Description: blog about cooking in my iraqi kitchen, cuisine history and culture, by nawal nasrallah, writer of cookbook, delights from the garden of eden
A blog about the Iraqi cuisine from ancient Mesopotamian times to the present, by Nawal Nasrallah, author of Delights from the Garden of Eden, 2003. A new fully revised edition is released (UK: Equinox Publishing, 2013). TLS (Nov 1, 2013) said about it: "A splendid achievement…obviously a labor of love … an impressive book. Each page shows erudition, every recipe a passion for food." Get it on iBooks ITUNES.APPLE.COM. The abridged edition (440 pp.) is out!
This is the mother of all kubba s . I am using the expression in the medieval sense, which is ‘the best of.’ I imagine, had 10th-century al-Warraq, author of Kitab al-Tabeekh (كتاب الطبيخ), known this dish, he would have called it ‘um al-kubab. ’ Actually, one of the recipes in his book came that close to creating such a dish. In a shaljamiyya recipe (white stew with turnips), turnips were cooked in white sauce thickened with crushed chickpeas, ground almonds, milk, and rice. Lean meat was pounded into past
This kubba is different from kubbat Halab in that dough is made from ground uncooked rice, pounded with meat. There is only one way to serve it and that is as kubbat hamu ḍ shalgham . After shaping the kubba , it is simmered in delicious turnip and Swiss chard soup. The soup in this case is served as a main dish