Title: eggplant-msg
Subject: Period eggplant (aubergine) and eggplant recipes.
Author: Edited by Mark S. Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: medieval, eggplant, aubergine, recipe, Middle East, Spain

eggplant-msg – 11/22/18

Period eggplant (aubergine) and eggplant recipes.

NOTE: See also the files: vegetables-msg, ME-feasts-msg, fd-Spain-msg, gourds-msg, fd-Mid-East-msg, fd-Turkey-msg, ME-revel-fds-art.

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                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 13:04:35 +1100 (EST)
From: Charles McCN <charlesn at sunrise.srl.rmit.edu.au>
Subject: Re: SC - Period veges

On Fri, 28 Nov 1997, Kathleen M Everitt wrote:
> Does anyone have a good, tried and true, period recipe for eggplant? I've
> never seen it served at a feast and I think it might be fun to try.
> 
> Julleran

Peel the things, slice about 1/2" thick, boil very briefly. Mix 
breadcrumbs, sugar and spices (I can't recall anymore what the original 
said  -I use what seems good at the time) and crumb the eggplants (do the 
egg then crumbs thing) and fry them. Yum. Another good campig recipe, but 
definitely a middle-east thing rather than europe.

Charles Ragnar

Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 17:57:39 -0500
From: dangilsp at intrepid.net (Dan Gillespie)
Subject: Re: SC - Period veges

<snip of comments on carrots>

Elizabeth also wrote:  "Eggplant (aubergine), I know lots of good Islamic recipes for this, but no non-Muslim European ones.  Does anyone else?

There are a couple of eggplant recipes in the Arte de Cozina text from 1607
that I'm currently working with.  I haven't done any redactions with these
recipes yet, so I can't say how tasty they are.  Here's my translation:

        "Book III Chapter 19:  How to make eggplant

Cook the eggplant in water & salt, & being cooked remove the water, & chop them well, & cast them in a casserole dish to fry with a lot of oil, & cast to them grated cheese & bread, & 6 or 8 maravedis of spices {fairly heavily spiced}, & some garlic, all mashed, & cook everything with this mixture, & thicken it with eggs, setting fire on top. This is called " a nun's casserole of eggplant": also you may give it out cooked in the grease from the pot, & serve it with fat bacon, pepper, or parsley.  These eggplants may be stored all year in a syrup of grape juice/ wine, & made in this manner, cooking it in this syrup, & casting some cloves & cinnamon to it while it cooks, & cast it in a glass pot, where it
will be stored."

A note on the spices....the text mentions the principal ones as cinnamon,
ginger, pepper, nutmeg, cloves & saffron.  The text also mentions clearly
mint & parsley (these very often), bay leaves, oregano & marojam (these
infrequently) & possibly fresh cilantro.  Also, cumin & maybe coriander
seed, both infrequently.

Please let me know if you try any of these recipes, how they turn out.

                                Take care,
                                        Antoine de Bayonne

Dan Gillespie
dangilsp at intrepid.net
Dan_Gillespie at usgs.gov
Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA

Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 21:19:11 -0500
From: dangilsp at intrepid.net (Dan Gillespie)
Subject: SC - eggplant follow-up

A while back someone was asking for European recipes for eggplant.
I posted a translation of a Spanish recipe. It sounded rather nice, so I
finally got around to trying it.  Here are the results:

Cap xix Como se han de hazer las berengenas

Han se de cozer las berengenas en agua, y sal, y estando cozidas se le
quitara el agua, y se picara(n) bie(n), y se echara(n) en una caçuela a
freyr co(n) mucha azeyte, y se le echara queso rallado y pan, y seys o ocho
maravedis despecias, y unos ajos, todo majado, y cozeran co(n) todo este
recaudo; y se quajaran con huevos, poniendole lumbre encima.  Esta se llama
caçuela mongil de bere(n)genas.

Chap 19 How to make eggplant

Cook the eggplant in water & salt, & being cooked remove the water, & chop
them well, & cast them in a casserole to fry with a lot of oil, & cast to
them grated cheese & bread, & 6 or 8 maravedis of spices, & some garlic, all
mashed, & cook everything with this mixture; & thicken it with eggs, setting
fire on top.  This is called "a nun's casserole of eggplant"

Nun's Eggplant Casserole

- -2 medium eggplants, cut into large chunks
- -3 Tbsp olive oil
- -4 cloves garlic, minced
- -1 cup grated Romano cheese
- -1/2 tsp pepper
- -1 tsp ground coriander seed
- -1/2 tsp ginger
- -1/2 tsp oregano
- -1 tsp cumin
- -2 eggs, beaten
- -1 cup of slightly stale bread, torn into pieces

Boil the eggplant in well salted water til tender, about 15 or 20 minutes.
Drain, let cool & chop.
Heat the oil in a large pot & add the eggplant & garlic.  Cook til the
eggplant begins to dry out & the garlic is softened.  Mix all the spices &
bread pieces together.  Stir the eggplant into the bread.  Stir the cheese
into the mix & the beaten eggs.  Put all this into a greased casserole pan &
bake for 40 minutes at 325 degrees.

This made a tasty dish.  There are 2 things that I might do different next
time.  Put a bit of extra cheese on top of the dish before baking.  Also,
the color was an unappetizing shade of gray.  I would remove the eggplant
skins before chopping the pulp & perhaps color the dish with a bit of
saffron (or turmeric if you're short on money).  Let me know how this
strikes your taste buds if you do try it.

                                Holiday calories don't really count, do they?
                                                Antoine
Dan Gillespie
dangilsp at intrepid.net
Dan_Gillespie at usgs.gov
Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA

Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 00:36:14 -0800
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: SC - Badinjan Muhassa

In the "Best Food for War" thread, Lord Cariadoc said:
"Badinjan Muhassa is a yummy period dip."

I asked if this was in the Miscellany on line. I never heard back, 
but it could easily have gotten lost in the Trimaris turmoil. So here 
it is, from the Miscellany
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/islamic_w_veggies.html#3

If you haven't explored Lord Cariadoc's on-line Miscellany, i highly 
recommend it. I've redacted some of the recipes myself. It's so nice 
to have the original, and to see how an experienced cook does it, but 
i'm pig-headed (odd for a Muslim persona) and redact them my way.

I have a question for Lord Cariadoc: I've had some experience with 
purchased eggplant dips fermenting. Does this keep well? I do bring a 
cooler to events, but i know you usually don't. Or do you cook it on 
the spot and have it eaten almost immediately so you've no experience 
of how long it keeps?

Anahita al-shazhiyya
- -----

Badinjan Muhassa
Ibn al-Mahdi's cookbook in 10th c. collection, Charles Perry tr.

Cook eggplants until soft by baking, boiling or grilling over the 
fire, leaving them whole. When they are cool, remove the loose skin, 
drain the bitter liquor and chop the flesh fine. It should be coarser 
than a true purÈe. Grind walnuts fine and make into a dough with 
vinegar and salt. Form into a patty and fry on both sides until the 
taste of raw walnut is gone; the vinegar is to delay scorching of the 
nuts. Mix the cooked walnuts into the chopped eggplant and season to 
taste with vinegar and ground caraway seed, salt and pepper. Serve 
with a topping of chopped raw or fried onion.

3/4 lb eggplant
1 c walnuts
2 T vinegar (for nut dough)
1/2 t salt (for nut dough)
1/8 t each pepper and salt
1 t caraway seed
1 1/2 T vinegar (at the end)
1/4 c chopped raw onion

Simmer the eggplant 20 to 30 minutes in salted water (1/2 t salt in a 
pint of water). Let it cool. Peel it. Slice it and let the slices sit 
on a colander or a cloth for an hour or so, to let out the bitter 
juice.

Grind the walnuts, add vinegar and salt to make a dough. Make patties 
about 1/2" thick and put them on a frying pan at medium to medium 
high heat, without oil. In about half a minute, when the bottom side 
has browned a little, turn the patty over and use your pancake turner 
to squash it down to about 1/4" (the cooked side is less likely to 
stick to your implement than the uncooked side). Continue cooking, 
turning whenever the patty seems about to scorch. When you are done, 
the surface of the patty will be crisp, brown to black-and since it 
is thin, the patty is mostly surface. If the patties start giving up 
lots of walnut oil (it is obvious-they will quickly be swimming in 
the stuff) the pan is too hot; throw them out, turn down the heat and 
make some more.

