Abayadi Cuisine
Abayadi cuisine refers to the national cooking traditions of Abayad. As the country sits at the juncture of many important trade routes, Abayadi cuisine has a long and varied history. There are several regional cuisines in Abayad, each taking cues from the bounty of ingredients available to them. South and eastern Abayadi fare is known for its heavy emphasis on seafood, as well as the crops that grow in the sun-soaked coastal plains. In the cooler northwest, more temperate crops such as wild rice are cultivated. Abayadi cuisine as a whole includes an abundance of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, starches, fresh fish and seafood; animal fats are consumed somewhat sparingly. Poultry is eaten more often than red meat, and when red meat is eaten, it is usually lamb on the coastal regions, and goat meat in the inland or mountain regions. It also includes copious amounts of garlic and olive oil, often seasoned by lemon juice. Chickpeas and parsley are also staples of the Abayadi diet. Wine in particular is a symbol of national pride in Abayad, with various geographic regions vying for dominance in the field.
Abayadis love cooking and food with a passion, and take great pride in drawing elements for their dishes from across the world. As they sit at the crossroads of two continents and two great bodies of water, their homeland has been a center of trade for centuries, allowing them access to countless herbs and spices. Abayadi cuisine regularly incorporates cumin, cilantro, turmeric, cardamom, basil, mint, garlic, pepper, and parsley, among others. To serve an unseasoned dish in the minds of many Abayadis is only a few steps below heresy, especially if it is for one’s loved ones. Feeding loved ones is an important sign of affection in Abayadi society. Grandparents and parents cook for children, children growing into adults cook for family, friends cook for friends, and romantic partners commonly bake sweet treats for one another, as to individuals attempting to win someone over.
History
Abayadi cuisine is an ancient one, and serves as a reflection of the region's historical role as an important stop in international trade. Many dishes can be traced back thousands of years to the Shamali era. More recently, Aayadi cuisine was influenced by its numerous trade partners. For example, the introduction of crops from Veharia such as potatoes and tomatoes by Auroran colonizer powers revolutionized cuisine in a number of ways, as has the introduction of spices from eastern and southern Tarsis such as turmeric, nutmeg, cloves, and more. To oversee their interest in the spice trade, Abayadi Merchant Families built numerous trading posts in southeast Tarsis that acted as customs houses for merchants buying and selling all different kinds of the coveted goods. These trading posts, or hisin, were considered to be constituent parts of Abayad and were populated by Abayadi majorities, although none today remain under the republic's jurisdiction. Instead, they serve as beacons of Abayadi culture in those nations, providing their own cultural and culinary influences.
Tea, one of the most popular beverages in the country, is believed to have been introduced by merchants trading with Zhenia in the 9th century. Coffee, originating in neighboring Dihara, has a history reaching back to the 14th century, and was commonly consumed by a school of ascetics called the Derva in that era to aid in concentration and as a kind of spiritual intoxication when they chanted. The drink quickly caught on in popularity outside their order, and it has been popular ever since. Associated with scholars and clerics, coffee houses soon sprung up around Abayad. Abayad's own climate had a limited ability to grow coffee plants, requiring the nation to import it from abroad is large quantities. Coffee houses became breeding grounds for the arts and culture during Abayad's Golden Era, with there scarcely being a painter, writer, or thespian who did not consume it with colleagues while discussing their work.
Overview
Most often foods are grilled, baked or sauteed in olive oil; butter or cream is rarely used other than in a few desserts. Vegetables are often pickled, cooked, or eaten raw. Generally, much of what makes up the Abayadi diet is dictated by the seasons and what is available. Abayadi cuisine also varies by region. Southern Abayad is famous for its fish and seafood, the inland mountains for its meat pastries (such as Mahimy Meatpies), and northwestern Abayad for its light dishes and various salads.
In Abayad, very rarely are drinks served without being accompanied by food. Eaten between meals as a snack, often when hosting company, tabaq is an array of small dishes placed before the guests creating an array of colors, flavors, textures and aromas. This style of serving food is less a part of family life than it is of entertaining and cafés. Tabaq may be as simple as raw or pickled vegetables, hummus, and bread, or it may become an entire meal consisting of grilled marinated seafood, skewered meats, a variety of cooked and raw salads and an arrangement of desserts. Family cuisine also offers a range of dishes, such as stews, which can be cooked in many forms depending on the ingredients used and are usually served with meat and rice vermicelli. Although simple fresh fruits are often served towards the end of a meal, there is also dessert, such as baklava and coffee. Although baklava is the most internationally known dessert, there is a great variety of Abayadi desserts.
