A Taste of Home
Rating:
5 / 5
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!
The most 5-star deserving cookbook I've ever seen
Rating:
5 / 5
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.
A Treasure
Rating:
5 / 5
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.
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