[Sca-cooks] Lamb vs. Fowl in recipes, was Re: Any favorite lamb recipes?

[Susan Fox]

A question:  I see in the Miscellany that the Barmakiya recipe does 
specify lamb along with the various poultry options.  Was this common? 
"Fat meat" is usually assumed to be mutton, but is that obligatory?  I 
have been justifying Fesanjan at SCA events [yes, it is a modern 
favorite, but I keep getting requests]  with the following:

NARSUN, from THE DESCRIPTION OF FAMILIAR FOODS [Kitab wasf al-at'ima 
al-mu'tada) translated by Charles Perry.

"This is a Persian name, and its root is /anasirk,/ which means 
pomegranate and vinegar.The recipe of this dish is that you cut up fat 
meat small and put it in the pot with water to cover, and you put the 
spices on it and moderate the salt and skim it.Cut up a small amount of 
onions and wash them and put in the pot.When it is nearly done, take 
pomegranate seeds, as much as needed and what the pot will bear, and 
pound them fine.Throw vinegar on them and macerate them well by hand, 
then strain them and add [the juice] to the pot.Take walnuts meats also, 
as much as needed, and pound them fine.Put as much water as needed in a 
pot and macerate [the walnuts] well and add them to the pot [where the 
meat is].Moderate its taste [with salt] as desired, and crumble bunches 
of dry mint onto its surface.Throw in whole pieces of walnut meats, and 
sprinkle a little rose-water on top of it.Wipe the sides of the pot with 
a clean cloth and leave it on a quiet fire, and then take up."


Cheers,
Selene Colfox





On 5/28/14, 11:54 PM, David Friedman wrote:
> I only have one period recipe that is specifically for the breast.
>
> Another Kind of Lamb Breast
>
> There are lots of lamb recipes in the Miscellany, most of them Islamic 
> ones that don't actually specify what kind of meat they use. One 
> favorite of ours is:
>
> Tabâhajah from the Manuscript of Yahya b. Khalid
>
> We're also very fond of Barmakiya, made with lamb.
>
> All three are in the Miscellany.