This is an abbreviated version of the award-winning and highly acclaimed second edition published in 2013, beautifully illustrated throughout, and displays the diversity of the region's traditional culinary practices, delicious and enduring. This edition contains 300 of the original 400 recipes, all tested and easy to follow, and covers all food categories. Ingredients and cooking techniques indigenous to the region are fully explained, with practical ways for making them in the convenience of our modern kitchens, such as baking the Iraqi flat tannour bread and sammoun, and grilling fish masgouf way. Unlike the majority of cookbooks, this book uniquely traces the genesis and development of the Iraqi cuisine over the centuries, starting with the ancient Mesopotamians, through medieval times and leading to the present, aided throughout by the author's intimate native knowledge of cookery. Of particular interest are the book's numerous food-related folkloric stories, reminiscences, anecdotes, songs, poems, excerpts from narratives written by foreign visitors to the region, and cultural explications of customs, all interwoven with the recipes. The book's comprehensive glossary helps familiarize the reader with the indigenous ingredients used in creating authentic Iraqi meals, with substitutes suggested without compromising taste or tradition. This book is a valuable addition to the shelves of specialized and general libraries alike, and a must-have for food lovers everywhere.
Nawal Nasrallah, a native of Iraq, is an award-winning researcher and food writer. Her English translation of Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's tenth-century Baghdadi cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh, entitled Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens was awarded "Best Translation" in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2007. Her recipes have been featured in many magazines and newspapers, such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Food and Wine. Her most recent books are Dates: A Global History (Reaktion, 2011) and Delights from the Garden of Eden, Second Edition (Equinox, 2013).
SAVEUR magazine chooses it as one of top 10 cookbooks for the year 2013. "It's an extraordinary work of food writing and research, and I confess that it made me realize how little I know about Middle Eastern cuisine." - Kathleen Flinn, Washington Independent Review of Books "Ms. Nasrallah has done for Iraqi cuisine what Julia Childs did for French cooking, but to the nth degree. Immerse yourself with endless plates full of delicious food and stories of a land and its people so rich with history it will astound you. A delight indeed." - The Kitchen Journals "The book, its illustrations, photographs and design, is generous and thoughtful and guides your historical journey through Ms. Nasrallah's personal lens - Eden itself as a metaphor of pleasure and poetry." - Rozanne Gold, Huffington Post "Humorous, insightful and a pleasure to read. Highly recommended" - Paula Wolfert "This cookbook is more than an introduction to Iraqi cuisine. It is in fact an introduction to Arab cooking in general, researched with the kind of depth not seen before in a cookbook of the Arab world and Middle East." - Clifford Wright "A splendid achievement. the author has done readers, cooks and noncooks alike, a great service in producing such an impressive book. Each page shows erudition, every recipe a passion for food." - Eamonn Gearon, Times Literary Supplement "A flavor-filled book chock-full of history." - Vered Guttman, Haaretz "It's easy to see that the author has tested and cooked every recipe herself. Tips and hints are attached to the recipes that can only have come from her kitchen experience.... this cookbook will keep the creative cook busy for at least a year, if he or she chooses to cook everything in it." - Miriam Kresh, Green Prophet "A monument to energy, knowledge and enthusiasm. It is an account of origins and development as well as of the complex ethnic make-up of present-day Iraq." - Tom Jaine, Petits Propos Culinaires "A fine introduction to the history and diversity of Iraqi cuisine. Lavishly illustrated, supremely informative, and deeply personal, Nasrallah's publication is far more than an average cookbook or culinary history; instead, it's an adventurous exploration of Iraq's colorful past through food history." - James Blake Wiener, Ancient History Encyclopedia "Already respected among food historians for her translation of the 10th-century Baghdadi cookbook Annals of the Caliph's Kitchen, Nasrallah is sure to gain more acclaim with this significant contribution to the culinary history of the Middle East." - Tom Verde, Aramco World "For curious and adventurous cooks, it has enough to inspire our meals for years to come." - The Kitchen

Nawal Nasrallah