Chop up the eggplant, mix in the nut patties (they will break up in 
the process), add pepper, salt, caraway (ground in a spice grinder or 
mortar and pestle), and vinegar. Top with onion. Eat by itself or on 
bread.

Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 11:03:17 -0600
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Badinjan Muhassa

At 12:36 AM -0800 2/27/00, lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:
>I have a question for Lord Cariadoc: I've had some experience with 
>purchased eggplant dips fermenting. Does this keep well? I do bring 
>a cooler to events, but i know you usually don't. Or do you cook it 
>on the spot and have it eaten almost immediately so you've no 
>experience of how long it keeps?

I've never cooked it an event, just made it at home and brought it. 
My impression is that it keeps pretty well, but it generally gets 
eaten, so I don't have any long term experiments.

David Friedman

From: Stavropoulos, Basil <BStavropoulos at munichre.com>
To: 'BYZANS-L at lists.missouri.edu' <BYZANS-L at lists.missouri.edu>
Date: Wednesday, March 01, 2000 7:00 PM
Subject: RE: Eggplant

><<By the way you have not lived if you have not eaten papoutsakia -
> eggplant stuffed and covered with bechamel sauce. >>
>
>Melitzanosalata - roast an eggplant in the Weber until it is totally black.
>Let cool.  Peel.  Process flesh with as much garlic as you can take, some
>wine vinegar, and dribble in extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil until it is
>a glutinous mass.  Break a loaf of fresh bread into pieces and try and stop
>eating before you are bloated.

Date: Fri, 05 May 2000 14:47:08 EDT
From: allilyn at juno.com
Subject: Re: SC - an interesting challenge...and its even about  medieval food! :)

Eggplant
 This appeared in Tournaments Illuminated, no. 89, Winter A.S. XXIII, p. 27.
by Nige of the Cleftlands, with assistance from Mathilde Meyer.  

Original: BERENGENAS EN CACUELA  [the second c has a cedilla above it,
but can't do it on juno]
Tomar berengenas y mondarlas dela corteza muy bie y cortarlas en tres o
quartro pedacos cada una: y cozer las en buen caldo de carnero co nv par
de cebollas...(Spanish)

68.  De alberginies en cassola
Albergines pendras e neteja-les de la escorca  e talla-les en tres o
quatre tocos cascuna.  E metles a coure ab bon brou de molto ab un parell
de cebes...

Our Translation:
Take eggplants and peel them well and cut them in 3 or 4 pieces each, and
cook them in good mutton broth with a pair of onion, and cook them until
they are well cooked; and being cooked, take them from the pan; and chop
them on a cutting board till they are very small; and then add good
grated Aragon cheese and some egg yolks.  And mince it all like the
stuffing for a kid, and add salsa fina, putting all of these spices into
the casserole, well mixed: ginger, mace, nutmeg, green coriander; and
parsley; then take the casserole to the oven.  and when it is cooked,
sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon.

Salsa fina is a bit of a mystery, but as the spices listed immediately
afterwards are also referred to as salsa, they may be what is actually
intended.  ....snip
Sources
Libre del coch. Mestre Robert, Barcelona, 1977
Libro de guisados manjares y potages intitulado Libro de Cozina, Facsimil
de la edicion de Logrone, 1529. Rupert de Nola, Madrid: Ediciones
Guillermo Blasquez.
_______________________________________________
Test version prepared for Known World Heraldry Road Show.
What I did:
Sliced eggplant in half, longways.  Scooped out most of pulp, leaving a
little 'wall' with the skin.  Chopped the pulp, adding chopped onions,
and some minced cilantro and curley parsley.  Made lamb broth with a leg
of lamb bone saved for soup. [ We will have to buy lamb or mutton to do
this]  Added veggies to simmering lamb broth, cooked them.  Added grated
Muenster cheese as I was supposed to be preparing this in Germany.  Added
an egg or a yolk.  Added some of my powder douce, with home ground spices
from the Pepperar's Guild: nutmeg, mace, ginger, cinnamon, sugar.  [We
can make it without the cinnamon for the event].  Spooned the mix back
into the shells and baked in convection oven, 300*, until done. [I
forget].  Baking it in the shells gave it a sort of smoky taste, which we
liked.
APdeT
______________________________________

Rheinfrankisches Kochbuch, 1445

65.  Nimm Feigen, Rosinen und Honig, hacke alles zusammen klein und
mische es dabei untereinander, gib auch Gew¸rz und andere gute Zutaten
hinzu.  F¸lle es in (ausgehˆhlte) ƒpfel und hefte diese jeweils mit einem
hˆlzernen Spie?chen wieder zusammen.  Backe die gef¸llten ƒpfel in einem
Topf mit Weinin der F¸llung (oder: in einem Teigmantel, der mit
Weinhergestellt wurde).  Dann wird es sehr wohlschmeckend.

Take figs, raisins and honey, chop them small, all together, give also
spices and other good ingredients [I used walnuts at Celtic Spring II]. 
Use as stuffing for cored apples, bake in wine/honey sauce.  Plump the
figs if using dried figs. Note: if using an apple corer/peeler/slicer,
you have the look of whole apples, but people can take just a little if
preferred.

Allison,     allilyn at juno.com

Date: Sat, 13 May 2000 02:20:52 EDT
From: allilyn at juno.com
Subject: SC - eggplant

A forward of a post on eggplant, with a friend in the Near East, married
to an Indian.

Regards,
Allison,     allilyn at juno.com

- --------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: "Sherry C. Atri" <sherrycatri at yahoo.com>
To: allilyn at juno.com
Subject: Re: Cookbook
Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 01:31:21 -0700 (PDT)

I would guess that the period one is the plant sold as
Easter Egg plant.  When you see it growing you
understand why they called it eggplant.  It really
does look like you are growing eggs.  They are white
or golden in color when ripe and fuller of seeds than
the modern variety.  I don't know when the purple
variety came into hybridization, but I think it might
be a little out of period.  

Anyway, ever since I learned that eggplant has no
nutritional value whatsoever I have held myself
excused from having to eat it, except of course in
Baba Ganouge, which is really delicious here.  They
make two kinds, one the salty/smoky variety I am
familiar with from Ali Baba's, etc., and the other
with a sweet/sour tamarind sauce. 

Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 08:41:01 -0700
From: "E. Rain" <raghead at liripipe.com>
Subject: RE: SC - Eggplant 'confusion'

Well a glance through all the recipe titles from the medieval manuscripts in
L'Arte della cucina in Italia* shows no eggplant recipes, though it *may* be
an ingredient in some dishes I haven't fully translated yet)

similarly I do not find them in the 1598 english translation of the
Epulario, the small portion of titles I've translated from Scappi so far, or
Scully's 15th c. neapolitan colletion, but they are present in the 14th c.
Cerruti tacuinum sanitatis (I assume they appear in other tacuinums as well,
but didn't bother checking)  They are also mentioned by Castelvetro 1614.

leaving Italy for Spain, they are present in both Sent Sovi 14th c. & Libre
del coch 15th c.

That's enough for one morning :->

*Anonimo Toscano 14th c., Anonimo Meridionale early 15th c., anonimo
Veneziano 14th c., Trecentesco Della Corte Angioina 14th c.

Eden Rain

Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 11:12:18 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Eggplant 'confusion'

Eggplant (Solanum melongena) is native to SE Asia.  The most common variant
is the purple one, var. esculenta, but it also comes in white and striped
varieties.  It is commonly believed the Arabs found it in India after the
invasion of 712 and imported it to North Africa, Spain and Sicily.  

The plant may have come to India after Nearchus' invasion (approx. 325 BCE)
or been overlooked by the Macedonian general.  The plant was unknown to the
Romans.

