Tag Archives: historic

Hasa Aldaan (Lamb Soup), Medieval Middle Eastern Redactions, Sour Dishes (Hawamid)

Hasa Aldaan; Lamb Soup

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This recipe came about as I was in the process of making lamb stock.  I had lamb bones in the freezer that needed to be used so I tossed them in a crock pot and cooked for a day.  My roommate, who is very pregnant, came home waxing enthusiastically about how good the soup smelled.  She was in need of food and an ear so we talked as I worked on this recipe.

Hasa Aldaan

Lamb Soup

Translation:

Another recipe for the meat of mountain sheep: take it complete with bones and wash it well and, having added asafetida, onions, fresh ginger, salt, fresh greens and fresh coriander, cook it.  Put in plenty of water.  Add some pepper and lime juice and, when it is well cooked, take it off and either eat as it is or else flavor it with asafetida essence.  (The Nimatnama Manuscript of the Sultans of Mandu, pp. 26)

 

Ingredients:

1 lb lamp with bones

1/2 onion

1/2 tsp asafetida

2 Tbs. fresh ginger chopped

1 tsp. salt (or to taste)

2 C. Spinach (or greens of your liking)

1 tsp ground Coriander or 1/4 C. chopped Cilantro

2 Tbs. lime juice

 

Redaction:

I took the broth with chunks of lamb, de-boning as I went, so that the lamb meat was shredding as I stirred.

I added spinach.  Why spinach?  Because that’s the greens I had on hand.  You can use just about any greens found so don’t limit yourself to just one type.  Try different flavors.

 

Because I was only cooking for two, I used half an onion.  The ginger chopped down to a little more than expected but I love fresh ginger in soup so I kept the extra.  I only had dried coriander on hand so that was what was used.  If you have fresh, use that! The salt ended up being 2 tsp, being to my taste.

Here everything but the lime juice has been added and is simmering.  Not boiling, simmering.

The lime juice was added at the end and give a nice bright flavor.

I liked this recipe.  It’s more than meat, greens, salt and water.  You get to play with the flavoring a little as you try different greens, with fresh or dried coriander

Madira - Meat in Yogurt with Leeks, Meat Porridges (Hara'is) and Oven Dishes (Tannuriyyat), Medieval Middle Eastern Redactions

Madira (Meat in Yogurt with Leeks)

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This is a dish to try if you have a large volume of yogurt on hand and want to try a new dish.  I think it’s ok.  The flavors are good but I’ve had better yogurt dishes to be honest.  I can’t say this is amazing but it is filling.  Perhaps over noodles or rice it would be a bit better.  Perhaps with a bit of cheese sprinkled over it as well.

This is obviously a very close relative to Al-Madira in name, but that’s about it.  There are different spices and cooking style, enough so that these are barely kissing cousin recipes..

Madira

(Meat in Yogurt with Leeks)

Translation:

A pound of meat, four pounds of yoghurt.  Put them with curdled milk, a shifaya of leeks, a quarter shifaya of green onions – and if the onions are green, they can be dispensed with – and a stick of ginger, a stick of Ceylon cinnamon, both whole and the weight of a quart dirham of whole mastic.  Then you put the yoghurt in the pot, and when it boils and sticks to the ladle, throw the meat in.  When it boils tow or three times, cut up the leeks, which have been split, and throw them in.  And when the leeks boil, cut up the onions and throw them in with the mastic, Ceylon cinnamon and ginger.  When it all smells good and boils, throw in the mint, half a bunch.  Its fire should be gentle, so that it smells good and binds; if it doesn’t bind, throw in it the quantity of half an ounce of heart starch or a handful of rice.  When the yoghurt is nearly done, take it down.  (Rodison, pp. 327.)

 

Ingredients:

1 lb meat (beef or lamb) cut up.

4 lbs yogurt

1/2 C curdled milk (sour milk?)

1 leek

4 green onions

1 stick of ginger (do not chop!)

1 stick cinnamon or 1/2 tsp ground

1/4 tsp mastic

 

Redaction:

I gathered up almost everything, forgetting to picture the leeks and mint.

The yogurt went into the pot to boil.

Once the yogurt had started to boil and liquefy, I added the beef chunks.

I let this boil before adding the split, sliced and washed leek.

Bring the yogurt mixture to a boil three times before adding the onions, ginger (do NOT chop), cinnamon and mastic.

Put the flame, or stove top on low, and let simmer until the yogurt starts thickening up.  If the yogurt doesn’t thicken add rice or arrow root.

Once the dish has thickened, add the mint then serve forth.

 

The dish doesn’t look like much, and I found it a little bland but exceptionally filling.  I thought I was going to have to add starch; however as I let the liquefied yogurt reduce for about 20 minutes.  The curds came together like small granules of rice.  It takes a bit of time but it’s worth the wait.  I also found the taste and excellent blend of onion, yogurt, beef and mastic, with a slight hint of ginger and cinnamon.  I added a bit of salt and found this made a world of difference!

Ingredients and Spices, Musk

Musk

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Musk

 

Musk is noted in more medieval recipes for food and perfumes than you can shake a sword at, adding a depth and complexity to foods the same way sandalwood does.  A little goes a very long way!

Now modernly, we can get musk from whales (ambergris) also known a whale snot.

Beaver musk (castor sacks of Castor Canadensis or Castor fiber).

Civet (viverridae).

Finally ambrette musk (hibiscus ablemoschus).

Period musk is almost impossible to get.  Why you may ask?  While I was doing a bit of studying for another project (surprise, surprise), I’ve found that the original(ish) musk mentioned in period cooking came from three sources.  The Siberian musk deer (M. moschiferus), black musk deer (M. fuscus) Alpine/Himalayan musk deer (M. chrysogaster).  The glands of the musk deer were harvested (and small quantities from very small musk deer farms) by removing the scent glands of the deer.

