Delights from the Garden of Eden - A Cookbook and History of the Iraqi Cuisine - Nawal Nasrallah

Delights from the Garden of Eden - A Cookbook and History of the Iraqi Cuisine - Nawal Nasrallah

II. Agricultural Products

Delights from the Garden of Eden - A Cookbook and History of the Iraqi Cuisine - Nawal Nasrallah

Nawal Nasrallah [+-]
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Independent Iraqi scholar, passionate about cooking and its history and culture. Nawal Nasrallah was a professor at the universities of Baghdad and Mosul, teaching English language and Literature until 1990. She is an award-winning researcher and food writer. The first edition of her cookbook Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and a History of the Iraqi Cuisine (Author House, 2003) was winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2007. Her book Dates: A Global History (Edible Series, Reaktion Books) was released in April 2011. It is a charming account of the date palm and its fruit, informative and fun to read. Her English translation of Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's 10th-century Baghdadi cookbook Kitab al-Tabeekh, entitled Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens (Brill, 2007), was awarded "Best Translation in the World" and "Best of the Best of the Past 12 Years" of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2007. It also received Honorable Mention in 2007 Arab American National Museum Book Awards. She co-authored Beginner's Iraqi Arabic, with 2 audio CDs (Hippocrene, 2005). Nawal has been giving talks, cooking demos and classes and presentations on the Middle Eastern cuisine, ancient, medieval, and present.

Description

First edition awarded the Gourmand World Cookbook Special Jury Award 2007 Originally self-published by the author in 2003, Delights from the Garden of Eden became an underground bestseller and award-winner. Now fully revised and updated, this new edition, luxuriously illustrated throughout with colour photos, paintings, medieval miniatures and sketches, displays the diversity of the region’s traditional culinary practices, delicious and enduring. The book contains more than 400 recipes, all tested and easy to follow, and covers all food categories with ample choice for both vegetarians and meat lovers, and many that will satisfy a sweet tooth. Ingredients and cooking techniques indigenous to the region are fully explained. Unlike the majority of cookbooks, the book uniquely traces the genesis and development of the Iraqi cuisine over the centuries, starting with the ancient Mesopotamians, through medieval times and leading to the present, aided throughout by the author’s intimate native knowledge of cookery. Of particular interest are the book’s numerous food-related folkloric stories, reminiscences, anecdotes, songs, poems, excerpts from narratives written by foreign visitors to the region, and cultural explications of customs, all interwoven with the recipes. The book is supplemented with detailed menus and an extended glossary to familiarize the reader with the indigenous ingredients used in creating authentic Iraqi meals. The book is a valuable addition to the shelves of specialized and general libraries and a must-have for food lovers everywhere.

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Citation

Nasrallah, Nawal . II. Agricultural Products. Delights from the Garden of Eden - A Cookbook and History of the Iraqi Cuisine. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 9-13 Apr 2013. ISBN 1845534573. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=22433. Date accessed: 28 Mar 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.22433. Apr 2013

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