Bear

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 00:04:34 +0200
From: TG <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>
Subject: Re: SC - Eggplant 'confusion'

<< similarly I do not find them in [...] Scully's 15th c. neapolitan
colletion >>

It is mentioned in recipe #33. The word "Marignani" seems to be one of
the many regional variants; see Scully's glossary. And in case you have
a good library around: There is also a short passage about ital.
_melanzana_ and variants in an article by Gustav Ineichen in the
"Festschrift Walther von Wartburg zum 80. Geburtstag", T¸bingen 1968,
425-428. Ineichen quotes an article, I did not see yet. But the title
looks promising: C.E. Dubler: Temas geogr·fico-ling¸istÌcos I: Sobre la
berenjena. In: Al-Andalus VII (1942) 367-389. [Sobre la berenjena =
About the eggplant]

Scappi 1570 has a recipe for "minestra di melanzane in diuersi modi con
brodo di carne" (Cap. II 224, p. 83a); he says that eggplant can be
prepared in some ways like the "zucche". Then, on fol. 151b and 363a
there are several recipes with "molignane". If I am not mistaken, this
is yet another word form for eggplants. (The parallel recipe to the
Neapolitan recipe collection #33 in the Riva del Garda Manuscript of
Maestro Martino begins: "103. Per fare cocere li mollegnani ...";
Benporat p. 190).

Thomas

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 10:25:36 -0700
From: "E. Rain" <raghead at liripipe.com>
Subject: SC - RE: sca-cooks V1 #2510

Thomas writes re my notes on eggplants:
> << similarly I do not find them in [...] Scully's 15th c. neapolitan
> colletion >>
>
> It is mentioned in recipe #33. The word "Marignani" seems to be one of
> the many regional variants; see Scully's glossary.

yes indeed I missed this since it's not a variation of the word I was
familiar with.
Scully says in his notes "This vegetable seems to be unknown in early
European cookery outside of the italian and iberian peninsulas.  among
Italian recipe collections only ours recognizes it."
seems a pretty clear sign that they only reason they knew of it in naples is
because of the spanish influence.

> Scappi 1570 has a recipe for "minestra di melanzane in
> diuersi modi con
> brodo di carne" (Cap. II 224, p. 83a); he says that eggplant can be
> prepared in some ways like the "zucche". Then, on fol. 151b and 363a
> there are several recipes with "molignane". If I am not mistaken, this
> is yet another word form for eggplants.

it may also be molegnare - a kind of plum (per Florio)Perhaps the word you
are thinking of is melongeua which florio cites as the latin for eggplant?
Unfortunately my scappi uses a different numbering system as far as i can
tell (Harvard, Kress Library edition)  so I can't go look for myself  if you
can give me the original scappi numbering ie "Libro Due, capitolo XIV" maybe
I can track them down & see what words my version uses :->

(The parallel recipe to the
> Neapolitan recipe collection #33 in the Riva del Garda Manuscript of
> Maestro Martino begins: "103. Per fare cocere li mollegnani ...";
> Benporat p. 190).

Working with the Library of congress edition (as well as the english
Epulario) I find no paralell to this recipe, although I've already come
across another recipe that is in the Riva del Garda, but neither of mine, so
I'm becomeing very interested in that edition :->  However per the scully
quote above, and the plum possibility, I would question whether this is in
fact an eggplant dish.

Eden Rain

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 22:39:58 +0200
From: TG <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>
Subject: SC - eggplant (RE: sca-cooks V1 #2510)

Eden said:
<< Scully says in his notes "This vegetable seems to be unknown in early
European cookery outside of the italian and iberian peninsulas.  among
Italian recipe collections only ours recognizes it." seems a pretty
clear sign that they only reason they knew of it in naples is because of
the spanish influence. >>

Very true! The catalan influence is all pervasive in this recipe
collection. BTW, Grewe, in his footnote 2 to the first eggplant recipe
of the Libre de Sent SovÌ (#149), already mentioned the eggplant recipe
in the "Manuscrit Napolit‡" as a rare phenomenon. 

Re the Scappi recipes:
<< it may also be molegnare - a kind of plum (per Florio)Perhaps the
word you are thinking of is melongeua which florio cites as the latin
for eggplant? Unfortunately my scappi uses a different numbering system
... >>

First, the Scappi recipes are at:
- -- II 224 (Libro secondo, Cap. CCXXIIII.): _melanzane_
- -- III 229-232 (Terzo libro, Cap. CCXXIX. etc.): _Molignane_
- -- V 109 (Quinto libro, Cap. CIX.): torta di molignane
there may be more...

What evidence is there, that _molignane_ refer to eggplants?

- -- The fact, that the term is used to refer to eggplants still today by
some speakers. Thanks Adamantius for this valuable information.

- -- Searching for "molignane" at www.altavista.com will take you to two
webpages about the history of pasta (one of them by an Italian author),
who mention "molignane [eggplants]".

- -- The fact, that there is a parallel recipe to the Cuoco Napoletano
eggplant recipe in the Riva del Garda manuscript, where the main
ingredients are called "mollegnani" instead of "Marignani".

- -- Bertoluzza, in his book about the Riva del Garda manuscript
understands "mollegnani" in the sense of 'melanzane', eggplants, too (p.
245). His reasons, however (page 105), are not very specific: "In alcuni
testi antichi ritroviamo la definizione delle mellanzane riferita ai
_mollegnani_"; I should like to know which are these "alcuni testi
antichi".

> Working with the Library of congress edition (as well as the english
> Epulario) I find no paralell to this recipe, although I've already come
> across another recipe that is in the Riva del Garda, but neither of mine, so
> I'm becomeing very interested in that edition :-> 

Yes, there are differences between the versions of the -- broadly
speaking -- Martino family. The Riva del Garda manuscript was edited
twice: first, by Aldo Bertoluzza in a somewhat strange edition with not
very legible facsimile reproductions from the single recipes of the
manuscript together with a more or less modern paraphrase of the text
(Scully, Cuoco N. p. 11 note 27: "... accompanied by a very sketchy and
occasionally  untrustworthy translation into modern Italian").
The second edition is that of Claudio Benporat in his 'Cucina Italiana
del Quattrocento', page 157-231 (Scully: "with some evidence of haste
and misreadings, it should be observed").

Here is the text of Riva del Garda #103:

"103. Per fare cocere li mollegnani che non siano troppo forti ne troppo
malfatti tagliali in quarti e mondali suttille como uno pero poy metteli
al focho con uno pocho daqua e falli dare uno buglio Et che sia del sale
et quando bugli mettelli drento li mollegnani et lassalli buglire per
spatio de 2 pater noster da poy cavali fora e fali sugare poy infarinali
e frigelli como li pessi et como sono fritte scolla via loleo lassandone
un pocho in la padella con li mollegnani dapoy piglia una spigha daglio
et pistalla con uno quarto de mollegnani poy habi un pocho de regon che
se mette sopra le allisse pistato con aglio con uno pocho di pane
zafrano pipero e sale distemprando queste cosse con agresto e se lo
agresto he troppo forte mette uno diaqua poy gitta ogni cossa insema in
la padella a cocere con li molegnani uno pochetino poy mictelli in uno
pyattello e mandali ala tavolla." (Benporat p. 190f.).

Compare this recipe to Cuoco Napoletano #33. What do you think?

Thomas

Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 20:29:26 -0500
From: Diana L Skaggs <upsxdls_osu at ionet.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Eggplant recipe-OOP

>Adamantius, who never liked eggplant anyway, but who will cook it for others

Master Adamantius, from a humble cooking acolyte. I didn't like eggplant
until I learned to lessen the "sharp" flavor by soaking in saltwater prior
to cooking (sprinkling with salt and allowing to stand, then rinsing works,
too). I made a casserole by simmering prepared eggplant until it was fork
tender, drained well and covered with (gasp) commercial spaghetti sauce.
Placed in casserole dish and covered with shredded mozzarella.  Baked at
350 degrees until heated through and the cheese was beginning to brown.
Took it to a family gathering.  Didn't tell anyone what it was until there
was nothing left but the smell.  Everyone was suprised and pleased.
"Diana's Eggplant Casserole" was requested frequently afterward...

Leanna

Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2000 17:21:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: Terri Spencer <taracook at yahoo.com>
Subject: SC - Eggplant Neopolitan

As requested, here's the eggplant recipe, from The Neapolitan Recipe
Collection, Terence Scully, University of Michigan Press, 2000.

