The Food Ways of Abraham's City of Ur

Most scholars agree , based on dates found in the Hebrew scriptures, Abraham would have been born during the second century b.c.e. The Ur that Abraham would have known was a prominent city of the Sumero-Akkadian Empire. The lexicon of dishes and foodstuffs common to this period is varied, extensive, and not unfamilliar; it includes items such as beer, soups, flat unleavened breads, roasted meats, grain poridges, and lots of pulses. The ingredients known to have been used include barley, goat, mutton, many vegetables in the onion family, honey, dates, mellons, and cucumbers.
     The everyday diet of the people of Abraham's Ur would have been based on barley breads and poridges, along with onions, and barley beer. For all special occasions a prised animal, such as a lamb, suckling pig, or kid would have been slaughtered and slow roasted; but meat was not unheard of at less celebratory times. Beef was often stewed once the animal was no longer useful as a beast of burden and mutton was braised once it was passed providing milk.

   Today I would like to share some recipes that surely have their origin in the time of Abraham and that are today known to people of all three of the great Abrahamic traditions.
       The first is a soup; made from lintils, Shorbet Ads, which are one of the oldest known cultivated legumes; and are muched loved by all mediterranean peoples. This recipe makes use of many of the food stuffs known to the Sumero-Akkadians.
                                                  Shorbet Ads
       A large onion, chopped
       1&1/4 cups split red lintils
        7&1/2 cups meat stock
       Salt and pepper to taste
       1t. cumin
        Juice of 1 lemon
      Extra virgin olive oil as a flourish
Put the stock, lintils and onions in to a small soup pot; add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and maintain for about 30 minutes, or till you see that the lintils have become soft and actually start to break down. At this point if soup is too heavy, dilute with a little more stock before seasoning with lemon juice and the cumin. Bring to the table in an earthenware bowl, with a cruet of olive oil that each diner can use to garnish the soup to taste.
         The next recipe I'd like to share with you is a version of the ubiquitous Tzatziki. This version is simpler and never uses sourcream. It must be made from very thick near eastern style yoghurt, which is ultra creamy and absolutley unctious. I really like this Persian version much better than its Greek and Turkish cousins , which are more commonly encountered.
                                                          Mastokhiar
                                              Yoghurt and Cucumber Salad
                               1 cucumber peelled, seeded and sliced into half moons(sprinkle with some salt and let drain in a collander ).
                                2cups middle eastern style yoghurt, such as, Karhoun Farms or Byblos brands
                                 4 cloves garlic crushed by the tines of a fork into kosher, or other course salt, to taste
                                  2T. crushed dried mint
                                  1/4 t. white pepper

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and gently fold together Once the cucumber is coated by the yoghurt, garlic,and mint leave to stand covered in the fridge at leat 30 minutes before serving, so the flavours can marry.
                    This next dish is very homey, but special, even, somewhat extravegant for everyday. It is a comfort food that is nice enough for company. What makes it extravegant? It's the shoulder of lamb .
                                                    Lahma Bi Khal
                                   Lamb Stew with Vinegar and Eggplants
                        1 pound baby onions or shallots
                        2 pounds boned shoulder of lamb
                        Extra Virgin Olive Oil
                        8 cloves of garlic
                        Salt and pepper to taste
                        A pinch of grount cinnamon
                        1/2t. ground allspice
                         Honey to taste
                        3 medium eggplants
                        4 T. wine vinegar
                         1 T. crushed, dried mint
Steam the baby onions for about 5 minutes in a basket steamer placed in a covered sauce pan with about a half inch of boiling water. The onion's skins should slide right off once they are cool enough to handle.Cut the meat in to about 8 pieces, brown in a t. of oil till it releases quite a bit of fat. Lift it out and set a side. Fry the onions and garlic in this fat untill golden. Remove and set aside.Drain the fat from the pan and return the meat. Cover with water and remove any scum that forms on top. Add the garlic and onions, the spices. honey and simmer for1&1/2 hours untill the meat is tender, if necessary, add water so the meat stays well covered. Cut the eggplants into 1/2 inch  rounds and grill them in a grill pan. They need to be marked and just beginning to soften. Add the vinegar and the mint to the meat and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Remove cover and add eggplants and simmer for 30 minutes more. Serve this stew over a bed of boiled and salted barley or burgul wheat.

                I hope you try these dishes, and when you do, remember that these were the foods known to our Great Forefather, weather you know him as Abraham, or Ibrahim, and think how much we all have in common.