The assortments of dishes forming the tabaq are generally consumed in small bites using a piece of flatbread or a fork. As a family, it is made up of three or four dishes, but in the restaurant, the tabaq can range from twenty to sixty dishes, as the variant combinations and dishes involved are plenty. A typical tabaq will consist of an elaborate variety of thirty hot and cold dishes and may include:
- Salads such as alshakur (cold wheat germ salad) and fakham (romaine, cucumber, tomato salad garnished with pomegranate dressing and a dash of sumac), together with dip such as hummus or kebbeh.
- Some meat patties/meatballs/meat pies made of lamb/goat/beef,
- Stuffed grape leaves and pickles,
- Roasted nuts, olives and vegetables,
- Condiments like tahashul (garlic cream sauce) or ard (spicy red pepper sauce), ideal for spreading on flatbread combined with other foods
Meal Routines
Breakfast
In Abayadi cuisine, a typical breakfast consists of bread, cheese, butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam, honey, and clotted cream. Alsharma (spicy sausage), poppy or sesame seed rolls, zabida (flaky, savory, meat-filled pastries), and soups are also eaten as a morning meal. A common Abayadi specialty for breakfast is called yuqla, which is prepared with tomatoes, green peppers, onion, olive oil, eggs, and fry bread to dip with. Various soups are also very common and traditional for breakfast; mainly chicken broth, lentil soup, and ealaa soup (cereals consisting of flour yogurt and vegetables fermented then dried; it is consumed as a soup by mixing it with stock or water) are most well known soups. Tripe soup and sheep's head soup are also traditionally very common in the inland regions for breakfast. The Abayadi word for breakfast, alquhuaba, means "before coffee," but after the blockade of Abayad's ports during the Second World War, during which the republic temporarily lost access to new shipments, tea became a rival as the everyday hot drink in the nation.
In Abayad, breakfast is normally eaten right after one wakes up, either alone or with family before one departs for the day.
Lunch
Lunch (altaem, literally meaning "the food"), is a large midday meal in, containing several courses, especially in restaurants. Menus are organized according to these courses and include five or six choices in each course. At home, meals contain one or two courses and a dessert. The content of this meal is usually a soup dish, salad, a meat or a fish dish and a dessert such as fruit, yogurt or something sweet. Tabaq may also be typically served before or during lunch. Popular lunchtime meals include spiced chicken, lamb, or beef skewers with grilled vegetables called mukhwaz, maraq (meatloaf-like meatballs served in a tomato sauce and rice), wajah (open-faced lamb, goat, or beef meat pies often eaten on the go), burj (dough topped with thyme, cheese, and spiced ground meat), zayshani (small eggplants stuffed with walnuts, red pepper, garlic, olive oil, and salt), and alasfat (lamb/beef/goat meatballs spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, or allspice served with fried potato chips). Manzilbata is a popular street food, consisting of potatoes, red peppers, chili, and garlic all fried together in olive oil.
Muhraqa is perhaps Abayad's most popular seafood dish: it is carp that is basted inside and out with a mix of olive oil rock salt, crushed tomatoes, tamarind, and turmeric before being grilled on spikes over the fire. Dilta is a dish that consisted of fish cooked with an onion and tomato paste served over fried rice. Akhdir is a soup made with garlic and coriander in a fish broth, sometimes containing fish as well. The qua is a family of seafood soups prepared in a few different ways, but all generally having carrots, parsley, celery, potatoes, onion, or zucchini and the same herbs. Steamed sea urchin is popular peasant fare along the southern coast, as are steamed mussels and clams. These all normally prepared with tomatoes and garlic as well as an additional vegetable, namely zucchini.
Maraq
Burj
Mukhwaz
Zayshani
Muhraqa
Steamed mussels
Manzilbata
For those Abayadis who observe the weekly spiritually mandated day of rest, many slow-cooking dishes exist that can be eaten during the day, when no cooking or work can be done. One of the most popular dishes is weyalbid, a stew simmered for 12 hours overnight before being eaten for lunch the next day. Weyalbid normally consists of whole, stuffed vegetables in addition to meat or chicken. Whole vegetables such as tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant halves and zucchini are stuffed with a mixture of beef and rice, and are then placed into the pot with meat or chicken and chickpeas. Cumin and hot peppers are normally used to season the dish. Whole eggs in the shell or eggs cracked into the dish to poach are also commonly added.
