Dar Urtatim
Near and Middle Eastern Cuisine
Sites Worth Seeing

NOTE

When i put this page together all the links were current. Things change unexpectedly on the internet, and i know that they no longer all work. I will be testing and up-dating them.

Consider this a snapshot from 2005 for the time being.

• Documentably Authentic Recipes
• Modern Versions of Historic Recipes
• Good Food Book Lists
• Good Food Book Vendors
• Other Mediterranean Food Info
• Spice Information
• Spice Merchants
• More General Period Food Sites - with some Middle Eastern content
• Other Sites with some Middle Eastern content
• Modern Ethnic - Not from between 600 and 1600
• Beverages
• Off-Page Navigation

The Anonymous 13th c. Maghrebi and Andalusian Cookbook

While commonly called the Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook in the SCA, the original title is Kitab al-tabikh fi al-Maghrib wal-Andalus - Book of Dishes from Morocco/the Maghrib and Andalusia/the Andalus. A wonderful collection of tasty recipes from the 1200s. The translation of this Muslim cookbook from 13th century southern Spain is by noted food writer Charles Perry, with commentary by David D. Friedman/Cariadoc of the Bow, Stephan Bloch/, and several others. I love cooking from this book! Yummy!

Four recipes from Ain-i Akbari

The recipes from a late 16th c. Mughal Indian cookbook are scattered down this page, along with other historical recipes from a variety of other cookbooks and times.

Books

Many historic cookbooks have been translated into English since i created this page. I will be adding them to this list soon.

Medieval Arabic Cookery by A. J. Arberry, Maxim Rodinson, and Charles Perry. Prospect Books, Totnes, Devon: 2001.

Contains several complete SCA-period cookbooks translated into English as well as Charles Perry's invaluable notes to Arberry's translation of the fairly well-known cookbook written by al-Baghdadi. If you want to cook Medieval Middle Eastern food, this book is essential. I think it's worth every penny.

Charles Perry now has a completely new translation of the al-Baghdadi cookbook correcting the mistakes made 90 years ago by A.J. Arberry.

The Ni'matnama Manuscript of the Sultan of Mandu. The Sultan's Book of Delights, translated by Norah M. Titley. RoutledgeCurzon, London and New York: 2005.

A late 15th century book of the eccectric Sultan of Mandu (now Madhya Pradesh), Ghiyath Shahi, collected and added to his son and successor, Nasir Shah. It contains recipes, remedies, and aphrodesiacs, as well as directions for preparing betel leaves and advice on the logistics of hunting and warfare. It contains 50 illustrations, the first few of which are in the Shiraz style but gradually show the indigenous styles of Central and Western India.

In a Caliph's Kitchen by David Waines. Riad El-Rayyes Books Ltd., London UK: 1989.

Alas, Waines doesn't often say what books his recipes are from. A significant number of them are from al-Baghdadi and appear to be directly from Arberry's translation, the remainder are from several other books, among them a compendium of 9th and 10th century Abbasid cookbooks and a 13th century Andalusi cookbook that ha yet to be published in English. The opening essays are also very informative. Warning: ignore Waines' worked out recipes, as they often differ immensely from the original recipes. You can cook better than Waines. Out of print and hard to find. Worth getting via Inter-Library Loan (ILL) and photocopying, since you are unlikely to find a used copy for sale, as there was only one printing and a limited print run at that.

The Medical Formulary or Aqrabadhin of al-Kindi, translated and with Materia Medica by Martin Levey. Madison, University of Wisconsin Press: 1966.

Out of print. This is a translation of a 9th century Abbasid collection of medicinal remedies written by al-Kindi. The Materia Medica is *fabulous*.

The Medical Formulary of al-Samarqandi, and the Relation of Early Arabic Simples to Those Found in the Indigenous Medicine of the Near East and India, translated and commentary by Martin Levey and Noury al-Khaledy. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia: 1967.

Out of print. This is a translation of a 13th century Abbasid collection of medicinal remedies written by al-Samarqandi. This book is better organized than al-Kindi's but that's what four centuries can do.

Some Recipes of al-Andalus

Modern worked-out versions of some recipes from the Anonymous Andalusian cookbook, by Stephen Bloch.

An Islamic Dinner

From Cariadoc's Miscellany, modern worked-out versions with the original historic recipes.

My own Medieval Persian and other cooking pages

If you came here via a link from another website, maybe you don't know that i have worked out a number of Persian, Arabic-language, and Andalusian recipes from before 1601 which are elsewhere on this website.

