In the Chronicles life in Tashbaan is presented as one of decadent, ostentatious luxury. That would include the foods on which the nobles dined.
Lewis doesn’t mention which foods, with the exception of garlic and the cool sherbet Aravis and Shasta dream about when crossing the Great Desert. But we can infer from descriptions of real-life Turkish and Ottoman banquets and what ingredients were generally available in the Middle East. Mashing all these up, I came up with something unique.
(I figured many of these dishes would have elaborate names, Chinese court style.)
Foods served at Calormene Banquets
| The Tisroc’s Moonbread: A pocket bread made with exceptionally white, fine-ground flour and egg whites said to resemble a full, rising moon when cooked.
Serpent Jelly: Like the English dish jellied eels, but dyed bright green and served in small bowls with green crushed pistachios on top. (Eels are rare in Calormen and a luxury item.) Salanika: Any kind of fish stuffed with sweet dates and tangy blue cheese. Jewelbox of the Sea: A stew of small mussels, clams, and oysters in a citrus and mint based sauce. Black wine: No one knows the recipe for the alcoholic drink, but it is very black, tastes strongly of sweet grapes, and is highly alcoholic. Four Slave Treasure: Called so because the dish was so huge four slaves were required to carry it out on a platter. It consisted of a pigeon stuffed with anchovies sewn inside a duck, which was then used to stuff a large hen, then a small, suckling pig, then a kid, and finally a calf, all roasted slowly and basted with exotic spices including cinnamon. So elaborate it was served only at the most special of occasions, like nobles’ weddings, the Autumn Feast, and the like. Towers of Sunrise: Stacks of thin-sliced, slow-roasted lamb meat served on a vertical skewer, drizzled with a pomegranate glaze. Named for its rosy pink color. The meat is shaved off and served inside moonbread with spiced chickpeas. Royal Kebabs: Skewers loaded with marinated chunks of lamb’s heart, cooked over a smoky charcoal grill. Game-playing Beans: Boiled white and black beans arranged in a checkerboard pattern on a large, flat platter, topped with chopped parsley and nisa-nisa (see below.) Tastyhearts: A type of pancake made with chickpea flour and soft farmer’s cheese, served with honey and molasses. Lovers in the Blankets: Eggplant puree served over the largest of hen eggs, which were soft-boiled and halved and placed yolk-side down. Orange rice: A pilaf-like dish made of yellow rice suffused with orangewater. It was cooked with dried chopped fruits and nuts and slivers of quail meat. Nisa-nisa: Chopped walnuts sautéed in butter, used as a topping for vegetable dishes. Pearls of the Phoenix: Hollowed pomegranate shells filled with a crème of goat milk, saffron and honey. (This is a figurative name only; Calormenes really don’t believe in phoenixes.) Marzipan flowers: Almond paste shaped and colored to look like exotic blossoms. Tashbaan sherbet: No one makes sherbet like the Tashbaani confectioners. The ice comes from the Western mountains, packed in deep layers of hay to keep it cool on its trip downriver. Some flavors are rosewater, lemon, violet, honey, mango, melon, and lavender. |
