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Tuh’u (Mesopotamian Lamb and Beetroot Stew)

Tuh’u (Mesopotamian Lamb and Beetroot Stew) is a reconstructed traditional Ancient Mesopotamian recipe for stew of lamb and leeks cooked in milk and thickened with barley cakes. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Mesopotamian version of: Mesopotamian Lamb and Beetroot Stew (Tuh’u).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

80 minutes

Total Time:

100 minutes

Serves:

6

Rating:

Tags : Spice RecipesHerb RecipesLamb RecipesVegetable RecipesMesopotamia Recipes

This is one of the oldest written recipe that I've ever seen or attempted. It's recorded on one of the Yale Mesopotamian Tablets. These represent records of humanity's oldest recipes and almost all the ingredients are fairly readily available today. Three of the four tablets in the collection date to the Old Babylonian period, no later than about 1730 BCE. The tablets all list recipes that include instructions on how to prepare them.

The first recipe I'm presenting is for tuh-u (which is a stew of lamb and beetroot [though the actual Babylonian name has no translation]) a lamb stew made with fat-failed sheep, a breed that is still common in Arabia and North Africa. The fat from these animals' tails is prized even today, as it tends to be less greasy than most other animal fat. I was really lucky when I prepared this to be living in South Africa, where fat-tailed sheep are raised for the local and the Arabic markets.

The recipe is made with beer, probably made with open fermented barley mash (note there were no hops in ancient Babylon, so no bittering agents). Unless you brew your own (which I did) something like a blend of diluted wine vinegar and German weißbier would be acceptable to use.

Note that the kurrat referred to in the recipe is Egyptian leek or salad leek (Allium porrum var. aegyptiacum) this variety has small bulbs, and primarily the leaves are eaten. Substitute baby or salad leeks.

Original Recipe

Here is the text transliterated to the Roman alphabet:
tu-uh₂-u₂ ši-rumsa₃-qum iz-za-az me-e tu-ka-an li-pi-a ta-na-di tu-ša-am-ma-a瞉 瞉a-ba-tum ši-ja-ra SUM-SIKIL^sar e-ge-ge-rum ŠE.LU₂ sa₃-mi-du U₂.DIN.TIR a-lu-tum tu-ka-ma-as-ma [kar₃]-šum ha-za-nu-um [te-瞉e-er-ri] ŠE.LU₂ i-na mu-uh-hi ši-ip-ki tu-ša-pa₂-ah ZA-HA-TIN[^sar] ŠE.LU₂^sar i-ša-ru-tu [ta-na-di] tuh'u šīrum sāqum izzaz mê tukân lipia tanaddi tušamma瞉 瞉ābātum šikara šusikillum egengerum kişibirrum samīdu kamūnum alūtum tukammas-ma karšum hazannum te瞉erri kişibirrum išarūtu tanaddi

In translation:
Tuh'u. Leg meat is used. You prepare water. You add fat. You sear. You fold in salt, beer, onion, rocket, coriander leaves, Persian shallot, cumin and beetroot, and [you crush] leek and garlic. You sprinkle ground coriander seeds on top. [You add ] kurrat and fresh coriander leaves.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

500g leg of mutton (or lamb), diced
120g (1/2 cup) rendered sheep fat
1 small onion, chopped
½ tsp salt
500g beetroot, peeled and diced
25g rocket, chopped
15g fresh coriander leaves, chopped
80g Persian shallot, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
250ml (1 cup) beer (a mix of sour beer or diluted wine vinegar and German Weißbier)
125ml water
80g leek, chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

For the garnish:
10g fresh coriander, finely chopped
80g kurrat (or spring leek), finely chopped
2 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed

Method:

Combine the leek and garlic for the stew in a mortar and pound to a paste.

Heat the rendered sheep fat in a pot wide enough for the diced meat to be spread in one layer. Add lamb and sear on high heat until all moisture evaporates (you will see the liquid come out of the meat).

Fold in the onion and keep cooking until it is almost transparent (about 5 minutes). Now mix in the in salt, beetroot, rocket, fresh coriander, Persian shallot and cumin. Keep on stirring the ingredients until the moisture evaporates.

At this point in beer, and then add water to just cover everything. Give the mixture a light stir and then bring to a boil. Reduce then heat and stir in the leek and garlic paste.

Return the stew to a simmer and allow to cook for about an hour until the ingredients are tender and the sauce thickens.

Pound kurrat and remaining fresh coriander into a paste using a mortar and pestle. Ladle the stew into bowls and sprinkle with coriander seeds and kurrat and fresh coriander paste.

To be authentic, the dish can be served with steamed bulgur wheat, boiled chickpeas and bread.