[Sca-cooks] Al-Baghdadi - Perry's favorites

[Susan Fox]

As promised earlier:  When Renata and I went to our last meeting of the
Culinary Historians of Southern California, org prez Charles Perry signed
our copies of his new translation of A BAGHDAD COOKERY-BOOK.  He mentioned a
couple of his favorites from the text, so we had him flag them in the table
of contents.  I am typing them in ascii-friendly format, without diacritical
marks [accents, etc.] and italicized foreign words between slashes /like
this/.  Footnote numbers are [bracketed] and footnotes follow each recipe
respectively.

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ZIRBAJ. [1]  The way to make it is to cut up fat meat small and put in in
the pot, with enough water on it to cover it and pieces of cinnamon, peeled
chickpeas and a little salt.  When it boils, take away its scum.  Then throw
on a pound of wine vinegar, a quarter of a pound of sugar [2] and an ounce
of peeled sweet almonds, pounded fine.  Mix with rose-water and vinegar,
then throw them on the meat.  Throw on a /dirham/ (each) of ground
coriander, pepper and wieved mastic, then color it with saffron. [3]  Put a
handful of split [peeled] almonds on top of the pot.  Sprinkle a little
rose-water on it, wipe its sides with a clean cloth, leave it on the fire to
grow quiet, and take itup.  If you like to put chicken in it, take a plucked
hen and wash it and joint it.  When the pot comes to the boil, throw it on
the meat to become done.

[1] First element unclear, from persian /zir/ 'beneath;  weak;  anything
dressed under roast meat'?  Second element Middle Persian /bag/ 'stew'

[2] 'and if instead of sugar, some syrup, that is permitted;  from the
/Minhaj/.  (/Minhaj/ actually reads 'Instead of syrup you could put a pound
of pounded sugar crystals, that is permitted.')

[3] 'If you want it to be thick, put starch with the saffron;  from the
/Minhaj/.

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FAKHITIYYA [1]  The way to make it is to cut lean fat meat [2] in small
strips and stew it in tail fat as described before.  Then cover it with
water until it boils, and take its scum away.  Make finely pounded lean meat
into middle-sized meatballs and put (spices) in them, [3] then throw them in
the pot.  Put in small pieces of onions and throw in a little salt, cumin,
coriander, pepper, mastic and cinnamon, all ground fine.  When it is nearly
done, take Persian yogurt and strained sumac juice, mix them together and
then throw them in the pot.  Take peeled walnuts, pound them fine and beat
them to a liquid consistency with the sumac juice.  Throw them in the pot.
Then crumble branches of dry mint into the pot and leave it to grow quiet
for awhile.  Then sprinkle a little rose-water on it, wipe its sides with a
clean cloth and take it up.

[1] From /fakhita/, 'the wood dove', because the purplish colour resembles
its throat patch.

[2]  In every other recipe in this book, a distinction was made between fat
meat, /lahn samin,/ and 'red' meat, /lahn ahmar,/ which is lean meat.  Only
in this recipe is meat described as fat and 'red' at the same time.  This
was a scribal error, or at least it was felt as such, to judge from the fact
that the manuscripts derived from the book have chosen one description or
the other.  The London manuscript of /Kitab al-Tabikh/ calls for /lahn
ahmar,/ and /Kitab Wasf al-At'ima al Mu'tada/ calls for /lahn samin/.

[3]  The word 'spices' has been omitted here, and as a result this passage
might be read 'put them (the meatballs) in it (the pot), then throw them in
the pot'.  The London /Kitab al-Tabikh/ repeats this absurd wording, but
/Kitab Wasf/ says to put spices in the meatballs, as described in all other
meatball recipes, and then to put them in the pot.


Your faithful trans-scribe,
Selene Colfox