Lamb with Apricots: A Comparison of

Recipes

by Leyla ibncit ash-Sharnaali

Many traditional foods from modem Middle Eastern cookbooks resemble recipes from the Islamic middle ages, such as those described by Muhammad ibn Karim al Katib al Baghdadi, a writer from 13^th c (AD) Baghdad. Some Middle Eastern recipes now include ingredients from the New World, such as tomatoes, but after reading translations of al-Baghdadi’s work and others, it seems that a modem variant exists for most of the historic recipes, to which the “new” ingredients were added after they became available in more recent times.

The recipes from al-Baghdadi are specialty dishes, as they include ingredients and spices that were quite expensive in that day and age. Many of these ingredients were sent to Baghdad as taxes, tariffs, or tribute to the Caliph; some of these were unheard of in Europe. Now, most are readily available, although some can only be found in Middle Eastern or Indian food stores.

I wanted to investigate the similarities of a specific recipe that could be found in an historic cookbook, as well as in a modem one. I chose “Mishmishiya” from al-Baghdadi’s Kitaab al-Tabakh al-Baghdadi (Baghdad cook book), using the version from Matbakh al-Khaliifalln a Caliph’s Kitchen by David Waines (Arabic edition and English edition), and “Rice with Apricots/Gheisi polow” from Najmieh Batmanglij’s Taste of Persia. I also compared Waines’ recipe to the recipe for Mishmishiya from A. J. Arberry’s article “A Baghdad Cookery-Book”, to see if there were differences in the translation to English.

Mishmishiya is made of cut up lamb cooked with spices and dried apricots; the historic recipe is served as a stew, probably with rice or bread, while the modem recipe mixes the ingredients with rice as a pilaf

Al-Baghdadi’s recipes may have been special because of their ingredients (which the Caliph could afford), but the preparation is generally very straightforward and uncomplicated. I wanted to find easy “day to day” type dishes, that I could cook over a campfire if I wanted to. I found Waines’ version of al-Baghdadi’s recipes to be more straightforward than Arberry’s, although they did not include some of the more exotic or expensive ingredients, such as mastic and saffron.

Reasoning

Keeping in mind the problems with translated works, including mistakes, interpretations, and omissions, and heeding commentary about Arberry’s peculiar ideas and tastes regarding “exotic” foods from Mistress Aramanthra the Vicious, such as Arberry’s opinion that yogurt was an extinct ingredient, I read through the recipes, and chose one that didn’t have too many unusual ingredients in it, since I wanted to test it on friends (and if the ingredients are too weird, you can’t tell them what’s in it, or they won’t eat it). Mishmishiya met that requirement. having several modern Middle Eastern cookbooks, I have a number of recipes for lamb cooked with apricots. Batmanglij includes a delightful introduction in her book, describing the history of the food within the culture as well as their modem preparation, so I felt it was the best candidate for comparison.

After choosing the recipes to work from, I made a list of all the ingredients from each of the three recipes- meats, spices, oils, vegetables, fruit, etc. Since my goal was to recreate a practical meal that followed the “spirit” of the recipe rather than the “letter of the law,” I didn’t worry about comparing measurements (which tend to vary, cook to cook, anyway). I compared the ingredients and the cooking instructions, looking at the spices used, how the lamb was prepared, and what other types of ingredients were added to the dish.

As a control, I then prepared each recipe as directed, but I omitted the cumin, which I am allergic to. All came out very similar. First I tried Waines’ version, as a stew, and it was quite tasty, although the ground almonds didn’t thicken the sauce, but made it gritty. Second, I tried Batmanglij’s recipe, as a pilaf (polow), but in a pot on the stovetop, not using a rice cooker. It was also tasty. Finally, I made Arberry’s version, as a stew, but it didn’t thicken very well, either-- the mastic got lumpy, and the ground almonds were still gritty. I suppose fresher almonds might work better.

Seasoning

The main ingredients in all three recipes are nearly identical. Arberry boils the lamb and onions together with salt, while Waines’ and Batmanglij’s recipes both call for the lamb to be browned in a skillet before adding the onions, spices, and other ingredients. All use dried apricots, and Batmanglij includes dates and raisins as well, which are listed among the ingredients of other recipes in Arberry’s translation of al-Baghdadi’s book. Batmanglij uses yogurt in her version, to make a crusty outer layer on the rice prepared in a rice cooker (which is served inverted like a mold); I wondered if the “traditional” recipe had been modified to adapt it to using an electric rice cooker, although it cooked up just fine in a regular pot.

The spices varied a bit, but all the spices in the modem recipe were listed among those noted in 13^th c. recipe book, so I tried to keep the flavors the same, again following the “spirit” of the recipe if not the exact ingredients. All the recipes used salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Arberry lists coriander, cumin, saffron, and ginger, while Waines calls for turmeric, but not saffron; this substitution is quite common in Middle Eastern cooking, as turmeric will impart the same bright yellow color to a food, without the expense of saffron. Batmanglij's recipe calls for nutmeg, but this could be a regional variant typical to her place of origin, in Iran. I didn’t care for the nutmeg; to me it tasted too much like Swedish meatballs.

