Today, I’ll be making a simple barley porridge, as recorded by Ibn Sina (Avicenna) in the 11th century! This dish shares a lot of similarities to my Sumerian Sasqu recipe from a few months ago, suggesting that it may have been a regional dish in antiquity that has been preserved through the centuries to modernity.
In any case, let’s now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Check out my Patreon for more!
Method 1 - Simmer Milk and Soak Barley To begin with, we need to prepare our barley. Soak about 5 or 6 tablespoons of barley grains in a bowl of water overnight, to help break them down in the cooking process. So if you want to make this today, you should’ve started this yesterday. Or at least 4 hours beforehand. Drain these before using them!
Then, pour about a litre of milk into a saucepan, and set it over a medium high heat. Though the original recipe uses undescribed milk, I’m using whole-fat cow milk. But sheep and goat milk, or even almond milk, can also be used here! In any case, let everything heat up until it is just about bubbling.
2 - Add Barley and Spices While the milk is bubbling, go de-husk a few tablespoons of cardamom pods - using the seeds themselves in the dish. Keep these seeds aside for later! When the milk is at a rolling boil, pour in your soaked and drained barley, along with your cardamom seeds.
3 - Serve up Serve up in a bowl of your choice, garnish with a few scoops of sliced almonds, and dig in while it’s still hot! Add in some honey, to taste, if the dish isn’t to your taste!
The finished dish is a delightfully soft yet fragrant and sweet dish! The barley has broken down slightly into a toothsome paste, and the taste of the cardamom gives the talbina a wonderful floral kick to each mouthful. The original sources for this dish describe it moreso as comfort food - something that is rarely recorded in medieval cookbooks! Typically, contemporary documents would describe similar dishes, or things that would pair with the recipe in question. However Ibn Sina (Avicenna), along with numerous other contemporary Arabic writers, explicitly states that this dish is not a day-to-day thing, rather one that “relieves some sorrow and grief”
“The talbina gives rest to the heart of the patient and makes it active and relieves some of his sorrow and grief.” [Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (5325)]
Though I used honey here, pureed and stewed dates may have been used as well - which we can see in my earlier sasqu recipe.
Christine Swane (May 29, 1876 - 1960) was a Danish artist, whose brother was Johannes Larsen and who was married to Sigurd Swane, both prominent members of Fynbomalerne.
However Christine wanted more than becoming just another regional landscape painter, and she developed her own brand of post-Cubist still life painting, almost always held in green, blue and yellow colors.
She chose Grønningen as her artists’ association, and worked across media with ceramics, textiles and paint, creating many decorative works as well as canvas art.
Above:Opstilling med kardemomme, 1948 - oil on canvas (SMK)
Serve this pie among friends to bring luck and keep your bonds strong. The spices and sweetness will have everyone smiling and asking for the recipe!
Chai ingredients can vary by company, but it wont make too much of a difference. I chose chai that included cinnamon, cardamom, clove, ginger, and allspice.
4 large eggs ¾ cup sugar 8 chai teabags (about 1/8c) 2Tb melted butter 2Tb all purpose flour 1Tb white vinegar 1/4tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk eggs and butter together until fluffy. Whisk in the flour, sugar, white vinegar, chai, and salt until blended. Pour into a prepared pie crust (I made a simple graham cracker crust, but plain or store bought is fine) and bake 30 minutes. The outside of the pie should be browned and firm and the inside will be slightly wobbly. You can add whipped cream or sprinkle some cinnamon on top if you feel. Serve it to your friends and enjoy!
Take your hot cocoa to the next level with this luxurious recipe from The Broken Bread. The union of cardamom and rose in this classic winter treat looks ahhhmazing, right!?!