Primary Source:  Cuoco Napoletano, MS Buhler 19, Pierpont Morgan
Library in NYC, believed to be written at or about the Aragonese court
at Naples in the 2nd half of the 15th century.

33. Marignani

Piglia li marignani he falli bene netare he bene mondare sutilmente;
poi pone a focho uno pocho de aqua he falli dare uno bullore; che sianotagliati in quarti he pone in quella aqua uno pocho de sale, he non lilassare bullire piu che doi Pater Noster; poi cavali fora sopra unotagliero he falli sugare; poi infarinali he frigeli; et como li haraifriti, scola fora quasi tuto lo olio; poi piglia una spica de aglio hepistala bene cum uno quarto de quisti marignani; he poi habi uno pocode rigano de quello se mette sopra le alice, he pistalo cum lo agliocum uno pocho de pane, pipero, saffrano he sale; poi distempera tutequeste cose insieme cum agresto he cum uno pocho de aceto; poi gettaogni cosa insiema in la padella a frigere un pochetto; poi meteli inpiatti he manda a tavola cum specie fine.

33. Eggplants

Get eggplants and wash and peel them well, then set a little water on
the fire and bring them to a boil; cut them into quarters and add a
little salt to the water; do not let them boil more than two Our
Father's; then take them out onto a cutting board and let them drain;
coat them in flour and fry them; when they have fried, drain off almost
all of the oil; get a clove of garlic, grind it up with a quarter-piece
of the eggplants; then get a little oregano, of the sort that is put onanchovies, grind it up with the garlic and a little bread, pepper,
saffron and salt; then distemper all of this together with verjuice and
a little vinegar and throw everything together into the pan to fry a
little; then dish it out and serve it with mild spices. 

Tara's Pennsic version:
3 large eggplants 
Graham flour (stone-ground whole wheat flour)
Olive oil
3 cloves garlic
3 pinches oregano
3 pinches breadcrumbs
1 pinch pepper
1 pinch saffron salt
1 cup verjuice
3 splashes wine vinegar
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground ginger

Heat water, add salt.  
Wash and peel eggplants, cut in half lengthwise. Boil for 4 Lord's Prayers.  They float, use something to hold them
under water.  Drain.  Slice into 8 per eggplant half.  Coat each piece in flour and fry in
olive oil.  Drain.  Reserve a little oil.  Grind garlic, oregano,
breadcrumbs, pepper, saffron, salt together, grind in one piece of
eggplant and stir into oil.  Add verjuice and vinegar, stir and simmer.
Arrange eggplant on a tray, pour sauce over them, sprinkle cinnamon and
ginger over all and serve.  Yield - about 45 pieces.

Notes:  I redacted this as I made it in camp, without fancy kitchen
gadgets like measuring spoons, so pinches and splashes are the measures- - and mine tend to be generous.  Large eggplant was on sale so that's
what I used.  Cooking had to fit between classes and choir practice, so
I boiled the eggplants in the morning and held them in a cooler.  I
didn't want to slice them up that early, so I boiled the large pieces
twice as long.  Either way takes the bitterness away.  Because the
eggplants were huge and I wanted finger food, I sliced them smaller
than directed.  To hold the dish until serving time, and for
presentation, I chose to keep the sauce simmering and serve it over the
eggplant instead of frying them together.  I used cinnamon and ginger
as "mild spices" because that's what we had in camp. 

Tara
Meridian for Temair, y'all

Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 12:51:03 -0600
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Eggplant was Re: SC- Poisonous Tomatoes

> _Which_ European cultures? I don't find references to medeival consumption
> of eggplant in England or Poland, but perhaps I'm missing something?
> 
> Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise	      

Mostly southern Europe where there was contact with the Islam.  Solanum
melongena is native to SE Asia and has been cultivated in India for several
millenia.  The Arabs were apparently introduced to eggplant during the 8th
Century after their invasion of northern India in 712 CE.  They then
proceeded to spread the plant around the Mediterannean.  Since eggplant is
of tropical origin, northern Europe may not have had much to do with it as a
cultivar.  

Bear

Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 20:24:45 -0500 (EST)
From: Jenne Heise <jenne at mail.browser.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Eggplant

> Have you tried looking under the term 'aubergine'? That is the name eggplant 
> usually goes by in the King's English. It is derived from a similar French 
> term so looking under a form of that word in French sources may be fruitful.

Possibly. I'll check Parkinson. However, the OED doesn't hold out much
hope, since the first reference they give is 1794. The derivation is:
"[Fr., dim. of auberge, variant of alberge ëa kind of peachí
(LittrÈ), ad. Sp. alberchigo, alverchiga, ëan apricockeí (Minsheu
1623).] "
- -- 
Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise	      jenne at tulgey.browser.net

Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 17:03:46 -0400
From: Elaine Koogler <ekoogler at chesapeake.net>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re-send of Bright Hills recipes

OK, guys, sorry for the blunder.  I will go ahead and include the
recipes in this message:

How to Make Boiled Eggplant.  You take 20 eggplants, two and a half
ounces of garlic, five dirhams of caraway, two ounces of good oil, one stick Ceylon cinnamon, two dirhams [sc. of salt], two dirhams pounded pepper, nine ounces of good Egyptian vinegar.  You cut off the long stems of eggplants to the calyxes, then you quarter each of them lengthwise half way.
Then you moisten them in water and salt for a while.  Then you take them
out and put them in a small pot and pour sweet water to cover on them, and you boil them such that they do not cook to rags but remain whole.  Then you take them down and strain the water form them and let them cool.  Then you sprinkle salt on them until they take sharpness.  Then you pound the garlic with salt and put it on the fire.  You put the two and a half ounces of oil on it, and the
garlic fries in that oil until it is fragrant and not burned.  Then you put it on the vinegar and leave it until it boils.  Then you throw caraway, mint, pepper and Ceylon cinnamon on it while you fry it, until it all smells good.  Then you take it down and pour it on those eggplants.  Kitab Wasf

al-At=92ima al-Mu=92tada (The Description of Familiar Foods) trans. Charles
Perry.

Redaction:

1 Oriental Eggplant, halved crosswise, then quartered lengthwise
1 scant Tbsp. Garlic, minced finely
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
4 1/2 Tbsp. White wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. caraway seeds
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon, ground.
1/8 tsp. mint (use 1/4 tsp if you use fresh)

Soak eggplant in salted water (a pinch salt to enough water to cover) for about 10 minutes. Drain eggplant and boil in clear water to cover until they are tender. Drain and allow to cool. Put garlic and salt in a saucepan or small frying pan with olive oil and fry the garlic until it is fragrant.  Add vinegar and bring to a boil.  Add the remaining seasonings and cook for a few minutes until the seasonings are well blended.  Pour sauce over eggplant and serve.

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 nisf and a rub [three quarters, 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.  Then 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 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=92ima al-Mu=92tada (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 =BC grams saffron
2 =BD 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

Soak jujubes in water.  Fry the meat with 1 1/2  tsp. spice mixture.
When browned, add water to cover and bring to a boil.  Chop onions into a large dice. Soak prunes in water.  Add onions to meat/water mixture.  When onions are halfway tender, add prunes(cut in half), raisins and jujubes(cut in half and seeded) and bring to a slow boil.  Add dissolved saffron, vinegar  If
desired, add 3 oz. sugar.  Bring to a full boil and add mint and spice
mixture.  Simmer until tender.  I served this over couscous, the documentation for which is:

Kiri

Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 12:54:42 -0400
From: Elaine Koogler <ekoogler at chesapeake.net>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re-send of Bright Hills recipes

LrdRas at aol.com wrote:
> ekoogler at chesapeake.net writes:
> << 1 Oriental Eggplant, halved crosswise, then quartered lengthwise >>
>
> Was there a reason for the substitute of oriental eggplant for regular
> eggplant in this recipe or, was it merely a matter of expediency? So far as I
> know the regular black eggplants or the small  egg shaped white ones are a
> close equivalent to those available in the middle ages in the Mideast.
>
> Ras

No, it was mainly that I thought that the smaller eggplants would be more
appropriate than the larger, purple ones that are available to me here in Prince
Frederick.  In fact, for the Trial by Fire, I actually found some baby eggplants
at the Fresh Fields store in Annapolis that I used for the dish.  I worry that
the very large ones that I can get locally would be too tough, etc. and certainly wouldn't give the smaller chunks I envisioned for the dish if one follows the cutting directions in the recipe.

