[Sca-cooks] Middle-Eastern 'Nibbles'?

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

CLdyroz at aol.com wrote:
>Our Queen in Meridies is a Lady of Middle-Eastern interests.
>I have agreed to provide the table fare for the upcoming Queen's Rapier
>Champion Tournament.
>I am thinking of doing light fare, with tea.

Are you interested in "period" treats? If so, there are many many 
confections in "The Book of the Description of Familiar Foods", 
translated by Charles Perry and published within the covers of 
"Medieval Arab Cookery" by Prospect Books.

Period Cookbooks
*  al-Warraq = al-Kitab al-Tabikh (The Book of Dishes) by Abu 
Muhammad al-Muzaffar ibn Nasr ibn Sayyar al-Warraq. This late 10th 
century cookbook is a compendium of recipes from cookbooks from 
several centuries which are now lost to us. It includes forty recipes 
from the great gastronome Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi (779-839 
CE), half-brother of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, as well as a number 
of recipes from Abu Samin, a chef to the Caliph al-Wathiq who died in 
847 CE. [some recipes in "In a Caliph's Kitchen" by David Waines]
* al-Baghdadi = 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. [some recipes in "In a Caliph's Kitchen" by David 
Waines, and the complete text in "A Baghdad Cookery Book", trans. 
A.J. Arberry, notes by Charles Perry, "Medieval Arab Cookery"]
* Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook, 13th century. [Translated by Charles 
Perry, on-line]
* Familiar Foods = al-Kitab Wasf al-At'ima al-Mu'tada (The Book of 
the Description of Familiar Foods), 1373 [complete text translated 
and introduced by Charles Perry, Medieval Arab Cookery]

Found in:
*  Maxime Rodinson, A. J. Arberry, and Charles Perry. Medieval Arab 
Cookery. Prospect Books, Devon UK: 2001. ISBN 0907325-91-2
* David Waines. In a Caliph's Kitchen. Riad El-Rayyes Books Ltd., 
London UK: 1989. ISBN 1-869844-60-2
* 
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian_contents.htm

>I have heard of a creamy treat that is served on rose petals. It was served
>privately to another Queen at a White Rose Ball a few years back. 
>This would be
>perfect. Does anyone know what these are, and what the recipe is?

Sounds like Spanish "Angel's Food" - fresh white cheese, often made 
in the SCA with ricotta, drizzled with honey and sometimes with 
roasted chopped almonds - but not Middle Eastern.

>I am also thinking of homemade butter cookies, candied orange peel, and

Butter cookies are close to "gazelles horns" and "maiden's bracelets" 
- you might as well make a period and/or Middle Eastern shape. 
(recipe below for K'ak)

I also made a variation on Irnin - which is clearly period Mamoul. 
(recipe below)

>  Something Savory (?).
>And a gallon jug of Milo's tea. <G> It is so sweet, it could pass for ME tea.

I have still not found evidence for tea being a common beverage in 
the Middle East before the late 17th or 18th century. And there was 
no tea in Morocco until the English sent it from India as diplomatic 
gifts in the late 18th century...

>Now here's the second question-what would a Middle Eastern Savoury/nibble be
>like? Cheese? Spiced roasted almonds?

I've never seen spiced almonds in a period cookbook, but there are 
smoked and spice olives, which i have made for several feasts. 
(recipe below)

I'm sorry i'm not Ras, but i hope my sixteen recipes below are of 
some use. I've served them at feasts and at Laurel vigils. All but 
one or two are "period". If you have trouble reducing them to smaller 
servings, contact me off-list and i'll help you down-size them.

Also, some other Islamic sweets recipes can be found at:
http://windchild.net/islamic_pastries.htm

Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita

----- MY RECIPES -----

SAVORY
-- Zaitun Mubakhkhar - Smoked Spiced Olives
-- Sals Abyad - White Sauce - Spiced Walnut-Sesame Butter (period 
analog to hummos-bi-tahini)
-- Andalusian Lamb Meatballs
-- Sinab - Andalusian Honey Mustard Dip
-- Barida - 9th C. Cold Chicken Salad

SWEET
-- Laimun Safarjali - Lemon-Quince-Rosewater Syrup Beverage
-- Andalusian Syrup of Pomegranates
-- Andalusian Syrup of Mint (and other herbs)
-- Rutab Mu'assal - Honeyed Dates - stuffed with almonds, scented 
with rosewater
-- al-Mauz - Batter-fried Bananas
-- Lauzinaj - Phyllo-wrapped rose-scented almond paste
-- K'ak - Butter Cookie Rings
-- Irnin - Date-filled Semolina Squares
-- Andalusian Spiced Carrot Paste
-- Moroccan Cinnamon Dusted Orange Slices (peri-oid)
-- Koshaf - Egyptian Dried Fruit Compote (modern)

---------------------

Zaitun Mubakhkhar - Smoked Spiced Olives

This recipe was quick and easy to make. The original calls for 
smoking the olives. As I don't have the necessary equipment, I added 
a few drops of smoke flavor to the drained olives.