Before you buy, read some reviews... I prefer annotated lists - with comments by the list's author.

A Cookery Bibliography

SITE IS DEFUNCT, but accesible via the Wayback Machine.
A good annotated bibliography, reviewing a wide range of books on Medieval and Renaissance food by an acquaintance of mine, Master Wulfric of Creigil. Some books he rates low are excellent and were only so rated because they are OOP for the SCA.

Medieval Cookbooks - An Annotated Bibliography by Jaelle of Armida

An annotated list of authentic "period" cookbooks going back to the Romans. Note: This list was updated in 2003 - still, there are some new books that aren't on it. Sadly the author died a few year ago

Gode Cookery Bibliography

An *un*annotated list of books, magazine articles, pamphlets, etc. on topics related to Late Antique, Medieval and Renaissance cooking.

Books on Medieval Cooking

An annotated list of "period" cookbooks by Paul DeGory. Appears to stop around 1992.

Comparing and Choosing Medieval Cookbooks

A very helpful article by THL Katja Davidova Orlova Khazarina. Discusses early SCA cooking, how to evaluate a book, and gives an annotated list of cookbooks and books on food history

And now, where to buy those books...

Prospect Books & Petits Propos Culinaires

Publisher of a wide variety of historical food books as well as the scholarly food journal "Petits Propos Culinaires".

Acanthus Books

features cookbook and food history titles

Ox Bow/David Brown Book Company - Food & Cooking

Ox Bow is in the UK and David Brown is in the US. They sell all manner of books, not just on cookery or history.

Clifford A. Wright

Cook and Author Specializing in Italy and the Mediterranean

Gernot Katzer's Spice Dictionary

Quite possibly the most informative webpages anywhere on spices and herbs. A fabulous resource. The BEST! There aren't enough superlatives. Also available in German.

Cook's Thesaurus:
http://www.foodsubs.com/

And also here in Dar Urtatim
A Spice Box of al-Baghdadi

A Spice Box of al-Andalus

A comparison of the two...

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Spice Merchants

The Spice House

"merchants of exquisite spices, herbs and seasonings"

World Merchants: Spice, Herb, and Tea House

Even sells some Medieval spice blends.

Penzeys Spices

Penzeys has both brick-and-mortar shop and a website. They have all the conventional seasonings and nice modern herb and spice blends. But no cubebs, grains of paradise, or long pepper.

Auntie Arwen's Spices

Auntie Arwen has been selling spices, et al, since 1990. She is a long-time SCAdian and she has a vast shop at Pennsic. Her on-line store has a VAST array of herbs, spices, blends, teas, and coffees. She also carries cubebs, grains of paradise, and long pepper. And some medieval spice blends. And some SCA specials . Many folks swear by her seasoning blends, and i'm among them.

A Boke of Gode Links

Also on the GodeCookery web site, Master Huen's web links to Medieval and Renaissance cookery sites.

The Roman Orgy Page

Authentic Roman Recipes, from the cookbook by Apicius, with a photograph of each dish.

Stefan's Florilegium Archive

A well organized collection of messages sent by SCA members on specific topics. As the site owner says "This is a collection of files that I have assembled from various sources since I first joined the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) in 1989. The information in these files comes from the Rialto newsgroup (rec.org.sca), the old fidonet medieval echo conferance area, various mail lists and articles submitted to me by their authors." Check for issues with Middle Eastern topics.

Cariadoc's Miscellany

A compendium of articles by Duke Cariadoc, as well as some by his wife, Elizabeth of Dendermonde, and his translations of a number of SCA period cookbooks. "This is an electronic version of almost all of Cariadoc's Miscellany, which is a collection of articles and recipes. This version is a work in progress; I have not scanned all the illustrations. For more information about food in the Renaissance and Middle ages, check out the Medieval/Renaissance Food Homepage." Check for issues with Middle Eastern topics.

Recreational Medievalism Applied

Links to SCA period cookbooks on-line and a fairly recent version of Duke Cariadoc's own "Miscellany", with his writings and worked out versions of SCA-period recipes.

Kingdom of Atlantia Cooking and Food Links

Many links, mostly to SCA members websites on cooking historic food

Middle Eastern Recipes at Epicurious

Middle Eastern Recipes at SOAR (The Searchable Online Archive of Recipes)

Food from the Arab World by Marie Karam Khayat and Margaret Clark Keatinge

Food from a variety of cultures at Arabic News dot Com

Phood! - Zahra's halal recipes

An Ode to Olives

A long list of recipes using olives, a fruit from the Middle East.