Kiri

From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 21:27:23 -0800
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Pt. 1 - Medieval Persian Iron Chef

Here are three out of nine, for the "bawarid", the cold dishes:
Zaitun Mubakhkhar - Smoked Olives
Sals Abyad - White Sauce
Badhinjan Buran - Princess Buran's Eggplant

Anahita

---------------------
Zaitun Mubakhkhar - Perfumed Olives
<snip - see the olives-msg file>

Sals Abyad - White Sauce (Spiced Walnut-Sesame Butter)
<snip - see the sauces-msg file>

Badhinjan Buran - Princess Buran's Eggplant
Eggplant pureed with yogurt and spices

This is a dish of legend. And I may have created one of my own, as
people came up to me after the feast and confessed that they hated
eggplant and had eaten three servings of it.

As for the history of the dish, Charles Perry has an entire essay
devoted to it in "Medieval Arab Cookery". I'm sure that my
interpretation was also colored by all the multitude of other Buran
and Buraniyya recipes i read.

Original
Take eggplant and boil lightly in water and salt, then take out and
dry for an hour. Fry this in fresh sesame oil until cooked: peel, put
into a dish or large cup, and beat well with a ladle, until it
becomes like khabis [pudding]. Add a little salt and dry coriander.
Take some Persian milk, mix in garlic, pour over the eggplant, and
mix together well. Take red meat, mince fine, make into small kabobs,
add melting fresh tail, throw the meat into it stirring until
browned. Then cover with water, and stew until the water has
evaporated and only the oils remain. Pour on top of this eggplant,
sprinkle with fine-ground cumin and cinnamon, and serve.
(from "A Baghdad Cookery Book", trans. A.J. Arberry, notes by Charles
Perry, p. 59-60, "Medieval Arab Cookery")

(Medieval Arab Cookery)

12 pounds eggplant
-- I used the large ones because they were cheaper, but I suspect
that smaller Asian eggplants would be better
1 pint light sesame oil (or olive oil)
2 quarts whole milk yogurt with NO additives or thickeners
-- I used Pavel's Russian Yogurt - there's nothing in it but milk and
yogurt culture - no gums, no gelatin, no thickeners, etc. - i don't
know if it's available far outside the San Francisco Bay area - use
the best you can find
1/4 cup salt
1 Tablespoon pepper
2 to 3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground coriander seed
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground cumin seed
A few sprigs Fresh mint
1 fresh pomegranate
1 pint whole milk yogurt

1.  If using large eggplants, remove stem end and quarter. Small
eggplants, leave whole.
2. Boil briefly, until just barely tender. I did this in multiple
stages as all the eggplant wouldn't fit into one pot.
3. Put eggplant in a sieve or colander over a bowl or in a clean sink
and let drain. Again I did this in stages. Since modern eggplants
have been bred to be less bitter than Medieval eggplants, I didn't
drain the pieces for a whole hour. After batches had drained for 15
minutes or so, I removed them to a large bowl.
4. Put enough sesame oil in a large frying pan to cover the bottom,
then heat on a  medium-high fire.
5. When oil is hot, add some of drained eggplants - one layer of
eggplant only. Cook until tender, then remove - I drained them in a
colander as I removed them from the pan.
6. When all have been cooked and allowed to cool, puree them. I used
a food processor but a blender would work. And a potato masher or
ricer should work too.
7. When all the eggplants were pureed and in a big container, I added
two quarts of Pavel's yogurt. I honestly believe the quality of the
yogurt affected the taste of the finished dish. But use the best
plain yogurt you can find.
8. After mixing yogurt and eggplant, add spices. Allow to sit
overnight in a cool place for flavor to develop.
9. Peel pomegranate and remove white pith. Separate seeds into a bowl.
10. Dish eggplant into serving bowls, decorate the edge with fresh
mint leaves or sprigs, place a dollop of yogurt in the center of each
dish and top with pomegranate seeds.

From: "Vincent Cuenca" <bootkiller at hotmail.com>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 20:03:32 +0000
Subject: [Sca-cooks] What's going on here?

As part of the initial planning for this feast, I was monkeying around with
a recipe from Cariadoc's Miscellany this weekend, and I'm not quite sure
what happened.  The recipe is as follows:

Recipe of Eggplant Pancakes

al-Andalusi p. C-5

Get sweet eggplant and boil it with water and salt until it becomes well
cooked and is dissolved or falling apart. You should drain the water, crush
and stir it on a dish with crumbs of grated bread, eggs beaten with oil,
dried coriander and cinnamon; beat it until all becomes equal. Afterwards
fry cakes made with this batter in a frying pan with oil until they are
gilded. Make a sauce of vinegar, oil, almori, and mashed garlic; give all
this a shaking and pour it over the top.

Sounds tasty, don't it?  Here's the redaction from Cariadoc's site:

1 large eggplant (1 lb 3 oz)
~2 qts water
~2 t salt
1/2 c bread crumbs
2-3 eggs
1 T oil
1 1/4 t coriander
1 1/2 t cinnamon
2 T vinegar
2 T oil
2 t murri
2 large clove garlic
about 6 T oil for frying

Peel and quarter eggplant, boil 30 minutes. Drain, mash and mix with bread
crumbs, eggs, oil, coriander and cinnamon. Crush garlic in a garlic press
and mix up sauce. Fry in oil at medium high, about 1-2 minutes a side. Pour
sauce over pancakes before serving.

Instead of boiling the eggplants, I salted them, let them sit for a while,
then rinsed them and nuked them.  I used 2 large eggs, subbed cheap soy
sauce for the murri, but otherwise followed the instructions.

The pancakes wouldn't hold together.  Even on a nonstick pan, they acted
more like a souffle.  I couldn't turn them or even scrape them up without
their falling apart.  I ended up scrambling them.  They were light, fluffy
and delicious, but not pancakes.

Should I have used more eggs?  Added more breadcrumbs to stiffen the
mixture?  Whatcha think?  They're really good, and I'd like to be able to
serve them at the feast.

Vicente

Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 23:25:18 -0400
From: kattratt <kattratt at charter.net>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] What's going on here?

> The pancakes wouldn't hold together.  Even on a nonstick pan, they acted
> more like a souffle.  I couldn't turn them or even scrape them up without
> their falling apart.  I ended up scrambling them.  They were light,
> fluffy and delicious, but not pancakes.
>
> Vicente

I haven't done this recipe but I have done very similar with zucchinis.(Sp?)
So My suggestion on it is more oil, so you get sort of a deep frying
type cooking thing going this would cook the sides as well as the bottom,
or As you suspected using more Bread crumbs and eggs,
This will yield a thicker batter. If you use to many bread crumbs though
you will end up with cakes or patties... (ever had Salmon Patties?)
It sounds to me that you might be thinking more battery....like a
pancake... I would think it would be more like a fritter.
I think of a pancake as more of a "Fine flour"  batter type thing rather
than a Bread Crumb type thing.
Re-reading this recipe I notice that there is NO Milk or anything to
make it like a batter...

So I would add more bread crumbs and egg, just to thicken this to a
patty like texture.
Then flatten it and either deep fry it (Maybe sort of like flattened
hush puppies?) or pan fry it...(Like salmon patties)

Nichola

Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 15:25:50 +1000
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: Mark Calderwood <mark-c at acay.com.au>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] What's going on here?

>Recipe of Eggplant Pancakes
>al-Andalusi p. C-5
>
>Instead of boiling the eggplants, I salted them, let them sit for a while,
>then rinsed them and nuked them.  I used 2 large eggs, subbed cheap soy
>sauce for the murri, but otherwise followed the instructions.

