Nawal Nasrallah - Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens_ Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's Tenth-century Baghdadi Cookbook-BRILL (2007)

introduction 27
cuisine of the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries, in subsequent medieval
cookbooks. The earliest volumes belong to the thirteenth century
and the latest to the fifteenth. 72 What attracts the attention
is that the culinary practices in the eastern as well as the western
regions of the Islamic world kept to the essentials as we know them
from al-Warr§q’s book, in foodstuffs as well as culinary techniques.
Still, we should allow for regional differences necessitated by the
varieties of ingredients, which a given region may offer. A case in
point is the cuisine of the western Islamic region, reflected in the
two surviving medieval Andalusian cookbooks. We should also take
into account the personal preferences of the writers themselves, as
in the case of al-Baÿ9d§dÊ. Instances on shared dishes are ï9arÊd,
sikb§ja, Ibr§hÊmiyya, rumm§niyya, Èumm§'iyya, zÊrb§j, safarjaliyya, dÊkabrÊka,
summ§qiyya, miê9miê9iyya, ãab§hija, muãajjana, kiê9kiyya, Bår§niyya, aruzziyya,
bujaj, muzawwar§t, kaw§miÕ9, harÊsa, jåù9§b, sanbåsaj, Õ9uê9kan§naj,
Õ9abÊß, f§låù9aj, zal§biya, qaã§yif, and lawzÊnaj.
The details in making such dishes may expectedly vary, but the
method largely reflects a shared and a lasting cuisine that traveled
westwards as far as Sicily and the Iberian Peninsula, and eastwards
as far as India. Of the latter, the cookbook Nibmatn§ma of Sultan
ó9iyath à9ahi of Central India, written in late fifteenth century, is
a case in point. 73 The Sultan’s extravagant menu offers varieties of
dishes and foodstuffs, many of which were typical of the Baghdadi
cuisine, some acquired new names and others retained the original
ones, or almost. Instances of such dishes are the filled pastries samosa
(sanbåsaj), 74 ÈarÊra, ê9årb§, ï9arÊd, kab§b, bår§nÊ, kaê9ka, harsÊyya (harÊsa),
chachpÊrak, 75 k§k (kabk), and tanårÊ (tannåriyya).
Many of the traditions of the Abbasid cuisine can still be seen
exemplified in the modern Arabo-Islamic dishes. However, in the
interim, names of some of the dishes mutated and some New World
72
Recipes in Ibn Jazla’s eleventh-century Minh§j al-Bay§n are essentially similar
to those we find in al-Warr§q’s book. Differences in some of the details do not mark
a significant change or point to the ‘development’ of the Abbasid cuisine, as Nina
Garbutt suggests in “Ibn Jazla,” 42–43.
73
The Nibmatn§ma Manuscript of the Sultans of Mandu: The Sultan’s Book of Delights,
originally written in Urdu. Trans. Norah Titley (London: Routledge Curzon,
2005).
74
If different, the medieval Arabic pronunciation of the dish is given in parentheses.
75
Today, this dish is known as ê9Êê9barak, which is savory sanbåsaj pastries boiled
in broth.