One of the Oldest Known Culinary Recipes

The following is recipe for “Tuh’u” comes from a clay tablet kept in the Yale Babylonian Collection. It is no later than about 1730 bc. English system proportions and instructions are provided by Dr. Klaus Wagensonner, who specializes in Sumerian literature and early lexicography in Mesopotamia. The recipe has been kitchen tested, and scales well if you need a larger batch to serve at your next dinner party. Don't use IPA for the beer.

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Tuh’u Recipe

1 pound of diced leg of mutton
½ cup of rendered sheep fat
½ teaspoon of salt
1 cup of beer
½ cup of water
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup of chopped arugula
1 cup of chopped Persian shallot
½ cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 pound of fresh red beets, peeled and diced
½ cup of chopped leek
2 cloves of garlic

For the garnish:

2 teaspoons of dry coriander seeds
½ cup of finely chopped cilantro
½ cup of finely chopped kurrat

The instructions are:

Heat the fat in a pot wide enough for the diced lamb to spread in one layer. Add lamb and sear on high heat until all moisture evaporates. Fold in the onion, and keep cooking until it is almost transparent. Fold in red beet, arugula, cilantro, Persian shallot, and cumin.

Keep on folding until the moisture evaporates and ingredients emit a pleasant aroma. Pour in the beer. Add water. Give the pot a light stir. Bring the pot to a boil. Reduce heat and add leek and garlic that you crush in a mortar. Let the stew simmer until the sauce thickens after about an hour. Chop kurrat and fresh cilantro and pound them into a paste using a mortar. Ladle the stew into plates and sprinkle with dried and coarsely crushed coriander seeds and the finely chopped kurrat and cilantro. The dish can be served with steamed bulgur, boiled chickpeas, and naan bread.

You may have to substitute lamb for mutton and chives for kurrat

This and other 4,000 year old recipes can be found in Lapham's Quarterly, " The Ancient Mesopotamian Tablet as Cookbook" https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/ancient-mesopotamian-tablet-cookbook

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