I had a crack at this recipe for al-Mansuqah. I boiled the eggplant, then
shredded the flesh with a fork before mixing with the other ingredients.
(I've never needed to salt eggplant to remove the bitterness...maybe we
just have sweeter eggplants here.) I found with the water absorbed by the
eggplant the mixture was reasonably pliable, so that's probably the
important step. I also used a smaller eggplant and an extra egg, so that
probably helped bind it better. I ended up with a thickish glop that I
could mould into patties- more like Asian  fish cakes than what we usually
think of as pancakes. I also used very little oil with the eggs, basically
I just showed it the bottle.

I thought the sauce was bloody awful, the redaction makes a very harsh and
acrid sauce that obscured the taste of the cakes, and is nothing at all
like middle eastern sauces. I monkeyed around with it and ended up using
roast garlic for a more mellow flavour, halved the quantities of oil and
vinegar and used a lighter mellow vinegar. I cut the murri by more than
three quarters which was enough to give it a slight tang but not overwhelm
the delicate tastes of the dish. Much better.

Just for kicks I added fresh chopped coriander and shaved parmesan cheese
to the second half of the eggplant mixture- wow!

They do taste great fresh and hot, but less great cold, and freezing/
nuking makes them ok but not brilliant imo. I didn't go with them because
of the potential problems of preparing them fresh in quantity, you might
want to bear that in mind for over 200 (unless you have a willing knave to
fry them all afternoon and keep them in a warming oven...)

Giles

From: Marilyn Traber <marilyn.traber.jsfm at statefarm.com>
To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 07:55:53 -0500
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Eggplant pancakes

Well, for starters, overbeating the eggs will fluff them. You don't need to
go to town on the poor things, just make sure the yolks are broken and
mostly slushed around. Last time I made these, I went with 2 eggs, and
really pressed the heck out of the eggplant to make it as dry as possible. I
mixed everything but the eggs in, and then cracked 2 eggs in and folded
stuff together and made the command decision that I wanted the consistancy
less of a batter and more of a 'louisiana rice cake' or vague latke. More
solid than real liquid.

margali

Date: Sun, 18 May 2003 22:18:18 -0400
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: "Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius.magister at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] The Priest Fainted

Also sprach tracey sawyer:
> I'm trying to find documentation for a "traditional" middle eastern
> eggplant (aubergine) recipe. The name translates as "the priest
> fainted" the arabic name starts with Imam- but I can't remember the
> rest.
>
> It is supposed to be a really tasty aubergine and garlic pate style
> dish, usually served in the shell. The cook book says traditional
> but doesn't say whether it is 12th century tradition or 19th century
> tradition...
>
> This is for a "Crusader" style feast to be held in August ... that
> is spring in Lochac.
>
> Thanks in advance for your assistance , Lowry

That would probably be imam bayaldi or bayildi. I've never heard it
described as a pate (more a stuffed eggplant dish; when is it _not_
served in the shell?). The legend says that either a) the imam in
question fainted because the dish was so exquisite, or b) the imam
fainted because of the cost of the oil required to prepare it. Either
way, it's a good dish (for all that it is made with eggplant).

I have to assume that the antiquity of the tradition is more like
19th century than 12th century; at the very least, the modern form of
the recipe would have to be from no earlier than the 16th or 17th
century, since a major ingredient is tomato in every recipe for this
dish that I've seen. The basic formula as I recall it involves the
guts of the eggplant, scooped out raw from the split shell, sauteed
with garlic, onion, tomato, parsley and seasonings in copious
quantities of olive oil. Can't get much more Mediterranean than that!

Now, on the other hand, I seem to recall some other eggplant-garlic
dishes in the medieval Islamic corpus. Badinjan
something-or-other-that-sounds-like-myhash comes to mind... you might
check Cariadoc's Miscelleny online for a worked-out version.

Okay, I checked and find that Badinjan Muhassa doesn't contain
garlic, and several of the other eggplant dishes in that section of
the Miscelleny also contain meat, which, since you might have chosen
imam bayaldi for its vegetarian qualities, might not fit the bill.
However, there are still a couple of eggplant dishes without meat,
some containing garlic. See Badinjan Muhassa, the Eggplant Pancake
Dish, and one or two others at:

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/islamic_w_veggies.html#3

Adamantius

Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 00:54:24 -0700
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] The Priest Fainted

Lowry wrote:
> I'm trying to find documentation for a "traditional" middle eastern eggplant
> (aubergine) recipe. The name translates as "the priest fainted" the arabic
> name starts with Imam- but I can't remember the rest.
>
> It is supposed to be a really tasty aubergine and garlic pate style dish,
> usually served in the shell. The cook book says traditional but doesn't say
> whether it is 12th century tradition or 19th century tradition...
>
> This is for a "Crusader" style feast to be held in August ... that is 
> spring in Lochac.

I suspect you are thinking of baba ganouj, which is an puree of
eggplant and tahini (sesame butter).

I've certainly never seen such a recipe in the historic corpus,
although there are still some 9th c. recipes that haven't been
translated.

I made an eggplant puree from an early recipe:

Badhinjan Buran - Princess Buran's Eggplant
Eggplant pureed with yogurt and spices

As for the history of the dish, Charles Perry has an entire essay
devoted to it in "Medieval Arab Cookery". I'm sure that my
interpretation was also colored by all the multitude of other Buran
and Buraniyya recipes I read.

Original Recipe:
Take eggplant and boil lightly in water and salt, then take out and
dry for an hour. Fry this in fresh sesame oil until cooked: peel, put
into a dish or large cup, and beat well with a ladle, until it
becomes like khabis [pudding]. Add a little salt and dry coriander.
Take some Persian milk, mix in garlic, pour over the eggplant, and
mix together well. Take red meat, mince fine, make into small kabobs,
add melting fresh tail, throw the meat into it stirring until
browned. Then cover with water, and stew until the water has
evaporated and only the oils remain. Pour on top of this eggplant,
sprinkle with fine-ground cumin and cinnamon, and serve.

From: al-Kitab al-Tabikh (The Book of Dishes) by Muhammad ibn
al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Karim al-Katib al-Baghdadi, a 13th century
cookbook. Complete text in "A Baghdad Cookery Book", trans. A.J.
Arberry, reproduced with updated notes by Charles Perry in "Medieval
Arab Cookery", p. 59-60.

My Recipe:

12 pounds eggplant
I used the large ones because they were cheaper, but smaller Asian
eggplants would taste even better
1 pint *light* sesame oil (or olive oil)
2 quarts whole milk yogurt with NO additives, gums, gelatin,
stabilizers, or thickeners
1/4 cup salt
1 Tablespoon pepper
2 to 3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground coriander seed
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground cumin seed

1. If using large eggplants, remove stem end and quarter. Small
eggplants, leave whole.
2. Boil briefly, until just barely tender. I did this in multiple
stages as all the eggplant wouldn't fit into one pot.
3. Put eggplant in a sieve or colander over a bowl or in a clean sink
and let drain. Again I did this in stages. Since modern eggplants
have been bred to be less bitter than Medieval eggplants, I didn't
drain the pieces for a whole hour. After batches had drained for 15
minutes or so, I removed them to a large bowl.
4. Put enough sesame oil in a large frying pan to cover the bottom,
then heat on a medium-high fire.
5. When oil is hot, add some of drained eggplants - one layer of
eggplant only. Cook until tender, then remove - I drained them in a
colander as I removed them from the pan.
6. When all have been cooked and allowed to cool, puree them. I used
a food processor but a blender would work. And a potato masher or
ricer should work too.
7. When all the eggplants were pureed and in a big container, I added
two quarts of Pavel's yogurt. I honestly believe the quality of the
yogurt affected the taste of the finished dish. But use the best
plain yogurt you can find.
8. After mixing yogurt and eggplant, add spices. Allow to sit
overnight in a cool place for flavor to develop.

NOTE: Do not use Chinese/Oriental roasted sesame oil. It is
distinguished by its quite dark color and smokey scent. It is all
wrong for Near Eastern cooking. If you can't find light sesame oil in
a health food store or Near Eastern market, substitute olive oil.

The original says: Take red meat - most likely lamb - mince fine and
make meatballs. Brown them in fat. Then just cover them with water
and cook uncovered until the water evaporates. Serve to omnivores by
putting meatballs on top of the eggplant puree and sprinkle with
finely ground cumin and cinnamon.

