Ahmad in the garden; Lattakia, Syria.

Hummos

Ahmad's garden, Watertown, MA.

Making Syrian flatbread.

Lahm-bil-ajeen; Lattakia, Syria.

Orchards in Syria.

Palmyra, Syria
(photo by Martin Frost)

An Arab proverb:
"Liyakun Ta’amak min Ajwad al Ta’am”

"Let your food be the best of food." Or Feed your Soul the Best Food? Let’s discuss the translation of the proverbs.

Hummos - this world famous puree, obligatory on every Arab table, is loved throughout the Arab world and now is ubiquitous in the United States as well. Hummos and Arabic flat bread are the most famous foods to have migrated to the US. In the Arabic world, and especially in its home Syria and Lebanon, tabouleh is a salad usually made as part of a mazza table. (table with various appetizers) The word tabouleh derives from the root Arabic word to season or spice, the mix known as tabil or tawabil. The masters of the salad are the Syrians and Lebanese who prefer, as I do, tabouleh in which most of the salad is composed of fresh parsley, fresh mint, tomatoes, scallions or onions, red pepper flakes, fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil, not overwhelmed by the bulgur.

Arab food is popular and fashionable in the West since the mid-seventies and early eighties due to the influx of immigrants from Arab countries, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq and so on. Arabic restaurants and markets began to sell special ingredients, sweets and ready cooked dishes. The famous Aleppo pepper quickly received its recognition in the Boston Globe for its mellow, delicious aroma. Aleppo peppers come from Syria, and behind their pure nutty flavor lies smokiness and a little spice. Professional chefs use Aleppo pepper in their dishes or sprinkle it on top of a dish, and trendy chefs have integrated Arabic dishes into their eclectic menus.

The philosophy of Arabic cuisine

Sharing our meals should be a joyful and truthful act. For me, sharing my food with few friends is delightful and very relaxing. Both food and people should always be interesting; The Arab scholar al-Tabari (923) was impeccable and elegant while dining: "kana ajmala l-jama-ati aklan wa azrafhum ishratan" ("We ate the finest food among the best nations and we were the nicest companions among them.") The famous and lavish banquet of the Abbassiyya dynasty dated from the eighth century till the eleventh century. The history of the table of a nation is a reflection of the civilization of that nation.

An Arab proverb: "you eat what you cook."
A dish is a reflection of the cook, her/his passion for the cooking, the pleasure of eating and dedication to the family. A cuisine evolves through testing and tasting the same recipes for many generations and through the transferring of knowledge from master to apprentice, father and mother to son and daughter. A cuisine exists when people are eating for pleasure, intellectually, or spiritually, and might relate to work of art. A cuisine exists where there is generosity and a people who love to welcome guests and entertain at home. A cuisine exists where the chef in the kitchen understands the importance of fine ingredients and uses only the freshest. As a result, they produce elegant and delicious recipes and perhaps gain what the Arabs call "al-nafas," an expression that means "the touch," used to refer to a cook who is a master of attaining the right taste or discerning taste.

Agricultural beginnings
The interest and love of growing plants among Muslim communities is rooted in the philosophical beginning of the Arab agricultural intiatives found in the conception of man, derived from the Qur’an.

The Qur’an is not a record of the prophet’s activities, but the actual word of God. The Qur’an provides thorough and comprehensive guidelines on everything from diet to commercial law. An Arab scholar in the early 13 century, Al-Baghdadi, wrote, as required at the time, in the name of God the most merciful and compassionate. He divided pleasure into six classes: food, sex, drink, sound, cloth and scent. Of these, he said the most noblest and consequential was food. The Muslims introduced Arab dishes to the four corners of the Earth, North Africa, and parts of Asia, Sicily, Spain and Portugal; peasant food was brought by the soldiers, the court cuisine by their generals.

The Sicilians in particular inherited popular traditions and customs from the Arabs. Hand washing before eating was introduced through Italy, probably by the Arabs, who had a ritual tradition of washing before praying or eating. Arabic books on dietetics were translated and disseminated in Latin from the end of the thirteenth century, and the core books of European medicine were all written by Arab and Greek authors.

Learn more: Ahmad Yasin