Sparrows' Heads in 

Pomegranate-Walnut Sauce

Rummaniyya b'ras il-'Asfour

رمانية براس العصفور

Typical Iraqi spicy and aromatic small meatballs called ras il-'asfour (sparrows' heads), simmered in delectable pomegranate sauce.

In Iraq and Iran today similar dishes are more generally known by the Iranian name fasanjoun (فسنجون) and fasanjaan (فسنجان). The earliest record of a dish by this name is found in 19th-century court chef Mīrzā ʿAlī-Akbar Khan Āšpazbāšī’s Persian cookbook Sofra-ye aṭʿema, where ten varieties of what was called fasūjan are given (see Encyclopedia Iranica).

The dish is claimed to be ancient in origin going back to the era of the Persian Empire, but this is still unsupported by evidence. It is also still unknown how it acquired its name. However, it seems to me that it might have been associated with a Persian city in the mountainous central region. Its name is Fesenjan (فسنجان), mentioned in several medieval documents, such as Mu'jam al-Buldan (معجم البلدان) by 12th-century geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi (1977 ed., vol. 4, p. 266)                                       

Names aside, the dish itself -- meat of some sort simmered in sweet and sour pomegranate sauce and thickened with crushed nuts -- was a well-established way of cooking in the medieval Muslim world. It was known as rummaniyya, after the fruit rumman (pomegranate), and we are fortunate to have a variety of recipes for this dish, included in the extant medieval Arabic cookbooks from Baghdad and Egypt.

Here is a recipe I found in one of the copies of al-Baghdadi's 13th-century Kitab al-Tabeekh (British Library Manuscript, fol. 16r, see image below, this same recipe is also featured in the anonymous 14th-century cookbook Kanz al-Fawa'id, recipe no. 10 in my English translation Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table):

Rummāniyya Mukhaththara (thickened pomegranate stew):

Cut pieces of meat are added to the pot with water. When the pot comes to a boil, the scum is removed, and cassia, mastic, ginger, and some sesame oil (shayraj) are thrown into the pot. Meatballs of pounded meat, made as small as hazelnuts, are added as well. Use a small amount of liquid so that when it is all done nothing remains but a little bit of a nice rich sauce.

Next, sour pomegranate juice, which has been balanced with rose petal jam made with sugar, is added to the pot along with some mint leaves. Pistachios are pounded to thicken the sauce, and a bit of saffron is added for color. The pot is sprinkled with a small amount of rosewater before it is removed from the fire.

The small meatballs used in the recipe above were commonly known as bunduqiyyat (i.e. small and rounded like hazelnuts). It is interesting to see how these small medieval meatballs found their way westwards to Spain and later to Mexico and South America, where they retained their original name-- Spanish albondiga. In the Middle East today, however, they are generally known as kufta/kefta/kafta, and in Iraq, we call them sparrows' heads (ras il-'asfour). Interesting how things might change and yet do not change!

Here is a modernized version of the dish, I only use meatballs in making it, and add the cut onion:    

RUMMANIYYA MUKHATHTHARA

(Based on the 13^th-century Baghdadi cookbook Kitāb al-Ṭabīkh)

Makes 6-8 servings

¼ cup sesame oil (or canola)

1 onion, medium, diced

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon crushed mastic

½ teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon salt

 For the meatballs (bunduqiyyāt):

1 pound ground lean meat

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

½ cup chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon crushed coriander

½ teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon murrī (may use soy sauce)

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon cinnamon

 For the pomegranate sauce:

2 tablespoons pomegranate syrup diluted in ¼ cup water

¼ cup rose petal jam

2 fresh mint sprigs

½ cup ground pistachios

A pinch of saffron

Rosewater, for sprinkling

………………………………

1. Fry the onion in oil until transparent, and stir in rest of the spices and herbs. Add 2 cups hot water and let it boil.

2. Prepare the meatballs: In a food processor, put the meatball ingredients and grind the mix into a paste. Form into small balls (like hazelnuts buduq, the amount will make about 45 meatballs). Add the meatballs to the cooking liquid and carefully stir the pot. Let them cook gently until done and only a small amount of the liquid is left.

3. Prepare the pomegranate sauce by mixing all its ingredients. Add it to the pot and let it simmer until the sauce nicely thickens.

4. Sprinkle the top of the pot with a small amount of rosewater and serve it hot with bread or rice.

..............................................................................................

Rummaniyya, in one of its medieval versions, survived in the Levantine cuisine, especially in Palestine, cooked with eggplant, instead of nuts, thickened with a bit of tahini.

Here is my recipe: (Makes 4 servings)

(Winner of the Guardian's Readers' Recipe Swap: Meatballs)

  

For the sparrows' heads (meatballs):

8 ounces of ground lean meat
1 small onion, grated
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
¼ teaspoon each, allspice, ginger powder, curry powder, chili powder
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 cup toasted walnuts, pulverized in a food processor until oily
3 cups water
¼ cup pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon crushed cardamom
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder

12 ounces diced potatoes, lightly browned in some oil or brushed with oil and baked or broiled

1. To make meatballs: Combine all the meatball ingredients and knead lightly. With wet fingers, form it into small balls (as small as sparrows' heads). Shallow-fry them, or arrange them in one layer on a greased baking sheet, and broil or bake them in a preheated oven at 400°F. Turn pieces to brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Set aside. 

2. In a medium pot, fry the onion in oil until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add turmeric and pulverized walnuts and stir for about a minute. Add the meatballs, as well as the rest of the sauce ingredients. Stir the pot gently, bring it to a quick boil, and then reduce heat, and let it simmer gently for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce is nicely thickened.