Because we have numerous vegetarians in our Kingdom, i served it
without the meatballs, but decorated as follows:

Fresh mint
1 fresh pomegranate
1 pint whole milk yogurt

Peel pomegranate and remove white pith. Separate seeds into a bowl.
Dish eggplant into serving bowls, decorate the edge with fresh mint
leaves or sprigs, place a dollop of yogurt in the center of each dish
and top with pomegranate seeds.

I also have a meatball recipe on my website, but it's Andalusian, not
from Baghdadi
http://witch.drak.net/lilinah/PurgAccompaniments.html

Anahita

Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 20:26:48 -0800
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] semi-topical: Good Friday dinner?
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Friday i cooked two Lenten recipes from a 14th century cookbook from
Cairo, The Book of the Description of Familiar Foods (translated by
Charles Perry and published in "Medieval Arab Cookery"), and a pot of
rice, for the Wooden Spoon -- the West Kingdom cooking competition --
at March Crown which was this weekend.

I was planning to enter the recipes for Maghmuma (with the rice) and
"How to Flavor Cabbage" separately, but i thought they went well
together and it turned out that two other people entered whole meals,
so i felt better about submitting everything as one entry.

In the end there was a tie - thus two winners - a baking Laurel,
Wulfric of Creigull, and me :-) He made, err, i forget the exact
name, but it's Fake Bacon of layers of white and saunders-colored
almond paste.

My recipes are below. My computer printer died and i haven't replaced
it yet, so my documentation was hand-written. One page explained why
these were 14th C. Egyptian Lenten dishes, a second page on the
Maghmuma, a third on why it was ok to substitute soy sauce for murri,
and the fourth on the cabbage. The Minister of the Wooden Spoon took
our documentation with her, so i can't replicate what i wrote, but i
did annotate my working recipes and type them into the computer as
things were cooking, so i'd know what i did.

Maghmuma
p. 447, Medieval Arab Cookery

As for Maghmuma
you fill a pot with a layer of onions, and a layer of carrots, and [a
layer of] favas, and [a layer of] peeled eggplants cut in rounds, and
in this fashion up to two-thirds of the pot. Sprinkle coriander and
caraway on each layer. Throw on two parts good vinegar and one part
murri (soy sauce), [enough] to cover, and boil until nearly done.
Throw on a good amount of green olive oil and sesame oil, and cover
with a thin flat bread and leave on the coals until it settles. This
is the salty variety of it.
[words in brackets extrapolated by Charles Perry]

My Recipe

onions, 2 small
carrots, 1 bunch tiny white (see note 1)
fresh favas, about 16 pods
peeled eggplants cut in rounds, 2 small thin
coriander
caraway, toasted and ground
vinegar, 3 cups white wine
1-3/4 cups Japanese soy sauce (see note 2)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup verjus (see note 3)
1/4 cup green olive oil
1/4 cup sesame oil
enough flat bread to cover (i used Sangak, a flat bread i buy at a
local Middle Eastern store, made by a local Middle Eastern bakery)

Layer onions, then carrots, then favas, then eggplants.
Sprinkle coriander and caraway on each layer.
Repeat until the pot is two-thirds full. This took only two layers. I
used a small oval Le Creuset roasting pan with a lid, big enough for
a chicken... 1-1/2 quarts?
Add vinegar, verjus, water, and soy sauce.
Bring to a boil, reduce fire, and simmer until nearly done.
Add olive and sesame oils.
Cover with a thin flat bread - let some of the sauce soak into the 
bread.
Eat the flat bread with the vegetables and sauce. (see note 4)

NOTES:
1.) The white carrots were "interesting". They were more bitter than
"regular" carrots. Also, that bunch was really not enough. I could
have used the same amount again.

2.) I decided to substitute soy sauce for murri because (a) a number
of recipes specify *good* murri or "Do not use fake murri", and (b)
Charles Perry made murri from scratch and said it tasted like soy
sauce.

I cited several messages in the Florilegium, one which listed the
four articles he wrote on the process in the LA Times in early 1998,
although i haven't read them myself - Paul Buell (co-author of "A
Soup for the Qan") forwarded part of a message by Gene Anderson (the
other co-author) synopsizing the articles.

I quoted the relevant messages in detail and included the specific
URL in the Florilegium in my docs.

3.) As the amount of vinegar and soy sauce didn't cover the
vegetables, but the vinegar already smelled really strong, i added
about 1/4 water and 1/4 verjus, instead of another 1/2 cup vinegar.
At least one judge commented that it was too vinagery... Either "back
in the day" they really liked vinegar or their vinegar was more
dilute. At least one judge commented that it was too tart.

4.) I served this with rice.

-----

How to Flavor Cabbage
p. 445, Medieval Arab Cookery

<snip - See the cabbages-msg file. -Stefan>
-- 
Urtatim, formerly Anahita

Date: Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:49:41 -0400
From: Robin <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] A Challenge to Find a Dish
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

iasmin at comcast.net wrote:
>  For an SCA "family" potluck, find a dish using these guidelines:
>
>  -- The name of the dish must start with the first initial of your
>  first name or the first initial of your last name. You cannot use
>  your middle name if you have one.

I think I'd bring Berenjenas a la Morisca (Moorish Eggplant)

BERENJENAS A LA MORISCA

Peel the eggplants and quarter them, and their skins having been peeled,
set them to cook; and when they are well-cooked, remove them from the
fire, and then squeeze them between two wooden chopping blocks, so they
do not retain water. And then chop them with a knife. And let them go to
the pot and let them be gently fried, very well, with good bacon or with
sweet oil, because the Moors do not eat bacon. And when they are gently
fried, set them to cook in a pot and cast in good fatty broth, and the
fat of meat, and grated cheese which is fine, and above all, ground
coriander; and then stir it with a "haravillo" like gourds; and when
they are nearly cooked, put in egg yolks beaten with verjuice, as if
they were gourds.
-- 
Brighid ni Chiarain
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Period Sausage and Leek Soup Recipes
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2006 04:26:41 GMT

On Thu, 1 Jun 2006 12:59:42 GMT, djheydt at kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
wrote:
>But a lot of David's sources are Islamic and they don't eat pig
>either.  I don't know about the Manuscrito Anonimo specifically,
>but it's Spanish and there's a lot of Moorish influence in
>Spanish cookery, duh.  There's another period Spanish cookbook,
>de Nola's _Libro de Cozina,_ that gives a recipe (can't find it
>at the moment) that ends "or for Moorish-style, use almond oil
>instead of ham, because the Moors don't eat ham."  (Now I betcha
>David will be able to tell us which recipe it is, offhand.)
>
>Mmmmm, pig.

Moorish Eggplant.  Here's my translation of the recipe.

MOORISH EGGPLANT. Peel the eggplants and quarter them, and their skins
having been peeled, set them to cook; and when they are well-cooked,
remove them from the fire, and then squeeze them between two wooden
chopping blocks, so they do not retain water. And then chop them with
a knife. And let them go to the pot and let them be gently fried, very
well, with good bacon or with sweet oil, because the Moors do not eat
bacon. And when they are gently fried, set them to cook in a pot and
cast in good fatty broth, and the fat of meat, and grated cheese which
is fine, and above all, ground coriander; and then stir it with a
haravillo like gourds; and when they are nearly cooked, put in egg
yolks beaten with verjuice, as if they were gourds.

"Sweet oil" would be good quality olive oil.  Almond oil mostly
appears in recipes for confections.

Brighid ni Chiarain (mka Robin Carroll-Mann)
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:58:04 -0400
From: Elaine Koogler <kiridono at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Period substitute for tomatoes?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

They are wonderful made into dips as well as simply sliced, salting, letting
them rest for a bit, then brushing with olive oil, sprinkling with salt and
a few other spices and grilling/broiling/etc.

Kiri

On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 9:53 AM, Terry Decker <t.d.decker at att.net> wrote:
<<< You might consider experimenting with eggplant, the "tomatoes of the Jews
of Constantinople."  They can be mixed in with almost anything, pickled,
pureed, baked, fried, etc.  They are more common in Indian and Arab cooking
than European.

