Seljuk Cuisine: A Chef's Quest for His Soulmate

Akkor (Ottoman Cuisine) is a chef and food historian, who has researched and re-created lost cookery from the forgotten corners of Turkey's history. This volume on Seljuk cooking begins with stories from the year 1236 and the dishes prepared for the dervish lodge. Readers are immediately transported to the 13th century, as Akkor concentrates on the importance of food to the culture. Descriptions of the preparations for iftar (the fast-breaking dinner) for Ramadan at the Kubadabad Palace include a discussion of the method of preparing stale bread for the tirit with lentils and sugar by a kitchen worker, who narrates his developing understanding of cookery and palace life. These stories are followed by the author's, as he researches and connects to the ancient cuisine. Akkor features recipes for soups, snacks, banquet dishes, desserts, sherbets, and drinks. The recipes are simple, and, apart from the odd sheep's head, easily obtainable, but are the authentic foods of the Seljuk empires.