While Arberry’ s translation calls for the meat to be boiled without browning first, Waines lists olive oil, and Batmanglij lists butter or ghee, for browning the meat. I tried it with olive oil and with butter. In other recipes from “A Baghdad Cookery-Book,” Arberry calls for frying things in sesame oil; if you decide to try the recipe that way, Mistress Aramanthra recommends finding a cold-pressed sesame oil. I preferred olive oil to butter.

I came to the conclusion that Waines takes some liberties with the recipes and presents them in his own way, yet again keeping with the “spirit” of the dish if not necessarily the precisely translated recipe. I haven’t seen a non-edited Arabic version of the recipes yet, to see what al-Baghdadi himself said in the original.

Ingredients compared*

Waines: lamb, olive oil, onions, pepper, dried apricots, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, ground almonds, turmeric, rosewater.

Batmanglij: meat (I used Iamb), butter, onions, salt, pepper, dried apricots, cinnamon, dried pitted dates, raisins, saffron, nutmeg, yogurt (and rice).

Arberry: fat meat (I used lamb), onions, salt, pepper, dried apricots, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, mastic, ground almonds, saffron, rose water.

*Ingredients that vary from recipe to recipe are italicized while ingredients found in all three are in normal typeface.

Once I had an idea what the “originals” tasted like, it was time to experiment. After several tries, I came up with a version that both my husband Kenneth and I liked the best. I served it over plain basmati rice, although it went well over rice cooked with saffron or dill as well.

I liked the recipe better using “chunky” spices (cinnamon sticks, hunks of ginger root, crushed peppercorns, etc.) rather than finely ground spices, although you need to retrieve the hard pieces before you serve the dish. Another of Arberry’s translations of al-Baghdadi’s recipes makes use of a muslin spice bag.

I changed the way I used some ingredients, and omitted others as follows. Since the almonds didn’t thicken the sauce, I added them in larger pieces to add to the overall texture of the dish. I tried one version using dried red currants since Kenneth likes them; this is consistent with practices in al-Baghdadi’s day, judging from the ingredients listed in Arberry’s article. I couldn’t taste the rosewater, so I left it out of my final version. Finally, I like the saffron better in the rice, as the flavor isn’t lost in the stew, and I didn’t feel the color of the dish was lacking without turmeric as a substitution, so I left that out too.

My version of the recipe (measures are approximate):

Mishmishiya

1-1/2 pound lamb, cut into small chunks

1 small onion, sliced thin

1 tablespoon olive oil

dash each salt and coarse crushed peppercorns

2 cinnamon sticks

small piece fresh ginger root

1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into pieces

1/4 cup dates, cut into pieces

1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds

Brown the lamb and onions in the olive oil.

Add the spices and cover with water, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Layer the apricots, dates, and almonds over the meat, adding enough water so the liquid touches the bottom of the fruits, cover, and simmer for 20 more minutes.

Serve over rice prepared with saffron threads added to the water.

My sincere thanks to the anonymous research librarian at the University of Minnesota Wilson Library who diligently typed the word tabakh, tabkh, tbakh, tabikh. over and over again, and sat patiently at his computer terminal as I scrolled through page after page of titles that were in Arabic, French, German, and even one or two in English.

Bibliography

Arberry, A.J. (Ed) “A Baghdad Cookery-Book”. Islamic Culture, Vol. 13 #1 (Jan. 1939), Pp. 20-47 and Vol. 13 #2 (April 1939), Pp. 189-2 14. Recipe for Mishmishiya is on p. 40.

Batmanglij, Najmieh K. A Taste of Persia. Washington DC: Mage Publishers, 1999. Recipe for Rice with Apricots (Gheisi polow) is on p.102.

Waines, David. Matbakh al-Khaliifa. London: Riad El-Rayyes Books, 1989. Recipe for Mishmishiya is on p.50 in both the Arabic and English editions.

Weiss-Armush, Anne Marie. Arabian Delights LA: Lowell house Publishing, 1995. A good modern ME cookbook, with rice and pilaf recipes starting on p.163.

Leyla ibnat ash-Shamaa/ is an educated refugee from many p/aces in the Middle East and North Africa of the 12th century AD or so. She married an illiterate Crusader and happily follows him from place to place, feeding him between battles and managing his correspondences and domestic affairs.

Peg (Margaret) Blader is a professional dancer with Jawaahir Dance Company and a student and teacher of Middle Eastern Dance. She's completed two years of Formal Arabic Language at the University of Minnesota, where she received a BS in Biology in 1990. She and her husband Ken traveled to Egypt and Turkey in 1996.