Zaitun Mubakhkhar - Smoked Olives
Original Recipe:

Take olives when fully ripe. If you want take them black, and if you 
want take them green, except that the green are better for smoking. 
Bruise them and put some salt on them, as much as needed, and turn 
them over every day until the bitterness goes away. When they throw 
off liquid, pour it off. When the bitterness is gone from them, 
spread them out on a woven tray until quite dry.

Then pound peeled garlic and cleaned thyme, as much as necessary. 
Take the quantity of a dirham of them, and a piece of walnut with its 
meat in it, and a dirham of wax, and a piece of cotton immersed in 
sesame oil, and a piece of date seed. Put these ingredients on a low 
fire on a stove [kanun] and seal its door, and put the tray the 
olives are in on top of it, and cover it with a tray so that it is 
filled with the scent of this smoke, which does not escape. Then 
leave it that way for a whole day.

Then you return them to a container large enough for them and mix the 
pounded garlic and thyme with them, and a little crushed walnut meat, 
and a handful of toasted sesame seeds. Take as much fresh sesame oil 
as needed and fry it with cumin seeds, and throw them on it and mix 
them with it.

Then take a greased pottery jug [barniyya] and smoke it in that 
smoke. Put the olives in it and cover the top, and it is put up for 
[several] days. It is not used until the sharpness of the garlic in 
it is broken.
(Book of the Description of Familiar Foods, p. 403, "Medieval Arab Cookery")

My Recipe:

4-1/2 pounds cracked green olives in brine, drained
- - I bought these Greek olives in a resealable plastic barrel for 
under $10 at a Near Eastern food shop
a few drops smoke flavoring
1-1/2 heads garlic, peeled
a couple tablespoons dried thyme or zataar herb
1 cup shelled walnuts
1 cup white sesame seeds
1-1/2 Tablespoons light sesame oil
2 to 3 Tablespoons whole cumin seeds

1. Drain olives well.
2. Add a few drops of smoke flavoring to the drained olives. Be sure 
to mix very very well.
3. Crush garlic cloves in a food processor or by hand with in a 
mortar with a pestle (the latter is what I did).
4. Add thyme to garlic and crush further.
5. Add garlic and thyme to olives. Blend well.
6. Crush walnuts medium-fine in a mortar with a pestle. Add to olives 
and mix well.
7. Toast sesame seeds in a frying pan with NO oil, over medium to 
medium-low heat, stirring very very frequently, until toasted fairly 
evenly to a rich gold. Add to olives and mix well.
8. Put a few tablespoons of sesame oil in frying pan, add several 
tablespoons of whole cumin seeds, and cook on medium to medium-low 
heat until cumin darkens slightly and aroma comes out. Be careful not 
to burn. Stir into olives.
9. Taste. Add more smoke if necessary - use a sparing hand, as too 
much is awful.
10. Let olives season for several days well covered in a cool place, 
stirring once a day to distribute flavorings. I made them Tuesday 
night and served them Saturday night.

NOTE: It is difficult to find plain zataar herb. Every shop I visited 
that had zataar had the kind that was a blend of zataar herb, salt, 
sesame seeds, and sumak. This blend is not suitable for this recipe. 
A friend of mine of Lebanese descent suggested I try the herb called 
"Greek oregano". This is NOT the standard oregano sold in 
supermarkets, which is "Mexican oregano" and which flavor I do not 
like. I did see "Greek oregano" in some of the Near Eastern markets 
and will try it when I make these olives again, which I most 
definitely will, as they were delicious.

---------------------

Sals Abyad, while probably a sauce for fish, makes an excellent dip 
for crackers and flat bread (please, not pita - try Ak-Mak, lavosh, 
matzoh, etc.)

Sals Abyad - White Sauce
Spiced Walnut-Sesame Butter

The name of this dish is from some European word for sauce. The 
recipe is purely Near Eastern, however. Mustard was used to spike up 
some dishes. In Southwest Asia cooks used powdered mustard seed, 
while in al-Andalus and al-Maghrib they used prepared mustard.