Numerous condiments and sauces are employed in Abayadi cuisine. Tahashul and ard are among the most popular, with tahashul being a rich, garlic cream sauce and ard being a spicy red pepper sauce. Both are normally put over meat or stewed vegetables. Perhaps the most unusual of condiments enjoyed in Abayad is khardal, which is made of candied fruit and a mustard-flavored syrup. Khardal originates in Abayad's inland and mountainous regions, but has enjoyed a small boom in popularity among high-end chefs in the coastal regions as well. Commercially the essential oil of mustard is employed in its making, which has the advantage of transparency; in home cooking, mustard powder heated in white wine may be used. Traditionally khardal was served with boiled meats, such as in the bisto dish which is a specialty of northwestern Abayadi cooking. More recently it has become a popular accompaniment to cheeses. Numerous regional varieties exist.
In some regions, the word altaem refers to the mid-morning snack, instead of lunch. Lunch usually starts between 2:00 pm or 2:30 pm finishing around 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm, and is usually followed by baqiat, which refers to the tabletalk undertaken after.
Dinner
Laylitan, meaning both dinner or supper, typically consisting of one course and dessert. Most dinnertime meals are heavier than lunchtime ones, served in greater amounts and more rich and lustrous in nature. Steamed rice is among the centerpieces of Abayadi cooking, and dinnertime is no exception. Jewelled rice is a dinnertime speciality in the northwest, seasoned with saffron, apricots, dill and currants. Heaps of rice are served with earthy stews and curries, often made with ground nuts, or alongside kebabs and fish. Ahash, a type of thick soup sometimes containing noodles and barley is popular as well. Aihatafal is a dinnertime dish prepared for special occasions, such as a wedding or holiday. The dish consists of chunks of goat, sheep, cow, or camel meat marinated in a spicy date paste and roasted in a special oven, which is a pit dug in the ground. This is usually a communal activity by an entire community or village. The meat is flavored with a variety of spices, then wrapped in sacks made of dry leaves, which are in turn placed into the oven. Samkat alrab is a dish consisting of a whole spit-roasted kingfish, later cooked with garlic, tomatoes, and onions and served with a side of lemon rice.
Dinner is the only meal that Abayadis are expected to eat with their families, with breakfast often eaten alone and lunch eaten at work or school. This makes it a time for families to enjoy one another's company and catch up with one another. Dinner is usually taken between 8:30pm and 10pm.
Dessert
Desert in Abayadi culture generally consists of baklava or small fried pies called majan, which contain dates or figs and nuts, commonly pistachios, almonds, or walnuts. Either are normally drizzled with honey or fruit syrup and powdered sugar. Deserts are normally after a normal meal, as well as being enjoyed with coffee or tea at baqiat, or for celebrating special occasions.
Beverages
Coffee/Tea
Coffee and Abayadi tea are the two primary non-water beverages enjoyed by the Abayadi. Coffee is prepared by putting water in a boiler, which then passes through coffee grounds and reaching the cup, often mixing spices in with their ground blends, and will put sugar or milk in with the final product. Coffee occupies an important place in Abayadi culture. A cup of coffee is often served along with a glass of water at mealtimes, as it is believed to aid in digestion. Additionally, in the early afternoon, Abayadis commonly take one or two cups of coffee with friends, family, or coworkers in a regular ritual called baqiat. Individuals will gather together and enjoy coffee for as little as thirty minutes or as long as a few hours, depending on the circumstances. Coffee houses pepper Abayadi towns and cities, so either these or an individual’s home are the most regular site for a baqiat.
Abayadi tea is a mixture of black tea, rosewater, lemon juice, and sugar, normally served cool or cold over ice. Some versions substitute the sugar for honey or fruit (primarily pomegranate) syrup, but sugar has become the most prevalent sweetener. Pine nuts are another occasional addition. Tea has been enjoyed by Abayadis for millenia, but generally took a back seat to coffee until the Second World War. When Auroran nations blockaded Abayad's ports for providing aid to Zhenia, Abayad's regular shipments of coffee were interrupted. This forced many to drink tea instead, as it was easily grown in Abayad. This is when what is presently thought of as "Abayadi Tea" came into being, as before it had generally just been black tea with sugar.
Due to the large time span between lunch and dinner, an afternoon snack, baqiat, equivalent to afternoon tea, may take place at about 6pm. At baqiat, people would typically drink coffee, and enjoy a light tabaq.
Alcohol
Abayad produces among the largest amounts of wine in the world, also being among the largest consumers of wine. Indeed, the wine distilled into spirits in Abayad exceeds the production of wine in the entirety of the New World. There are twenty separate wine regions. Those vineyards producing great wines often prefer to bottle it in jugs rather than glass bottles, giving the country's finest wines a rustic look. In Abayad wine is commonly consumed (alongside water) after dinnertime meals, which are rarely served without it, though it is extremely uncommon for meals to be served with any other drink, alcoholic, or otherwise.
