US economy contracts in Q1 '25    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    EGP closes high vs. USD on Wednesday    Germany's regional inflation ticks up in April    Taiwan GDP surges on tech demand    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    UNFPA Egypt, Bayer sign agreement to promote reproductive health    Egypt to boost marine protection with new tech partnership    Eygpt's El-Sherbiny directs new cities to brace for adverse weather    CBE governor meets Beijing delegation to discuss economic, financial cooperation    Egypt's investment authority GAFI hosts forum with China to link business, innovation leaders    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's Gypto Pharma, US Dawa Pharmaceuticals sign strategic alliance    Egypt's Foreign Minister calls new Somali counterpart, reaffirms support    "5,000 Years of Civilizational Dialogue" theme for Korea-Egypt 30th anniversary event    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Angola's Lourenço discuss ties, African security in Cairo talks    Egypt's Al-Mashat urges lower borrowing costs, more debt swaps at UN forum    Two new recycling projects launched in Egypt with EGP 1.7bn investment    Egypt's ambassador to Palestine congratulates Al-Sheikh on new senior state role    Egypt pleads before ICJ over Israel's obligations in occupied Palestine    Sudan conflict, bilateral ties dominate talks between Al-Sisi, Al-Burhan in Cairo    Cairo's Madinaty and Katameya Dunes Golf Courses set to host 2025 Pan Arab Golf Championship from May 7-10    Egypt's Ministry of Health launches trachoma elimination campaign in 7 governorates    EHA explores strategic partnership with Türkiye's Modest Group    Between Women Filmmakers' Caravan opens 5th round of Film Consultancy Programme for Arab filmmakers    Fourth Cairo Photo Week set for May, expanding across 14 Downtown locations    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Ancient military commander's tomb unearthed in Ismailia    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM praises ties with Tanzania    Egypt to host global celebration for Grand Egyptian Museum opening on July 3    Ancient Egyptian royal tomb unearthed in Sohag    Egypt hosts World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup in Somabay for 3rd consecutive year    Egyptian Minister praises Nile Basin consultations, voices GERD concerns    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Mameluke recipes for Ramadan
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 16 - 05 - 2019

The holy month of Ramadan holds as much promise for the culinary enthusiast as it does the ascetic. Whether the fast is broken by a simple meal or a more elaborate one, much care is given in Egyptian households to preparing iftar, the main meal with which the fast that begins at dawn is broken at sunset.
If one were to turn the pages of Egyptian cookbooks in search of a traditional recipe, nothing might be evocative of this multi-layered tradition than a 14th-century Egyptian cookbook penned during the Mameluke era entitled Kanz al-Fawaid fi Tahdir al-Mawaid (A Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table).
The three recipes below are taken from this quintessential Egyptian cookbook, representing 600-year-old takes on dishes that are still popular in Egypt today.
They are presented below in English as they were written in Kanz al-Fawaid, a translation which includes the original Arabic terms used in the book for ingredients. Many of the recipes did not specify the measurements for ingredients, on the assumption that a well-versed cook would be capable of assessing them.
In view of this, the measurements for the three recipes below were provided for this article by Nawal Nassrallah, the scholar who introduced and translated Kanz al-Fawaid into English under the title of the “Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table.”
The first recipe, Ibrahimiya, is an elaborate version of the currently popular slow- cooking stewed meat known as Kabab Halla. It is named after the Abbasid gourmet prince Ibrahim Ibn Al-Mahdi and can be presented as a main dish.
The second recipe is an easy-to-prepare gourd (also called marrow or squash) fried in sesame oil and sprinkled with herbs. The third recipe is apricot compote that is prepared with a beautiful ritual in traditional serving ware and recommended in Kanz al-Fawaid specifically for Ramadan.
A Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table
Ibrahimiya Meat Stew
Ingredients:
One kilo of meat cut in chunks, preferably a bit fatty or marbled. Also possible with a leaner cut
One to one and a half teaspoon salt according to taste
One to two teaspoons of coriander seeds
One teaspoon of black pepper
Three to four pieces of cinnamon
About five lumps of mastic
Five small onions
Half a kg of ground meat for meatballs
One half cup of vinegar
One quarter of a cup of pounded skinned almonds (add a bit more if the stew turns out too thin)
About one quarter of a cup white sugar (try with two tablespoons first and see how it tastes, and add more as needed)

