[Sca-cooks] middle eastern food questions

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Lonnie D. Harvel:
>Greetings,
>
>I picked up lunch at a relatively new middle eastern restaurant here 
>in Athens, Ga. It is called The Sultan. They have a small grocery 
>connected. There were two items that I was curious about and perhaps 
>on (or more) of y'all can enlighten me.
>
>There was an herb blend in a bag called "zaater". It contained 
>thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. What would this be used for?

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall it's sprinkled on bread before 
baking, or used as a condiment for hot bread (maybe with a little 
olive oil), or perhaps sprinkled on eggs as they cook.

>There was a bottle of something labeled "Jallab Syrup".  The 
>information was in Arabic, and the owner was busy with other 
>customers so I didn't want to bother him. Is this one of the syrups 
>that are used to make beverages?

I think so.

Adamantius
-- 




"S'ils n'ont pas de pain, vous fait-on dire, qu'ils  mangent de la 
brioche!" / "If there's no bread to be had, one has to say, let them 
eat cake!"
	-- attributed to an unnamed noblewoman by Jean-Jacques 
Rousseau, "Confessions", 1782

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