ʾaruz muʿassal

Discussion

Sweets were enjoyed just as much in al-Andalus as they are today, as evidenced by the diversity, quantity, and complexity of recipes in our sources. ASA devotes an entire section, including 74 recipes, and FKH does the same with a further 25. These include candies, cookies, sweet pastries, and puddings of all kinds. However, among these many recipes, very few include rice. Al-Tujibi tells us, and al-Rundi confirms, that rice was grown and eaten abundantly along the southeastern coast of al-Andalus, especially in Balansiya (Valencia) but had to be imported to the rest of the region, making it a valued commodity and luxury food seen to have many health benefits. Because of this luxury in-context, coupled with rice’s popularity and abundance in modern times, and the unique cooking method that speaks to modern techniques, I find it a perfect dish to include in this menu.

Both of our main sources contain a recipe for this dish, and the cooking methods are similar, though I favored FKH in developing this. Both recipes instruct us to wash the rice, one through soaking, the other through repeated rinsing. We then cook the rice in milk, slowly, adding it only as needed to continue cooking. We do not know with certainty what kind(s) of rice were used to make this dish, but short-grain rice was available, and this method immediately speaks to how risotto is still made today. Stirring constantly but gently while adding just enough liquid to continue creates an incredibly creamy pudding texture while displaying the cook’s skill and patience.

The ASA recipe calls for cooking the honey with the rice, while the FKH recipe says to put a bowlful of honey in the middle while serving it. One recipe suggests making an impression in the pudding in the bowl which is filled with butter and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, while the other calls only for sugar, optionally. In either case, we end up with a bowl of thick, delicious rice pudding with an indentation in the middle full of something delicious. FKH’s recipe is much more detailed, giving us two significant additional pieces. One, he provides a specific ratio of milk to rice – 6:1 by weight – a bit beyond but not dissimilar to the 4:1 ratio used in modern risotto. He tells us that sheep’s milk is best, followed by cow’s, and lastly goat’s. He also specifically says to enjoy it with long boxwood spoons. This tells us it must be thin enough to require that, which we can see from the higher proportion of milk, and also that this is a special dish to where most are eaten with the hands.

If we accept that the cooking method described indicates the use of a short grain rice, which I believe it does, then Arborio rice is our most accessible modern equivalent. The differences among rice varieties are more in textural and chemical behavior than in flavor, so I believe the end result gives the best indication of which kind to use. Longer grained rice would become broken and may even produce a gritty result. There is no reason to believe that was desired, and that supported by the existence of recipes for broken rice and what seem to be longer grained rice within the same texts. Other than the choice of rice, the remaining ingredients and method are straightforward enough. We used cow’s milk because I wanted this dish to have universal appeal to the modern diner both for eating and preparing at home, and we used other types of milk in other dishes already, such as the sheep’s milk cheese Mujabbanat. I recommend serving it with the divot filled with melted butter, which is dramatic, but stirring it before consuming – unless you have a taste for spoonfuls of melted butter, in which case, proceed as you like.