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Authentic
Arab Cuisine
Farouk Mardam-Bey
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It
is said that an alleged reported hadith had claimed
that seventy prophets had blessed the lentil.
But, in his Prophet´s Medicine, the great
Hanbali Law Doctor, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, claimed
that this hadith was apocryphal: He mentioned
the flat denial of an early traditionist who heard
what was said, and denied the words in writing.
I wish, though, that the venerable magistrate
had been less immersed in his scholarly demonstrations,
and had spent some time considering the man who
forged the hadith. This man was so much in love
with the lentil that he went so far as to sacrifice
his own reputation here on earth, and the salvation
of his soul in the hereafter.
Actually, nobody in history has ever shown so
much concern for this smallest of all legumes.
The Bible says that Esau exchanged his birthright
for a "roux" of lentils. But this way
a deliberate decision, as he was literally starving
to death. As for the Athenian Cynicists, who appreciated
the frugality of the lentils very much-well, they
were cynicists. Later, the Syrian emperor Heliogabalus,
the most debauched of all, would actually sprinkle
his lentils with precious gems. That was the reason
why Antonin Artaud, some eighteen centuries later,
called him "a crowned anarchist". All
things considered, our anonymous forger is the
only one who ever tried to defend the cause of
the lentils. And this was quite risqué,
for all the physicians of his time, even the wisest
ones, had united against the lentil. It was accused
of thickening our blood, and of engendering melancholy
diseases, even cancer.
Fortunately, neither the physicians, nor the lawyers,
were successful in convincing our ancestors to
steer away from their Mujaddara, rashta and `adasiyya.
These dishes are still eaten today: Mujaddara
combines lentils with rice or bulgur, rasha calls
for pasta, and `adasiyya (under another name)
for chard. This is very wise, because the combination
is both healthy, and very tasty. As for the combination
of lentils and namaksud, salted meat, which the
same physicians condemned vigorously, we know
that it has become very popular in other climates,
and there is no reason why it should not be the
case with us, too. We would only have to substitute
mutton for pork.
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