The Religions Cookbook

By Arno Schmidt and Paul Fieldhouse

A review by Marty Martindale

“Sure,” you might say, just figure where the religion is most concentrated, consider it’s geography, and “Bingo, you have most of the dishes.”  Wrong! All religions are located all over the world, and the celebratory dishes won’t be as predictable. Geography dictates most food preferences, however war transports people to new geographies and new combinations happen. Soon, recipes for raisins and cinnamon in U.S. meatballs?  Who knows? Don’t dismiss it.

The writers of this book divided the religions of the world into these major three (alphabetically) for their food findings:

• Buddhism and Shintoism
• Christianity
• Hinduism and Sikhism
• Islam
• Judiasm.

In the book’s introduction, they state:

“From a religious standpoint, food is also a culturally and spiritually powerful substance that affects human relationships, promotes an understanding in the world, and is at the heart of human interactions with the divine.  Religious teachings about food include both dietary laws and guidelines for what may be termed unusual or customary practice.  They can serve a number of functions.”

In an interesting Comparative Religious Dietary Laws chart, they line out that in Judaism, they eat only animals with cloven hoofs who chew cud and only the forequarters of the animal, only fish with scales and fins and no blood. Islamic followers are forbidden blood, pork and intoxicating liquor, while in Sikhism, they eat no beef. Some set aside certain days of the year for special eating, others special hours of days. Preparations of food is part of some religious rituals when it comes to slaughter, handling and rituals before preparations. The Christians and Islamic believers observe regulated eating during fasting periods.

A handy List of Recipes, grouped by religious group, is in the front of the book, and the local name for the dish supplied with the local name if not in English. In this event, an explanation is also offered at the top of each recipe.

Another chart tells us certain foods have special meanings for a new year:

• Apples – peace

• Candied coconut – togetherness

• Noodles – longevity

• Tomatoes – joy and virtue

• Watermelon seeds – a wish for many sons

and there are more.

Here are a couple of recipes from each religious section:

Buddhism and Shintoism:

• Chilled Buckwheat Noodles (Toshikoshi Soba):  Noodles, nori seaweed, scallions, ginger, dashi, mirin, dark soy and sesame oil

• Thai Pork and Bamboo Shoot Soup:  oil, garlic, coriander seeds, peppercorns, green chilies, cubed pork meat, rice, water, brown sugar, fish sauce, bamboo shoots and scallions.

Christianity:

• Mexican Chicken and Vegetable Soup (caldo Tlalpeno):  chickpeas, chicken broth, cumin, sliced carots, string beans, crushed tomatoes, cooked chicken, chipotle chili, avocado, cilantro and tortilla chips

• Scandianvian Liver Spread (Christmas Leverpastej):  pork liver, bacon, anchovy fillets, oil, onion, pepper, eggs, cornstarch, heavy cream and sugar

Hinduism and Sikhism: 

• Chicken Dilruba:  saffron, warm milk, onions, ginger, ghee, chicken cut up, almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds, yogurt, water, garam masala, turmeric, cashews and cilantro leaves.

• Cottage Cheese and Fruit Dessert:  fine-cord cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, unsweetened cocoa, sugar, grated lemon peel, apples, orange, seedless grapes, small papaya, cashews, slivered almonds and pistachio nuts.

Islam:

• Iranian Fruit Rice with Fish:  fish fillets, flour, oil, onions, rice, sweet cherries, lemon juice, apricots, raisins, slivered almonds, cinnamon, pepper, turmeric and chicken stock.

• Peach Condiment:  vinegar, ginger, coriander, garlic, tamarind, fenugreek, honey, cayenne pepper, salt, cinnamon and ripe peaches.

Judiasm:

• Chicken and Date Patties:  chicken breasts, egg, garlic, allspice, coriander, fenugreek, cayenne pepper, bread crumbs, water, dried dates and olive oil

• Crisp Cornmeal Waffles:  flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, yellow cornmeal eggs, buttermilk and oil

One doesn’t need to be a member of any religion to find many of these recipes delicious and a break from the ordinary.

You can reach Marty at:  Food Site of the Day.