Abayad hosts a wide variety of different beers, which technically predates wine in its consumption in the region. Beer is not as popular and widespread as wine (even though this is changing as beer becomes increasingly popular), however, and average beer consumption is less than in some other neighboring nations. Among many popular brands, the most notable Italian breweries are Hamed and Fuzzi. Beer is often drunk in the late afternoon between lunch and dinner, and the northwest is the area where beer is made and consumed the most.
There are also several other popular alcoholic drinks in Abayad. Hadimtat is a traditional lemon liqueur from southern Abayad. Made from lemon, it is an extremely strong drink which is usually consumed in very small proportions, served chilled in small glasses or cups. Maris are common southern digestifs, made with herbs, which are usually drunk after heavy meals. Alshajar, an herbal distillate made from the berries and leaves of the myrtle bush, is popular in the coastal southwest. Another well-known digestif is lahamid from Alkhadim. Alenuab is a grape-based brandy and the typical alcoholic drink of northern Abayad, generally associated with the culture of the Bula Mountains and of the and Ishraq and Sakil Valleys. The most famous alenuabs are distilled in the Ishraq River Valley.
Meal Etiquette
In Abayad, it is common for people to take their food from a communal plate in the center of the table rather than being served individual plates or dishes. Rather than employing forks or spoons, people traditionally dine without utensils; they scoop up food with their thumb and two fingers or pita bread. In some parts of Abayad, the left hand is considered unclean. This however is changing now with utensils being widely used for dining. Even left-handed people eat only with the right hand. A common exception is that the left hand may be used to hold a drinking glass when eating greasy food with the right. It is proper etiquette to compliment the host on the food and their hospitality, as well as to bring a small gift (such as a box of sweets, pastries, fruit, or a bottle of wine) if one is dining there for the first time. Similarly, it is important to try every plate on the table. If a guest does not leave food on his plate, the host generally fills it immediately. Abayadi culture places emphasis on enjoying meals other than breakfast with family and friends.
When entertaining dinner guests at home, it is seen as discourteous to one's guests to serve the sufficient amount of food for all guests, lest one appears miserly. For this reason, food is always prepared lavishly and in large quantities. Leftover food is saved an enjoyed by the host later. An important Abayadi concept that applies to food and also extends to other areas of daily life is the practice of "emma"; this is an exercise of self-restraint, whereby if one is offered any food or drink, they will initially politely decline, regardless of how hungry or thirsty they might be. Once the host has insisted and offered repeatedly, they will help themselves. No food and drink is to be accepted upon the first time of being offered it, lest one appears greedy. Other important etiquette tips to remember include:
- Do not begin to eat or drink until the oldest person at the table has been served and has begun. You may want to ask your host when it is appropriate to begin.
- The host sits at the head of the table, with the honored guest seated next to the host. In addition, the honored guest sits on the side of the table farthest from the door.
- Your host will often lay the tastiest morsels in front of you, such as the eye of a sheep or goat; it’s polite to accept them.
- Abayadis have no reservations on discussing politics or religion at the dinner table, but an old custom states that anyone who sings at the table must clean the dishes afterward. Foreigners unfamiliar with this role are normally excused, at least upon the first offense.
- In restaurants, you often order each dish as you want it, so that they are not ordered all at once at the beginning of the meal. In informal restaurants, you may be required to share a table. If so, do not force conversation: act as if you are seated at a private table. Waitstaff may be summoned by making eye contact; waving or calling their names is very impolite. Water, and other drinks, may not be served until after the meal is over, as some believe that drinking while eating is not healthy.
- At the end of the meal, it is appropriate to thank the host or hostess for a wonderful meal.
Jadid
During the leap month of Jadid, food consumption increases dramatically throughout religious Abayadi communities. Breaking the fast becomes a banquet, with exchanges of invitations between kin and friends, and public banquets held by charities and associations. Cafes and pastry shops are open at night, and a carnival atmosphere prevails in the streets. Many devout, following the reported example of Saint Abdul, break their fast with a date, followed by a variety of dishes. Sweet pastries and puddings are always present on Jadid nights everywhere. The end of Jadid is marked by a festival, Jadidir, a feast that breaks the fast, during which a great quantity and variety of sweets and pastries are consumed. At this time an animal, usually a sheep or a goat, is slaughtered in every household that can afford it, and great banquets are prepared, with an obligation to give food to the poor.
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