Original Recipe:
Walnuts, garlic, pepper, Chinese cinnamon, white mustard, tahineh and 
lemon juice.
(Book of the Description of Familiar Foods, p. 389, "Medieval Arab Cookery")

My Recipe:

3 pounds walnuts
3 quarts sesame tahini from a Middle Eastern store - health food 
sesame paste doesn't work as well
several ounces prepared garlic paste with NO additives or preservatives
2 Tablespoons pepper
1/4 cup powdered cinnamon
2 ounces yellow mustard powder
juice from 10 lemons
Water as needed

1. Grind walnuts finely.
2. Mix walnuts with 1-1/2 quarts of tahini
3. Mix garlic, pepper, cinnamon and mustard into one quart of tahini
4. Mix seasoned tahini into walnut-sesame paste.
5. Let stand overnight for flavors to develop.
6. Shortly before serving stir in fresh lemon juice and water as 
needed to make a smooth light paste.
7. Serve with Near Eastern flat breads - I served Lavosh and a 
Persian flat bread called Sangak

---------------------

Andalusian Meatballs

ORIGINAL
Based on an analysis of several meatball recipes in the 13th c. 
Anonymous Andalusian cookbook.
trans. by Charles Perry

Some of the recipes just say to make meatballs "in the way that they 
are made". To find out what this might mean, I read five recipes and 
looked for common or typical ingredients.

The method of cooking the meatballs varies as well. Some are boiled, 
some fried, some simmered in a sauce. Because these meatballs were 
served with Sinab, a mustard sauce, they were cooked simply, rather 
than boiled in sauce.

My Recipe:

30 lb. ground meat - we used beef
10 lb. onions
3 bunches fresh cilantro
3 Tb. salt
6 Tb. ground coriander seed
4 Tb. + 1-1/2 tsp ground cumin seed
3 Tb. powdered cinnamon
3 Tb. ground white pepper
12 eggs

To keep meatballs consistent, I suggest doing this in batches, rather 
than all at once, by dividing ingredients by 3 or 4.

1. Peel onions, cut off tops and tails, then quarter.
2. Puree onion in blender or food processor with cilantro, salt and spices.
3. Beat eggs.
4. Mix eggs with onion-spice puree.
5. Mix egg-onion-spice puree with ground meat. Be sure all 
ingredients are blended well together.

At this point, I suggest that you cook a couple small meatballs first 
and taste them to see how seasoning is. If it needs adjustment, write 
down what you add and process remaining batches with the same amount 
of spices. If the sample batch tastes fine, continue to the next step.

6. Form into meatballs about the size of a walnut.
7. Cook meatballs. Some recipes call for frying, others for boiling. 
You could also try baking. Do whatever is most comfortable or 
convenient for you. If you want, you could even try all methods 
simultaneously... For the feast, they were baked in the oven at 350 
degrees Farenheit.
8. When meatballs are cooked, cool them until they are cool enough to handle.
9. When they are cool enough, freeze them in zip-close plastic bags.

To Serve:
Meatballs can be served at room temperature.
Thaw in refrigerator. Heat water and pour into a large container - 
immerse bags of meatballs in hot (not boiling) water until they are 
warm enough.

Variations:
If you like, you can add any or all of the following:

1. Murri
Murri is a Medieval Middle Eastern liquid seasoning, originally made 
with fermented barley, spices, and flavorings. There is also another 
simpler, quicker historic version, a recipe for which can be found at:
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Medieval.html
However, Charles Perry made murri from scratch - with "fermented" 
barley loaves and he said it tasted remarkably like soy sauce, so i 
suggest you use that. I've never found that Fake/Byzantine murri (as 
in Cariadoc's recipe) made a significant difference in flavor.
For 30 lb. of ground meat, I suggest using 1-1/2 cups of murri. If 
the murri is salty, cut down on the amount of salt.

2. Crushed Garlic
For 30 lb. of ground meat, I suggest purchasing either a jar of 
already crushed garlic or a bag of already peeled garlic cloves and 
puree the necessary amount in a blender or food processor. It takes a 
long time to separate and peel the cloves from multiple heads of 
garlic. Once you have your garlic, use the equivalent of one clove 
per diner.

3. Saffron
Crumble and blend with the onion-and-cilantro (it needs moisture to 
release its color and flavor). For 30 lb. of ground meat, I suggest a 
minimum of 1 Tb.

4. White Wheat Flour
You can add this to extend meat and make the balls hold together, if you like.

---------------------

Sinab - Almond-Honey-Mustard Sauce

ORIGINAL
the 13th c. Anonymous Andalusian cookbook
trans. by Charles Perry

Clean good mustard and wash it with water several times, then dry it 
and pound it until it is as fine as kohl. Sift it with a sieve of 
hair, and then pound shelled almonds and put them with the mustard 
and stir them together. Then press out their oil and knead them with 
breadcrumbs little by little, not putting in the breadcrumbs all at 
once but only little by little. Then pour strong vinegar, white of 
color, over this dough for the dish, having dissolved sufficient salt 
in the vinegar. Then dissolve it well to the desired point, and 
strain it thoroughly with a clean cloth; and there are those who 
after it is strained add a little honey to lessen its heat. Either 
way it is good.

