Recipe for Zîrbâja

It is a dish that regulates the humors; its nutritive power is praised, it is good for the stomach and liver; it combines the advantages of the meat and vinegar stew sikbâ ja and of that of sour milk salîqa. Among its virtues is what was told of it to the sheikhs of Baghdad by him who followed Hanin ibn Ishaq; he said "I was accompanying Hanin one day until his meeting a man of the people, to whom he said, 'Oh! You came to me and you described the case of a sick woman in your house; then I didn't see you. What has been the cause of your delay, since I have not ceased to worry about you?' He replied, 'I came to you, my lord, and I described to you my mother's sickness. You advised me that she should eat zî rbâja; I got it and she was cured of her illness, and I didn't want to return and worry you. May God reward you.' Hanin said, 'This is a neutral dish [viz. one that does not stimulate any of the four humors in particular] and it is the sikanjabî n [name of a sweet-sour drink] of dishes.' Others say, 'It is the apple of the kitchen, there is no harm in it at all.'"

Its Recipe

Take a young, cleaned hen and put it in a pot with a little salt, pepper, coriander, cinnamon, saffron and sufficient of vinegar and fresh oil, and when the meat is cooked, take peeled, crushed almonds and good white sugar, four ûqiyas of each; dissolve them in rosewater, pour in the pot and let it boil; then leave it on the embers until the fat rises. It is the most nutritious of dishes and good for all temperaments; this dish is made with hens or pigeons or doves, or with the meat of a young lamb.