The Iraqi Cookbook
Lamees Ibrahim; photography by Terry McCormick

published 2009 • 7” x 10” • 312 pages • full-color photos
ISBN 9781566567480 • hardback • $35.00 • Read More

Excerpt from the Introduction:

      “My close relationship with Iraqi cooking began over a long summer vacation when I was just thirteen years old. My mother was unwell and bedridden for two weeks.  Normally, my childhood summers would have been spent reading or playing with my siblings. That summer, however, was different. I was left with the responsibility of looking after my mother and helping around the house. I enjoyed this newfound position of authority. In instructing my younger siblings on what they could and could not do, they found themselves facing more restrictions than usual!
       My father was a judge and he could not take any time off to look after my mother. One day, as he was leaving for work and my poor mother was lying in her bed, he asked me whether I would like to try cooking the family lunch that day. I jumped at the opportunity. He taught me in just a few words how to cook a pot of rice and a pot of stew. He told me something that I have never forgotten: “Anything that you feel is nice to cook will be nice to eat.”

Apricot Stew or Sweet and Sour Stew
(Tirshanaa or hamidh hulou)

Serves 4—6
1 lb lamb, cut into cubes
1 onion, chopped (optional)
8 oz dried apricots
8 oz prunes (optional)
½ tsp sugar
2 oz/ ½ cup sultanas
Mixed Spices
Black Pepper

Cooking time 30—40 minutes

Shallow fry the meat and chopped onion until brown. Add a pinch of mixed spices and a dash of black pepper.

Add a cup of water and simmer until meat is tender.

Add the apricots and prunes and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes, adding more water if necessary.

Dry roast the almonds until they are brown. Add the sultanas and cook together for a few minutes. Then add them to the apricot stew. Turn the heat off.

Serve with Basmati rice.

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