Indonesia
> for a couple years, i will NEVER buy ordinary American rice again
> (and much of it is grown near where i live - in Northern California)
>
> Further, Morse is from Casablanca, while Mamane is from Fes, which
> could also account for some variations. I don't recall, where did you
> say your family is from?
>
> Anahita
> who spent a month in Morocco in Dec. 2000-Jan. 2001 travelling with
> her daughter who had spent a college semester abroad there, and
> caught the last week of Ramadan in while in Rabat...
>
> I'd sure love to go back...
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