My Recipe:

2 quarts of prepared Dijon mustard
3 lb. almonds, very finely ground - about 3-1/2 cups
several slices of white bread, barely toasted and ground to make 3-1/2 cups
1-1/2 quarts honey

1. Pour mustard into a large bowl and stir in almonds.
2. Then stir in breadcrumbs, and mix well. Make sure there are no 
pockets of dry almonds or crumbs.
3. Then add honey and mix well.
4. If it is too hot, add equal parts of bread crumbs moistened with a 
little water and finely ground almonds, until taste is satisfactory.

Notes:
To save time, I used purchased mustard. The Dijon was quite sharp, so 
I added a lot of honey. You may prefer more or less. The diners 
seemed to like it quite a bit.

If you want to make your own, i've broken down the process and 
ingredients here, but you'll have to experiment.
sufficient salt
strong white wine vinegar
mustard powder, sifted
shelled almonds, finely ground
bread crumbs
a little honey

1. Dissolve sufficient salt in the vinegar.
2. Stir together ground almonds and mustard powder.
3. Then press out their oil.
4. Knead in bread crumbs, little by little.
5. Then pour the vinegar over this paste and dissolve it well to the 
desired point.
6. Add honey to taste.

NOTE:
Keep tasting and mixing - add more almonds and more bread crumbs, 
along with the honey, to balance the flavors.

---------------------


BARIDA - 9th C. Abassid Cold Chicken Dish

Original:
Two parts almonds and sugar and two parts vinegar and mustard mixed 
together in a vessel with partially dried safflower adding colour 
around the [edges] [one short word not legible in my photocopy]. 
Cucumber peeled, qutha and faqqas and pomegranate, chopped up small 
and sprinkled around the vessel. Add a little oil. Take a fine young 
chicken, cooked in vinegar, jointed and cut up in pieces and placed 
over the other ingredients in one vessel. Decorate the dish with 
pomegranate (seeds) and with almonds and olives chopped up fine.

Waines' Comments:
This cold dish made from chicken was devised by Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi. 
The recipe is expressed in poetic form, not surprising from a man who 
was not only a gourmand, but well known as a poet too. He describes 
the dish as perfect summertime fare. The physician al-Razi observes 
that such dishes of the bawarid type, when made with vinegar or with 
the juice of sour fruits, serve to cool the temperament and moderate 
it. Qutha and faqqus, mentioned in the original recipe, are species 
of cucumber.

David Waines, In a Caliph's Kitchen, pp. 82-83

My Recipe:

9 lb. chicken parts (thighs and breasts)
1 bottle (about 24 oz.) rice vinegar
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup prepared Dijon mustard
partially dried safflower
2 English Cucumbers, diced (no need to peel or seed)
seeds from 3 pomegranates
1/2 cup light sesame oil
2 cups slivered blanched almonds
1 cup pitted purple/black olives
1 cup pitted green olives

1. Cook chicken in vinegar, adding a little water, as necessary.
The liquid doesn't need to completely cover the chicken, as long as 
the cook periodically turns pieces so all pieces spend time 
submerged. I don't remember how long this took - 1/2 hour?
2. Mix together almonds and sugar, with vinegar and mustard and 
spread around serving dish, then put safflower around the edges.
3. Cut cucumber into medium sized dice. No need to peel or seed.
4. Peel pomegranates over a bowl of cold water, dropping seeds into 
water. When done, remove "floaty bits" and drain seeds. Take care 
because pomegranate can stain.
5. Sprinkle cucumber and 2/3 of pomegranate seeds around serving dish 
on top of mustard sauce.
6. Sprinkle with a little oil.
7. Cool chicken, joint it and cut up in pieces.
8. Place chicken over the other ingredients in serving dish.
9. Decorate the dish with additional pomegranate seeds, slivered 
almonds, and sliced olives.

NOTES:

1. I used rice vinegar to cook the chicken because it is milder than 
wine vinegar and i didn't want the vinegar taste to be too strong in 
the chicken.
2. Prepared Dijon mustard was a short cut. It is unclear whether 
powderd mustard seed or prepared mustard would be used in the 
original.
3. I used safflower, but i think saffron would be more effective, and 
i wonder if Waines made an error with his translation.
4. English cucumbers are the closest i could find to Middle Eastern 
cucumbers. They are so much nicer than the usual cucumbers, much less 
bitter, and not "burpy" at all.
5. For the Vigil, we skinned the chicken, then separated the meat 
from the bones, discarding fat and connective tissues.
6. For the Vigil, we tossed the cucumber with the mustard sauce, and 
took all ingredients to the site in separate zip-close bags, then 
tossed chicken with mustard-tossed cucumber and 2/3 of pomegranates.
7. I used two colors of olives for aesthetic purposes.

----- Part Two - Sweets and Beverages to Follow -----
-- 
"The truth must be taken wherever it is to be found,
whether it be in the past or among strange peoples."
	-- al-Kindi, Baghdad (801-873)