[Sca-cooks] The Adventures of Ibn Battula

[Daniel & Elizabeth Phelps]

I'm rereading "The Adventures of Ibn Battula"  by Ross E. Dunn and came 
across a description of a meal that might prove interesting.  Ibn Battula 
was a Muslim traveler in the 14th century who is often referred to as "the 
Muslim Marco Polo".  Dunn uses an account of his travels to recreate his 
itinerary.  The meal, served in Mogadishu, is describes as follows:

... the party addressed themselves to a meal of local fare, compliments of 
the palace: a stew of chicken, meat, fish, and vegetables poured over rice 
cooked in ghee: unripe bananas in fresh milk: and a dish comprising of sour 
milk, green ginger, mangoes, and pickled lemons and chilies.  The citizens 
of Mogadishu, Ibn Battula observed, did justice to such meals as these: "A 
singe citizen... eats as much as a whole company of us would eat, as a 
matter of habit, and they are corpulent and fat in the extreme."

I am puzzled at the inclusion of chilies in this description as I understand 
them to have been introduced from the new world.  Perhaps the translation 
from the original text is in error?

Dan