[Sca-cooks] Chicken-stuffed eggs from Nimatnama

[Pixel, Goddess and Queen]

On Fri, 16 Jul 2010, Jim and Andi Houston wrote:

> Oh mighty sages of medieval cooking,
>
> I think I've been staring at this manuscript too long. I would love a fresh
> perspective on this description. I've worked out a redaction but I feel I'm
> missing something. How would you interpret the steps to cook this dish?
>
> #173 Again, the method for making potherbs into pellets or for using eggs
> with potherbs or making many-colored pumpkin with potherbs. Blow the fire
> and cook plump minced chicken, add onion, fresh ginger and whole potherbs
> and use it as a stuffing for the eggs of hens or of pigeons or of the eggs
> of any other bird that is required. Put together cardamoms, cloves, white
> ambergris, rosewater, camphor, musk, saffron, and salt, rub it on the
> carcass and flavor it with ghee and cook it. Slightly cook some fresh
> onions, add lime juice and flavoring and put it in the mince. Flavor it with
> ghee and whole potherbs.
>
> The "carcass" line is really throwing me. What do you think?
>
> Interested in everyone's interpretations,
> Madhavi


I read it as "Rub the whole chicken with spices, cook it. When it is 
cooked, mince it with slightly cooked onions, lime juice, ghee, and whole 
potherbs. Use the mince to stuff eggs." It looks to me like the line that 
starts "Blow the fire..." is a summary of what you're going to be doing.

Margaret FitzWilliam