Method:
Cut the meat into medium chunks and put it in a pot with enough water to submerge it. Throw into it a tied bundle of light linen containing finely ground coriander seeds, ginger, black pepper and aloes wood (this latter, ‘oud in Arabic, can be left out if not easy to find, and if found used only minimally because of its bitter taste). Aloes wood is used in the incense bokhour. If used, the serving bowl can be fumigated with it to give it an authentic aroma.
Also add pieces of cassia (dar sini) (ground cinnamon can be used instead) and mastic gum. Slit three small onions cross-like, but leave them intact, and then add them.
Then, shape a half kg of minced meat seasoned with salt and pepper and dried coriander into balls (kubab) and throw them into the pot. Add the salt. When the food boils, take out the cloth-bundle with the spices in it, and soak it for half an hour in the juice of unripe sour grapes (mahisrim atiq).
If aged juice is not available, use fresh sour grapes (tari), and extract their juice by hand, without boiling the grapes. Alternatively, use distilled vinegar.
Strain the liquid, thicken it (yurabba) with sweet almonds, finely pounded and pour it into the pot. Sweeten it with a bit of white sugar and add enough so that it does not taste overly sour. Leave the pot on the fire to simmer.
Wipe the inner sides of the pot with a clean cloth, sprinkle a little bit of rosewater on top, and then remove. Serve.

Gourd (marrow or squash) fried in sesame oil
Ingredients:
One kg gourd
Three quarters cup tehina
One quarter cup of vinegar
One quarter cup of lemon juice
One half cup of pounded walnuts
One quarter cup of finely chopped Macedonian parsley (baqdunis)
Two tablespoons of finely chopped mint
One half teaspoon of pounded coriander and caraway seeds
One half teaspoon of spice blend
A pinch of saffron
Two crushed cloves of garlic
One teaspoon or less of sugar
One cup of flour for frying
Sesame oil

Method:
Scrape the skin of a gourd (yunhat) and cut into shawabir (small pieces). Roll the pieces in flour, as is done with fish. Fry in sesame oil.
Put the fried gourd pieces on a plate and pour on them the tehina dissolved in a mix of vinegar, lemon juice, pounded walnuts, chopped spice blend, a bit of saffron and garlic. Sweeten the mix with sugar.
Adjust the tehina sauce as you add it; if it looks too thick, thin it a bit by adding water or lemon juice if it can take more sourness. Spread the sauce on the gourd and serve.

Apricot stew (naqu)
Ingredients:
Half a kg of dried apricots
Two cups of vinegar
Three quarters of a cup of sugar (optional)
One quarter of a teaspoon of saffron
One half a teaspoon of spice blend
A pinch of musk
One tablespoon of rosewater

Method:
Take the dried apricots and wash them with rosewater until all the sand and impurities are removed. Spread them in the sun to dry. Take a suitable amount of vinegar (two cups) and add sugar to it if you want it to be sweet. Also add a quarter of a teaspoon of saffron, as well as the spice blend, musk and rosewater. Add what is needed of these.
Stir this liquid seasoning mix (mizaj) by hand, and then set it aside from early in the morning until noon, all the while keeping the apricots in the sun [to dry].
Now, take a wide-mouthed jar (barniyya), either porcelain (sini) or ceramic (qishani); wash it, dry it and perfume it with the smoke of aloes wood and ambergris. Close the opening of the jar while doing this, so that it is infused with enough smoke (bakhur). Take the apricots, put them in the jar and pour on them the prepared liquid mix.
Top the surface with musk and rosewater and set it aside for an hour. The apricots are eaten, and the remaining liquid is served in small bowls (sukurruja) as a drink: it is sweet, strained (murawwaq) and clear. If the liquid is too strong for your taste, dilute it with some cold water.
During Ramadan, make it early in the morning and serve it when the night sets [for the iftar meal]. During non-fasting days, make it at night and serve it the following morning.


Clic here to read the story from its source.