This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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Medieval Arabic cookery books are a delight:
Photo credit: Anny Gaul.
The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were — among other things — a wonderful period for Arabic cookery compilations, several of which have recently been translated to English. The thirteenth-century cookbook Scents and Flavors was edited and translated by Charles Perry, a culinary historian who has translated a number of pre-modern texts, including A Baghdad Cookery Book: The Book of Dishes. ArabLit Quarterly regular Nawal Nasrallah has translated the beautiful fourteenth-century Egyptian cookbook Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table as well as Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens: Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq’s Tenth-century Baghdadi Cookbook.
The recipe adaptations below are taken from the Library of Arabic Literature blog, Nawal Nasrallah’s websites, and scholar-chef Anny Gaul’s “Cooking with Gaul.”
Starters and Sides:
*Cheesy Cookies: Adapted from 13th Century Book of Recipes of the Traditional Dishes
*Carrots, Cowpeas, and Caraway: A Recipe from the 13th Century Scents and Flavors
*Cowpeas Dressed with Walnut and Caraway: A Recipe from the 13th Century Scents and Flavors
*Fourteenth-century Cairene Hummus: From 14th Century Treasures
*Laymūn Māliḥ, Lemon Preserved in Salt: From 14th Century Treasures
Drinks:
*Subiya (grain-based digestive non-alcoholic beer): From 14th Century Treasures
Stuffing:
*Lemon-Pistachio Stuffing: A Recipe from the 13th Century Scents and Flavors
Main dishes:
*Fried Fish with Sumac Sauce, Samak Maḥshī: From 14th Century Treasures
Desserts:
*Almond Kisses: Adapted from 13th Century Book of Recipes of the Traditional Dishes
*An Early Baklava Recipe: A Recipe from the 13th Century Scents and Flavors
Also read:
14th-Century Cookbook ‘Profoundly Rich Resource for Egyptian Culinary Heritage’
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