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. |
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