Moroccan Recipes at Epicurious

Moroccan Recipes at SOAR

Moroccan cuisine

30 recipes in English on the Moroccan government's own website.

Sephardic Moroccan Recipes, a small selection

Moroccan Recipes at Sue's Recipe Server

Moroccan Recipes at World Recipes

Tunisian Food and Recipes, many vegetarian.

Friends of Morocco - Moroccan Cuisine

Recettes berberes

in French only. There's an English section, but it doesn't have these recipes.

la marocaine recipe collection in French

Cuisine marocaine et recettes :: La cuisine marocaine in French

Cuisine Marocaine website, in French

Six Arabian Recipes, from the Saudi Arabia on line journal

Winter 1998, Volume 14, Number 4, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabian Recipes

An Omani Kitchen

25 mostly Lebanese recipes at al-mashriq

Lebanese Recipes at SOAR

Lebanese/Syrian Recipes, primarily Christian

Recipes of the Syriac Christians in the Middle East

Egyptian Recipes at SOAR

Egyptian Recipes at World Recipes

Turkish Recipes on SOAR

Turkish Recipes at Epicurious

Turkish Recipes at World Recipes

Turkish Cuisine and Recipes, All about TURKEY

Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Culture - Food and Beverages Peculiar to Special Days

Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Culture - Recipes

Constructing Ottoman Beneficence: An Imperial Soup Kitchen in Jerusalem (SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies) at amazon dot com.

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Jan Terziyski's Bulgarian recipes.

Kurdish Kubbeh Khamoustah - "dumplings"

Kurdish Hot-and-Spicy Red Lentil Soup

Kurdish Bulgar Pilav and Salad

Kurdish Tolme Bibera

Kurdish Chickpea Salad

fresh Kurdish sauce with tomatoes, garlic, chilis, and mint.

Halik, spiced dried fruits and nuts

Persian Recipes at SOAR

Iran Recipes at Food Down Under Recipe

Persian Recipes at Food Down Under Recipe

Iran ..... Iran ...... Iran ..... Persian Cuisine Recipe at IRAN Online

110 recipes at F. Mokhtarian's site

Adventures in Armenian Cooking

Adventures in Armenian Cooking at http://www.saintsarkis.org/laydies_guild_cookbook.htm

Armenian Recipes at SOAR

Coffee

Don't believe that silly Ethiopian/Abyssinian goat boy and the dancing goats story on some websites. It's a total fabrication.

And coffee was not commonly known as a beverage in the Middle East until relatively late within SCA period - the last quarter of the 1400's (the 15th century)! It didn't arrive in Istanbul until the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent, in the mid-16th century. And it was unknown in Europe outside the Ottoman Empire until after the beginning of the 17th century.

Coffee History: 1aaa American Green Coffee Beans

A fairly factual history of coffee.

Koffee Pictures at Koffee Korner.

Art and old photographs involving coffee.

Peet's Coffee and Tea

Some of the best coffee i know of. I've been drinking it since 1968, back when there was only one shop and Mr. Peet roasted the green coffee beans in the shop. Now you can buy it via the internet.

Tea

Tea was not known in the Near and Middle East within SCA period as far as i can tell, and definitely unknown in Europe until the 17th century. In fact, according to what i've been reading, tea wasn't drunk in Persia until the late 17th century.

Moroccan mint tea made fresh mint leaves brewed with green, usually Gunpowder, tea, didn't exist until the 18th century, although they may have been drinking infusions of mint alone or with other local herbs earlier.

Spiced tea is popular nowadays. Note that "Chai" actually means "Tea", so to say "Chai Tea" is saying: " 'Tea' Tea", which is repetitive and redundant. What we are generally dealing with is a form of "Masala Chai", spiced tea. Spiced tea sure tastes good hot when it's cold out... and as a cold drink when it's hot out. So even though it isn't period, its blend of spices fits well with the Middle East as a center of spice trade.

Also note that vanilla, a common ingredient in commercial spiced chai, is a New World plant and not used in food in SCA-period Europe, the Near East, or Asia. There are some commercial brands that don't include vanilla... And making your own masala chai is easy! Indian masala chai, the original stuff, is rarely sweetened with honey. They use sugar - refined sugar, although not as fine and white as modern sugar - originated in India. So spice tea is more period sweetened with sugar than with honey.

[Dead Link] Chai! Spice Milk Tea

Here's a vast compendium of chai recipes from Indians, Pakistanis, and other chai lovers.

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  Got any comments? questions? more great links?