Food Resources and their Transformation - Food Culture and Health in Pre-Modern Islamic Societies - page 158

well as on the types of food consumed at
the court.
The royal kitchen prepared food only
once a day for the royal household but
twice a day for the āh himself and his
direct entourage. The daily food outlay
for the āh amounted to two sheep, four
lambs, and thirty chickens for his midday
meal and half as much for his supper, not
counting small poultry, game and fish.
The royal kitchen was supervised by
the tūmāl-bāī , an official who was sub-
ordinate to the nāir al-buyūtāt , the steward
of the royal household. The tūmāl-bāī
was responsible for the quantity and qual-
ity of the meat served at the court, pre-
ceded the procession of the meat dishes
all the way from the kitchen to the royal
quarters, and also acted as the royal taster
(the mihtar “chamberlain” would taste
all royal food a second time). Another
important official was the sufrači-bāī ,
who was in charge of arranging the floor
cloth ( sufra ) on which food was consumed.
Other officials working in the royal food
and drink department were the aābči-
bāī or sallāči-bāī “the butcher”, the
awīār-bāī , who supervised the poultry
yard and the scullery, the sabziči-bāī ,
who was responsible for green salads, the
turīči-bāī , who supervised the prepara-
tion of pickled vegetables, the alwatči-
bāī , or confectioner, the arbatči-bāī ,
or supervisor of the sherbets and syrups,
the ābdār-bāī , who was in charge of
drinks, and the ahwači-bāī , who headed
the department of coffee making.
Meat was often eaten in the form of
kababs, which Fryer described as “rost-
meat on skewers, cut in little round pieces
no bigger than a sixpence, and ginger
and garlic put between each”. The same
author notes that it was most often made
into a pilaw, “their standing dish”.
Rice had become an important ingre-
dient in élite cookery after the Mongol

domination of the country, gradually edg-
ing out pasta and groats ( bulur ). Though
it is not clear whether rice was grown in
Persia before the advent of Islam, it has
been part of the Persian diet since Sāsānid
times. At least since early afawid times,
Persians have eaten rice in various ways,
either as chilaw or as pilaw. Unlike the
situation in parts of China and India,
where rice is a staple and a basic nutrient,
in Persia rice has always been a prestige
food and a luxury item not eaten by the
poor on a regular basis. Its preparation
has always been accordingly complex and
time-consuming. Cooking is the same,
involving a laborious process of soaking
and steaming, resulting in rice that does
not stick together, but the main difference
is that chilaw consists of rice and clari-
fied butter and sumac, which, served with
kabab, a raw onion or herbs, has become
in modern times a favourite restaurant
meal. Pilaw, on the other hand, is rice
mixed with a variety of ingredients. Fryer
describes the making of pilaw as follows :
“To make pullow, the meat is first boiled
to rags, and the broth or liquor being
strained, it is left to drain, while they boil
the rice in the same; which being ten-
der, and the aqueous parts evaporating,
the juice and gravy incorporates with the
rice, which is boiled almost dry; then they
put the meat again with spice, and at last
as much butter as is necessary, so that it
becomes not too greasy or offensive, either
to the sight or taste; and it is then boiled
enough when it is fir to be made into gob-
bets, not slabby, but each corn of rice is
swelled and filled, not burst into pulp.”
Rice with lamb was the most common
form of pilaw, but it was also prepared
in numerous other ways, with spinach
or cabbage, with roasted or boiled meat,
with almonds and raisins, with onion
and garlic, and it was served in various
colours, depending on the condiment,