[Oman-L] Looking for book on Omani cuisine

[=?iso-8859-1?q?Joachim=20Duester?=]

A very appropriate posting indeed before the upcoming
id al-fitr!  The 1992 ed. of Marcia Dorr's little
brochure "A taste of Oman: traditional Omani food" is
out of print and I am not aware of a reprint. Here is
the recipe for Shuwa (pit-roasted meat) from p. 7 of
this brochure:

"Ingredients: meat of goat or lamb, dates or honey,
lemons, salt, bizaar (whole or powdered). -
Directions: If dates are to be used, they are soaked
overnight in water, then stirred vigorously with
enough of the water to make a thick, pulpy liquid. The
meat may be cut into pieces but is usually left as a
whole roast. It is then basted with the liquid from
the dates or with honey, and/or sprinkled with the
juice of fragrant Omani lemons, salted according to
taste and seasoned generously with bizaar. Less
traditional ingredients such as garlic, ginger and
chilis may also be added. After preparation, the meat
is wrapped in banana leaves, if available, and
securely sewn into sturdy sacks made of natural fibre.
Sacks woven from palm leaves especially for this
purpose can be found in many souqs, although empty
rice sacks and other such substitutes are just as
frequently used. When the fire is glowing red-hot, the
sacks of meat are dropped into the fire pit which is
immediately covered with a lid or large stones, and
finally insulated with a thick layer of earth and
gravel. This extinguishes the fire while retaining the
heat. The meat is then left in the pit to cook very
slowly for 24 hours or more. The result is a
deliciously spicy, succulent roast which is served hot
on a very large communal platter. Shuwa is usually
eaten on the second or third day of Eid."

Cook books in English for Omani cuisine currently
available are:

"Al-Azaf: the Omani cookbook" by Lamees Abdullah
al-Taie, 1995 (for Shuwa recipe, see p. 104 there)
http://www.soukofoman.com/alomcook.html

"Dates" by Joanna Parfitt and Susan Valentine, 1995
http://www.soukofoman.com/dates.html

With best Eid greetings to all list members,
Joachim Duester





 --- Arrigo Benedetti
<arrigo@bologna.vision.caltech.edu> wrote: 
> I am looking for this book:
> 
> Dorr, Marcia S.
> A taste of Oman: traditional Omani food - authentic
> recipes and how to prepare them / written by Marcia 
> Stegath Dorr. -
> Muttrah: Mazoon Printing Press, [1992]
> 
> I'm especially interested in the recipe for Omani
> lamb stew with dates. Does anyone know any US 
> bookstore where I can place an order for the book?
> 
> Thanks much,
> 
> -Arrigo

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