The gland secretions would dry into small black grains that were, and are, prized for the pheromones they exude.  The description is that of a rich and earthy smell, almost heavenly.  Mostly.  Some people found it repulsive, but not so many that the deer aren’t on the verge of extinction now.

The original method for removal was to kill the deer and take the musk glands, without worry about sustainability.  This has come back to haunt those who relied on the deer’s scent gland.   Few of these animals survive, except in the most remote regions.  The price, in period is listed as being twice the weight in gold and modernly 3 to 4 times that price now.  (Nabhan, pp. 150-151).

So where does that leave the modern cook?  Up a creek for the period musk.  There is no way that musk, from the listed deer, is harvested cruelty free or without costing an arm and a leg (throw a kidney in for good measure).  There are substitutions.   There is a variety of plant based musks with beautiful earthy notes and of course synthetics.  If possible go with the plant based.  Experiment.  Try new things!  Always err on the side that more can be added but it’s going to be hard to remove what you’ve already put in!

A Winter's Tale Pear Pie, Elizabethan

A Winter’s Tale Pear Pie

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While doing research for another project, I ran across this random little gem of a recipe. I had Scappi’s butter pie crust on hand and fresh pears, along with spices and dried fruit.  I thought to myself, why the hell not!  Let’s see what happens!  And a taste new dish is recreated.

 

  • A Winter’s Tale Pear Pie

     

    Translation:

    “…saffron to colour the warden pies (pears).  Mace, dates, non; that’s our of my note; nutmegs, seven, a race or two of ginger, but that I may beg; four pound of prunes, and as many raisins of the sun.” The Clown in A Winter’s Tale (Milton, pp. 20)

     

    Ingredients:

    Pinch of saffron

    4 pears

    1 tsp ea. ground mace, nutmeg, ginger

    20 dates (pitted and chopped)

    20 prunes

    1 C. raisins

  • ***Quick note before we get started, this pie is being made in a single serving pie mold.  I gave instructions for a full pie. If you want to do a single pie just cut everything down to 1/4. 

    Redaction:

     

  • Gather your ingredients.  First things first!
  • Chop up your pears, dates, prunes.  Toss in the raisins and mix.
  •  

     

    Add your spices, mixing again.

  • Here I used a butter crust, because it is awesome! (and I love making it) along with the fact I had extra on hand.
  • Make a top for the pie.  I was pretty sloppy with this pie crust…a late night of cooking.   You can make a pretty pie topping with a little bit more effort.   If I were serving this to company, of course it would be much much nicer!
  •  

    An interesting note.  The Clown, in a The Winter’s Tale, didn’t ask for sugar.  The dried fruit and natural sweetness of the pear is supposed to cover the delicate flavors and natural sugars without any extra.

    Cutting into the pie…it just smells period.  That scent of spice and fruit that comes only with a real medieval cooking.

  • I hate to admit this, but I was skeptical about the no sugar thing.  Turns out the fruit pie is fabulous without.  Very tasty.
Medieval Middle Eastern Redactions, Rutab Murabba (Fresh Date Preserves), Sweetmeats (Halawat)

Rutab Murabba (Fresh Date Preserves)

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Craving sweets lately, but I don’t want to eat lots of sugar.  So I turned to my cookbooks in hopes to find something that will hit the sweet tooth without so much sugar my teeth hurt!  I found this wonderful little gem.

Rutab Murabba

(Fresh Date Preserves)

Translation:

Leave ripe dates in the sun so that they dry a little.  Remove their pits and replace them with peeled almonds, and arrange them in a glass (container), and throw skimmed honey on them and a little saffron.  It comes out excellently. (Perry, pp. 433)

Ingredients:

Enough dried dates to fit into a glass jar

Enough almonds to fit into dates

Enough honey to cover dates once in the jar

A pinch of Saffron

Redaction:

I gathered up a box of dried dates, a handful of almonds (or two), an empty glass jar and a pinch of saffron.

I removed the seeds from the dates with a chop stick.

Then replaced the seeds with almonds.

I didn’t have peeled almonds, so I used regular.  This may be a taste thing or a “We’re serving this to the king so it has to look fancy .” thing.  I used what I had because I haven’t found peeled almonds available regularly yet!

Once the almonds were de-seeded and stuffed, they were thrown into a clean empty glass jar.  Nope, our modern day jars are not what they had, obviously.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Container_Umar_II_Louvre_OA7448.jpg

Something like this might, might have been used.  Decorative and useful.

Antique Bottles 392 – November – Kidlington Oxfordshire –  https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b6/d1/ca/b6d1ca749c483afdcb2bed37c7d9d463.jpg

 

This is a simple utility jar.  Nothing fancy other than it can easily fit dates at the top and pour honey in.

No, I don’t know 100% if either jar was used for this purpose.  These are images I found for jars that meet my criteria.  They will fit the item (dates) into said jar, and the item (dates) can be fished out with ease, i.e. stuffed dates.

The first of many more to come.  Don’t fill the jar with honey first.  Dates float and if you have to much honey and keep stuffing all your dates into the jar, the honey WILL over flow onto the counter, making a horrible mess.  Do the dates first, then the honey…I promise this will keep you from having to clean or lick your counter tops off from all the spilled honey!

So once the dates are in the jar of your choice, place the pinch of saffron on top,

and pour in the honey.

I screwed on the lip, to keep small fingers and my own out of this until a later date.  Set to the side until ready to use.

 

Right now the dates are soaking up honey and a little bit of the saffron flavor.  I’m drooling already!