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Rating: 
Summary: A Taste of Home
Review: As a young Iraqi who has lived most his life abroad, I unfortunatley have never fully experienced the Iraqi culture and lifestyle to the extent I would have desired. Living in Canada, my closest connection to Iraq is brought to me through interactions with family and friends. Nostalgia emerges from sittings where we exchange old and new jokes, listen to iraqi songs and best of all, savour delicious Iraqi dishes. Nawal Nassrallah's new cookbook is precisly what I had been looking for. I now have a deeper understanding of the Iraqi cuisine and can make delicious dishes that I never thought I could accomplish. Funny enough, my mother enjoys it very much and is quite fond of my Kebab and tashreeb. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: In response to the review about chile pepper
Review: I definitely agree with the reviewer that in the 10th-century Middle East chile pepper was still not available. What the medieval Baghdadi cookbooks called for was pepper corns. They were quite a common spice at the time, imported from India and the adjoining countries via the silk road.
Rating:
Summary: The most 5-star deserving cookbook I've ever seen
Review: My initial impressions were good. This is a large, weighty cookbook. It has a lot of information in it, and lots of recipes. I especially like all the background information on the ancient cooking techniques. I have a great many cookbooks from the Middle East, and almost all of them have a section on Iraqi food, but never before have I seen such depth and completeness.Possibly the most important thing in a Middle Eastern cookbook is its recipe for Baklawa. In this fine cookbook, the section on Bawlawa stretches from page 465 through page 477, and the pages are large (8"x11")! The author is an academic, so there are references, and the bibliography in the back looks like a great place to further any Mesopotamian food intrests. On the downside, many of the images inside are rather poor resolution, and in one case an image overlays some text, but don't let that bother you. This is agreat book, and well worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: The most 5-star deserving cookbook I've ever seen
Review: My initial impressions were good. This is a large, weighty cookbook. It has a lot of information in it, and lots of recipes. I especially like all the background information on the ancient cooking techniques. I have a great many cookbooks from the Middle East, and almost all of them have a section on Iraqi food, but never before have I seen such depth and completeness. Possibly the most important thing in a Middle Eastern cookbook is its recipe for Baklawa. In this fine cookbook, the section on Bawlawa stretches from page 465 through page 477, and the pages are large (8"x11")! The author is an academic, so there are references, and the bibliography in the back looks like a great place to further any Mesopotamian food intrests. On the downside, many of the images inside are rather poor resolution, and in one case an image overlays some text, but don't let that bother you. This is agreat book, and well worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure
Review: Nawal Nasrallah has given us all a gift in writing this book. It is a treasure of the first rank. In the midst of all the war and destruction we are witnessing in Iraq, this book has been a wonderful palliative. She reviews the fascinating series of civilizations that have left roots in Iraq including recipes, some of which she has revised for the book. Among the recipes she has embroidered folk tales, jokes, and intriguing historical notes. I read right through the book as soon as I received it. For the last couple of months, I have been cooking almost nothing else but these recipes, and each one is a new and (for me, jaded palate that I am) freshly seductive experience. Please don't neglect to make her spice mixture, Baharat, which perfumes my whole cupboard and is a revelation. What a shame that Nawal Nasrallah was forced to self-publish, but what wonderful good fortune for all of us that she was not discouraged by publishers' rejections. The time and dedication she put into the work without a guaranteed outcome is amazing. You'll love it.
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure
Review: Nawal Nasrallah has given us all a gift in writing this book. It is a treasure of the first rank. In the midst of all the war and destruction we are witnessing in Iraq, this book has been a wonderful palliative. She reviews the fascinating series of civilizations that have left roots in Iraq including recipes, some of which she has revised for the book. Among the recipes she has embroidered folk tales, jokes, and intriguing historical notes. I read right through the book as soon as I received it. For the last couple of months, I have been cooking almost nothing else but these recipes, and each one is a new and (for me, jaded palate that I am) freshly seductive experience. Please don't neglect to make her spice mixture, Baharat, which perfumes my whole cupboard and is a revelation. What a shame that Nawal Nasrallah was forced to self-publish, but what wonderful good fortune for all of us that she was not discouraged by publishers' rejections. The time and dedication she put into the work without a guaranteed outcome is amazing. You'll love it.
Rating:
Summary: Newsweek reviews this cookbook
Review: Saudi Aramco World, March/April, 2003 The author of this labor of love grew up in Iraq, taught English and American literature at the universities of Mosul and Baghdad and now lives in the United States. She begins the book with a tender thought for the Iraqi mothers who "must find it hard these days to put food on the table." But she has faith that, "innovative as they are, they will nonetheless come up with a treat to cheer up their families, simple and yet delicious."
Nasrallah explains that Iraqi cuisine has a distinctive character due to the interaction of many different cultures there over a very long history. She traces its roots to the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians in the land that was also home to Noah and to Abraham. Her reference to the Garden of Eden in the title is no mere evocativeness: She traces it to the Sumerian land "Edin"-one of a number of illuminating etymologies she points out. Nasrallah reminds us that "the first documented `cookbook' in human history was written in Akkadian on clay tablets, in the land of Babylon, about 3700 years ago." Much later, in the medieval period, Baghdad under the Caliphs became a renowned center of gastronomy, and again under the Ottomans the Iraqis participated in yet another outstanding cuisine.
The 650 pages of this work contain more than 400 recipes reflecting these historic connections and all the glories of contemporary Middle Eastern cooking: breads, soups, appetizers, stews, rice dishes, meat, fish, pastries, desserts of all kinds and beverages. Menus are suggested for every occasion. Interspersed are anecdotes, commentary, table etiquette, memories and substantial history. This book is not just an introduction, but a thorough overview of a diverse, delicious and enduring cuisine.
Rating:
Summary: A 10th Century Recipe With Chile Pepper?
Review: Very well written. Full of interesting stories and tales. Much more than a usual recipe book. And most important very veggie friendly. The way of telling the stories is very fluid, very personal. It is rare to come across a fantastic ethnic cuisine writer who also happen to have such excellent facility with language Comprehensive and clear with a nice style of writing. Can almost taste the dishes as you read about them. Loved the various rice dishes and the use of yoghurt is clearly very imaginative in Iraqi cuisine. All so new to me Enjoy!
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