Stew of Lamb (Me Puhadi)

Name: Stew of Lamb (Me Puhadi)
Yield: 6
Ingredients: Lamb, cut into chunks — 500 g (1.1 lb); Water — 1 L (4 cups); Rendered fat — 2 tbsp; Onion, chopped — 1; Garlic, crushed — 2 cloves; Salt — 1 pinch

The Quirky Foodster Team

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Servings

Ingredients

Lamb, cut into chunks — 500 g (1.1 lb)
Water — 1 L (4 cups)
Rendered fat — 2 tbsp
Onion, chopped — 1
Garlic, crushed — 2 cloves
Salt — 1 pinch

Method

Bring the water to a simmer in the pot and add the fat.
Add the lamb chunks and simmer for 45-60 minutes, until tender.
Add the chopped onion and crushed garlic partway through cooking, in the final 20 minutes, so they soften without overcooking.
Season with salt.
Serve hot.

Introduction: A meat-based broth of lamb simmered with fat and seasonings, one of the 21 meat stews recorded on the same oldest-known culinary tablet as the vegetarian ‘Unwinding’ recipe.

Cultural Background: This recipe is directly translated from tablet YBC 4644 in the Yale Babylonian Collection, the same Old Babylonian tablet (c. 1730 BCE) discussed in the ‘Unwinding’ recipe; the tablet records this dish as me puhadi (‘Stew of Lamb’), opening with the statement that meat is used, followed by instructions to prepare water and add fat, with the text becoming increasingly fragmentary regarding the remaining seasonings, which most likely followed the same general onion-leek-garlic-herb pattern seen in the tablet’s better-preserved recipes.

Tips: – The tablet’s text becomes fragmentary after its opening lines, so the onion, garlic and general seasoning approach here is drawn from the more completely preserved recipes on the same tablet rather than from this specific entry’s own damaged text. – Simmer the lamb gently rather than at a hard boil for the most tender result.

Variations: – Goat can be substituted for lamb, as both were common Mesopotamian meats attested in the same tablet collection. – Additional herbs such as coriander can be added, following the pattern of the tablet’s better-preserved recipes.

Storage: Refrigerate covered for up to 3 days.

Reheating: Reheat gently in a pot over low heat with a splash of water for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Nutrition: Per serving (approx.): 280 kcal, 26 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 17 g fat.

FAQs:

Q: Is the full original recipe text preserved?

A: No tablet from this collection survives complete; this particular recipe’s text becomes fragmentary after its opening lines, so the fuller seasoning method here is reasonably inferred from the tablet’s better-preserved recipes rather than fully attested for this specific entry.

Q: Why is water and fat added first in this and similar recipes?

A: This appears to be a standard opening formula across several of the stews recorded on this tablet, suggesting a consistent base method for building the broth before other ingredients were added.