Two caveats.  They can be bitter.  And they can soak up oil like a Sham-Wow
soaks up water.  Slicing, salting the slices, then letting them rest while
the cell walls break down and the internal liquids drain is supposed to
reduce both problems.  Other than mousakka, I don't have much experience
preparing them, so I can't point you in any specific direction.

Bear >>>

Date: Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:26:20 -0400
From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] What to do with soused eggplant

On Sep 9, 2009, at 12:49 AM, David Friedman wrote:
<<< A while back I made the soused eggplant from al-Warraq--basically  
it's eggplant boiled in vinegar then stored in more vinegar.  
Supposed to keep for a year--and, not surprisingly, it's rather sour.

The question is what to do with it. I've tried rinsing before  
eating, but it's still very sour. Spread on a slice of bread,  
perhaps, to dilute the effect? Other suggestions? What does one do  
with pickled eggplant? >>>

I'm not sure what one does specifically with pickled eggplant, but  
since we're probably dealing with cultures for whom a meal is  
frequently a grain product such as bread or something pilaf-ey, a  
smallish amount of roast, stewed, or ground-and-cooked meat, and,  
often, pickled vegetables as a condiment (this is to be found nearly  
anywhere between, say, China, India or Tibet and Hungary, at least  
today), I'd think it's essentially a condiment to be eaten with other  
foods, like the pickles of India. Some of those Indian pickles are  
pretty darned powerful, too.

Another question that comes to mind is, how sure are you that the  
vinegar in the original is as strong as what you've got? Yeah, I know  
most vinegar is diluted to achieve, what is it, 5%, but is there a  
possibility we're dealing with something less robust? I'm intrigued by  
the changing of the vinegar in mid-process, but then eggplants do give  
off a lot of juice as they cook, unless salted, pressed, or  
otherwise... um... de-juiced before cooking.

Adamantius

Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:38:05 -0700
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] eggplant bitterness

Kate wrote:
<<< You could soak [eggplant] in milk before preparing it too. That's how I take the bitterness out of cauliflower. >>>

When making some period turnip dish in my very first feast, the quite 
tasty Turnips in Butter and Mustard Sauce, from ''Le Cuisinier 
francois'' by Francois Pierre called la Varenne, French, 1651 (thanks 
to Anne Marie), I cooked them until just tender in water, pitched the 
water, sliced them, then simmered them in milk for about 15 minutes, 
to remove their bitterness.
-- 
Urtatim [that's err-tah-TEEM]
the persona formerly known as Anahita

Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:41:09 -0700
From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at jeffnet.org>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] eggplant bitterness

<<< When making some period turnip dish in my very first feast, the quite tasty Turnips in Butter and Mustard Sauce, from ''Le Cuisinier 
francois'' by Francois Pierre called la Varenne, French, 1651 (thanks 
to Anne Marie), I cooked them until just tender in water, pitched the 
water, sliced them, then simmered them in milk for about 15 minutes, 
to remove their bitterness. >>>

I also parboil them, but just pitching the water seems to do it for me. 
I've never thought to cook them in milk.

The Cook Formerly Known As Lainie,

Liutgard

Date: Tue, 3 May 2011 21:49:46 -0400
From: Guenievre de Monmarche <guenievre at erminespot.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Melons, cucumbers and eggplants, oh my!

Given our many conversations on the list regarding cucumbers, melons, and
eggplant, the attached may be of interest to some...

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/TS_aob.pdf
(*The Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae illustrated in medieval manuscripts known
as the Tacuinum Sanitatis)*

Guenievre

Posted on the FB "Medieval & Renaissance Cooking and Recipes" group

Karen LM 
Eggplant is one of my few inedible foods. I find it one of the most disgustingly bitter foods in existence, and truly cannot understand why anyone would put it in their mouth. Luckily, my husband is pleased to get my portion if it shows up at feast. In any case, i wouldnt bother reporting to a cook they had displeased me by serving it. I would be far too busy considering what is coming off my husband's plate in trade. Probably his dessert.

Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya 
I cooked Badhinjan Buran from al-Baghdadi, but without the meatballs so vegetarians could eat it. A number of diners who "hate' eggplant ate least tasted it... then had 3 helpings. It is now known in the Kingdom as Eggplant Who Knew. The dish involves boiling then pressing & draining the eggplant, then frying in sesame oil, then pureeing with yogurt, salt, garlic, & coriander seeds, and serving sprinkled with cumin & cinnamon.
http://home.earthlink.net/~al-tabbakhah/2002_Feasts/2002-Mists_Bardic/2002Bardic4-MidEast.html

Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya 
I have found eggplant to vary greatly, starting with which kind is used. There are so many different varieties, and i generally avoid the giant globe eggplants. Second, old-fashioned methods involving salting (or boiling in salted water) and then pressing and left to drain for an hour or more helps reduce the bitterness. Finally, the other ingredients included with it. My daughter who was always willing to taste things, hated eggplant until i convinced her to just taste a Moroccan eggplant dish. That changed her mind. Often it is not the thing in itself, but how it is prepared that makes a huge difference.
5 hours ago · Like

Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya 
For example, my Eggplant Who Knew? Some months after that feast some friends served me an eggplant dish and awaited my response. It was not very good, but i tried not to let it show. It turned out they had used my recipe, but had made many short cuts and changed a number of ingredients so that it was not only not the same, but really did not, in my opinion, taste very good.
5 hours ago · Edited · Like

Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya 
Also, with those giant Globe Eggplants, it really helps to (1) scoop out all the seeds, (2) peel it, (3) salt and press it for an hour or more.

From the fb "SCA-Cooks" group:

Urtatim Al-Qurtubiyya
9:39pm Sep 27, 2018

I made a burani recipe leaving out the meat - there was meat in other dishes - that even eggplant haters liked and had multiple servings...

Badhinjan Buran - Princess Buran's Eggplant
Eggplant pureed with yogurt and spices

Original Recipe:
Take eggplant and boil lightly in water and salt, then take out and dry for an hour. Fry this in fresh sesame oil until cooked: peel, put into a dish or large cup, and beat well with a ladle, until it becomes like khabis [pudding]. Add a little salt and dry coriander. Take some Persian milk, mix in garlic, pour over the eggplant, and mix together well. Take red meat, mince fine, make into small kabobs [i.e., meatballs], add melting fresh tail, throw the meat into it stirring until browned. Then cover with water, and stew until the water has evaporated and only the oils remain. Pour on top of this eggplant, sprinkle with fine-ground cumin and cinnamon, and serve.
(al-Baghdadi, p. 59-60, "Medieval Arab Cookery")

My recipe was for 60 to 70 people...

My Recipe:

12 pounds eggplant - I used the large ones because they were cheaper (feast budget), but smaller Asian eggplants would be better
1 pint light sesame oil
2 quarts whole milk yogurt with NO additives or thickeners
I used Pavel's Russian Yogurt - there's nothing in it but milk and yogurt culture - no gums, no gelatin, no thickeners, etc.
1/4 cup salt
1 Tablespoon ground pepper
2 to 3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground coriander seed
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground cumin seed

1. If using large eggplants, remove stem end and quarter. Small eggplants, leave whole.
2. Boil briefly, until just barely tender. I did this in multiple stages as all the eggplant wouldn't fit into one pot.
3. Put eggplant in a sieve or colander over a bowl or in a clean sink and let drain. Again I did this in stages. Since modern eggplants have been bred to be less bitter than Medieval eggplants, I didn't drain the pieces for a whole hour. After batches had drained for 15 minutes or so, I removed them to a large bowl.
4. Put enough sesame oil in a large frying pan to cover the bottom, then heat on a medium-high fire.
5. When oil is hot, add some of drained eggplants - one layer of eggplant only. Cook until tender, then remove - I drained them in a colander as I removed them from the pan.
6. When all have been cooked and allowed to cool, puree them. I used a food processor but a blender would work. And a potato masher or ricer should work too.
7. When all the eggplants were pureed and in a big container, I added two quarts of Pavel's yogurt. I honestly believe the quality of the yogurt affected the taste of the finished dish. Use the best quality plain whole milk yogurt you can find.
8. After mixing yogurt and eggplant, stir in spices. Allow to sit overnight in a cool place for flavor to develop.

<the end>

Edited by Mark S. Harris	eggplant-msg	Page  of