3. Ladle it into a deepish plate and garnish with chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds when in season; otherwise, chopped red pepper will be equally nice.

Scrumptious served with white rice.

Pomegranate Sherbet

Sherbet Rumman شربت رمان

&

A Song to an Unhappy Little Girl from Basra: 

Hey Ho, my Little Pomegranate! Hey Ho my Darling

'Hela Ya Rummana, Hela Yumma'

هيلا يا رمانة هيلا يمة

'Tis the season for pomegranate, so enjoy its fresh addictive succulent crunchiness while you may.

Pomegranate tree, 13th-century folio, 'Aja'ib al-Makhluqat
by al-Qazwini.
W. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian  

A lot of praise has been heaped on pomegranate in the West of late, touting it as an almost miracle food. But in the Middle East its virtues, both nutritional and symbolic, were acknowledged from ancient times. Read here, for instance, for more.

Thrice mentioned in the Qur'an, pomegranate is believed to have been grown in the gardens of Paradise. According to the Islamic lore, when the Prophet was asked about it, he said, "There is no pomegranate which has not within it a seed of the pomegranate of Paradise."

Assyrian cylinder seal showing the Tree of Life, which appears to be a pomegranate tree. Link   

Ancient Sumerian plaque featuring a dates and pomegranates, both symbols of fecundity (Iraq Museum)  

From ancient times, people in the Middle East have been preserving pomegranate to use when not in season. The seeds were dried whole and stored. For cooking purposes, the juice is cooked down to rubb (رُبّ), called molasses or syrup in English. A recipe from 10th-century Baghdadi cookbook by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq describes how to make it:

Choose ripe sweet-and-sour pomegranate with red seeds. Extract and strain the juice and put it in a clean soapstone pot. Boil it on slow fire until it is reduced to a third of its original amount then strain it and store it in glass jars. (my translation, Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens, p. 490)

However, to enjoy it as a sweet refreshing drink, called sherbet in Iraq, pomegranate juice is usually preserved as a syrup, to be diluted with chilled water whenever needed.

This sherbet is not to be confused with the Western ice cream 'sherbet', although basically the latter did originate from this Middle Eastern drink (see for instance Jeri Quinzio's Of Sugar and Snow: A History of Ice Cream Making, pp. 6-7). Back in medieval times, such sweet chilled drinks were served at the end of the meal as they were believed to aid digestion.

Syrup for Pomegranate Sherbet  شربت رمّان

Sherbet Rumman

In Iraqi this is how the syrup is traditionally prepared. It is usually diluted with chilled water and some ice cubes, but using plain soda would be nice, too. The syrup is not cooked down like the molasses, which helps preserve the fresh delicate taste of the pomegranate.        

2 cups pomegranate juice

3 cups granulated sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

Use a juicer to extract the juice from pomegranate seeds (discard rind and membranes before juicing, to prevent the drink from getting bitter and acrid).

Gradually stir in sugar into the juice, and let it dissolve completely. Then add lemon juice and mix well. Bottle the syrup and seal it with wax, or just keep it in the refrigerator.

To serve, dilute the required amount with cold water, along with ice cubes or crushed ice.

Extracting pomegranate juice in the old days of Baghdad

A Song to an Unhappy Little Girl from Basra:

Hey Ho, my Little Pomegranate! Hey Ho my Darling

'Hela Ya Rummana, Hela Yumma'
هيلا يا رمانة هيلا يمة

Pomegranate is mentioned in many Iraqi folk-songs. Check out, for instance, this coyish one:

When pomegranates hovered around me,

Lemons came to my rescue.

O that sweet one, I do not want him.

Take me back home.  

Amorous depiction of the pomegranate in songs is an age-old tradition in the Middle East. Listen, for instance to one of the Songs of Solomon (7:12):     

Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, 

If their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom.

There I will give you my love.

But pomegranate is also used as a term of endearment, as in this charming children's song, which highlights the precious love a father has for his daughter. Its origin is the southern port city of Basra, where the medieval Arabian Nights's famous seafarer Sindbad used to embark on his fascinating voyages. The Arab sailors' 'Hela' is the equivalent of the English sailors' 'Hey Ho'.    

Hey Ho, my little pomegranate!

    Hey Ho my darling.

Who is the unhappy one here?

    Hey Ho my darling.

Our pretty little girl is the unhappy one here.

    Hey Ho my darling.

And who is to make her happy again?

    Hey Ho my darling.

Her father will make her happy again.

    Hey Ho my darling.

He is the one who made her gold earrings.

    Hey Ho my darling.

And a ring and a necklace.

    Hey Ho my darling.

هيلا يارمّانة               هيلا يمّة

من هيّة الزعلانة؟        هيلا يمّة

الحلوة الزعلانة           هيلا يمّة

منهو اللي يراضيها؟     هيلا يمّة

أبوها يراضيها            هيلا يمّة

صايغ تراجيها            هيلا يمّة

محبس وكردانا           هيلا يمّة

I have a fried who, in celebration of her birthday asked for a song, just a song. My husband and I sang for her a traditional Iraqi song, a favorite of ours, but now I think I really should have chosen this one for her.

She once reminisced to us how when just a little girl, she used to slice canned pitted olives and wear them as rings on her tiny little fingers. Then she would proceed on nibbling at them one after the other until they were all gone. In my mind, she will for ever be that little girl.

So here's to you Michal!