Recipe of Marwaziyya with cherries

www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MEATS/lamb-mutton-msg.rtf

*Recipe of Marwaziyya 

[/marwazi/, of the **Central** **Asian** **City**of Merv]*

**A pound and a half of meat, four ounces of prunes, half a pound of
onions, a /nsif/ and a /rub/ (three quarter, sc. of a /dirham/) of
saffron, two and a half ounces of raisins, four ounces of good wine
vinegar, an ounce of jujubes, half a bunch of green mint and /atraf
al-tib/. The fry the meat with the spices, and when the meat smells
good, put in the measure of a bowl of water, the measure of a pound and
a half. When the water boils, wash the onions after cutting them up.
Wash them in salted water and (then, in plain) water. Then put them on
that meat and leave them until the onions boil and are halfway fragrant.
Let the prunes be soaked in water. Put them in the pot, and the raisins
and jujubes after them. Then let it rest until the prunes and raisins
are fragrant. If you wish, put three ounces of sugar on it after that.
And when it boils, put vinegar on it. And when it boils much, throw in
the mint and /atraf al-tib /and let it settle.

--/Kitab Wasf al-At’ima al-Mu’tada /(The Description of Familiar Foods)
trans. Charles Perry

Redaction:
1 1/2 lbs. lamb
3 cups water
4 oz. prunes
1/2 lb. onion (2 medium)
2 1/4 grams saffron
2 1/2 oz. raisins
4 oz. red wine vinegar
1 oz. jujubes
2 tsp. mint
3 tsp. mixture of pepper, mace, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom
3 oz. sugar
1. Soak jujubes and prunes in water to soften.
2. Fry the meat with 1 1/2 tsp. spice mixture
3. When browned, add water to cover and bring to a boil.
4. Chop onion into a large dice.
5. Add onions to meat/water mixture.
6. When onions are halfway tender, add prunes (cut in half), raisins
and jujubes (cut in half and seeded) and bring to a slow boil.
7. Dissolve saffron in a little of the meat broth; add this and
vinegar to stew.
8. If desired, add 3 oz. sugar.
9. Bring to a full boil and add mint and remaining spice mixture
10. Simmer until tender.
11. Can be served over couscous.

This stew went over great at the May Kingdom A&S event. I used dried cherries instead of prunes
because my book Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World has the recipe of Marwaziyya with Cherries
and it says that Cherries were known as “fruit of the king” which was perfect for a Kingdom event. I
used goat chunks I got at Kabul Market because it cost less than the lamb chunks. The stew was so
popular that by the time I was told that they were serving lunch it was gone but I did manage to scrape up one little spoonful so I could taste it. I neglected to get a photo of the dish.
We also used it at the January 2013 Muslim Feast and used beef.