The Iraqi Cookbook

by Lamees Ibrahim, Terry McCormick (Photographer)

A cook’s tour that brings the richness of Mesopotamia’s culinary culture to the forefront The true richness of Iraqi culture has been hidden for many years, overshadowed by political conflict and war. Yet amid the destruction, Iraq’s culture―and not least its cuisine―has remained intact. The Iraqi Cookbook, the first of its kind to be published in North America, is full of authentic recipes that have been handed down through the generations, developed and enriched over time, and infused with cultures of different eras. The result is a rich mixture of history, health, culture, and storytelling. Throughout the book, Lamees Ibrahim emphasizes only those ingredients available to a Western reader, gives useful tips, and suggests appropriate alternatives where necessary. The detailed, easy-to-follow recipes are adorned with specially commissioned photography throughout, making The Iraqi Cookbook a feast for both the eyes and the diwan. In short, in this book of masterly recipes, and beautiful photographs, Lamees Ibrahim serves up a vision of Iraq and its cuisine that stays with you long after you've left the kitchen.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Nonfiction

312 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2009

Reviews

[Maysa · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME.

[Bahadir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ibrahim's recipes provide for a great, rich culinary service(s) at social gatherings and for the hunger and desire for something new that usually visits/installs itself when one is in a state of solitude.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on style and picture quality this book gets a five, based on recipe quality it would probably score a two. This is nearly straight food porn. Beautifully photographed, even though it's obvious what's being photographed doesn't match the ingredient list in the recipe. Then there are recipes that never tell you how to make the dish...they just ramble on and on about how wonderful it is to eat. I don't know what the hell was going on with this cookbook writer, but the editor should be massively ashamed.

[Was M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book, with the added addition of context to the dishes. Easy to follow recipes, loads of them! Beautiful style and photos. A long-awaited addition of Iraqi food to the cookbook scene.

[Nic]

I read this because I realized I didn’t know very many of Iraq’s cultural dishes. It was mostly out of curiosity, and I won’t be making anything from this one because it’s the type of cookbook I can’t stand. Sort of stories written in paragraphs instead of clear steps, when it’s a recipe I’m wholly unfamiliar with, I want precision, not cute anecdotes. The ingredients being listed like a sentence is also a pet peeve of mine.

Beautiful photos, and the explanation of dishes was lovely.

[Everyones Poet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the personal touch and historical anecdotes included in this recipe book. The real thing - with pictures!

[Cottage & Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The style and organization of this book are beautiful and the photographer did an amazing job with the food photography. The target audience for this book is people of Arab descent, mostly those who grew up in Western countries with limited access to ingredients or recipes used in Iraqi cuisine. For this audience, who already have introduction to the food and cultures of the Middle East, I think this is a wonderful book and would rate it 5/5. I am however, not one of the target audience, and while I know this book was not written for me, I'm rating it 4/5 due to my own experience reading it. I found the recipes and dishes featured difficult to picture and had a hard time understanding what the dishes were supposed to be like. Obviously, this wouldn't be a problem for people from the Middle East and those of Arab descent, who grew up with these dishes. However, I do think the book would benefit from more pictures and the inclusion of detailed explanations and descriptions of each dish.

[Amanda Dicicco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book looked interesting when I got it from the library. I’m glad that I got it. It took me a little longer to read because I got distracted with other books. But I’m glad that I finally sat down and finished jt.

[Dray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps i am too much a vegetarian or perhaps Iraq is not well suited to vegetarians. I found the recipes here a little dated (no pun intended).

[Vogue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book with lick-the-page photography and precious stories.

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Iraqi Cookbook is a lavishly illustrated and interesting cookbook. It's timing--originally published in 2009 and on a U.S. press--is great in so far as teaching a North American (esp. American) readership about aspects of a culture never covered on their evening news reports. That is not, however, the book's intended audience as specified by the author in his Introduction. Instead, he has written the book for Iraqis whose Arabic is weak so cannot make use of standard Middle Eastern cookbooks published in that language and/or for expatriate Iraqis who have left their native homeland over the course of the last 25 years or so. Thus, my comments are written from the vantage point of someone who is not the book's intended primary readership. None the less, I think I might speak (or type) for a market segment hungering for such a book as this.

In addition to the obvious recipes it contains, the book offers interesting kernels of insight in so far as how different culinary traditions have made their way into Iraqi culture and, therefore, the book's pages. The short glossary is a welcome, if brief, addition. The title block for each recipe identifies the name of the particular dish in English, Arabic, and Iraqi. In my estimation, a pronunciation guide to the Iraqi names would make a welcome addition in a future edition of this book--either right on the page following the name or, if overly intrusive, perhaps in a back-of-book index. As someone interested in preparing a good many of the recipes contained in this cookbook, the major drawback for me fell in the area of spices. That is, they are not explained thoroughly to someone unfamiliar with this body of fare, and some are not things readily available on my local grocery store shelves. Instructions such as "The peppermint powder is very important for this dish; it is available in most Arabic shops" (p. 38) is all well and good, but far more useful would have been instructions on what specific spices to locate and how to create the required blend (when appropriate, as is the case with something like a garam masala in Indian cooking, for instance) or even a website from which one might order reliably good spices such as this. Moreover, if one can simply take the dried mint he/she already has in his/her arsenal of spices and simply run it through the spice grinder until it assumes a powdery form, then why not simply say that? Far more problematic, however, is the inclusion of 1 T "mixed spices" in the Tatar qoulaghi [mini ravioli in yogurt sauce] recipe. The cooking instructions of "...add the salt and spices" (p. 243) are no more enlightening. Admittedly, it's only a tablespoon, but of what exactly?

Those two admittedly minor points aside, this is a beautiful book and a welcome addition to any cook's kitchen and family's dinner table.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book, and it was quite fun to browse through the pictures and recipes. I did feel like I understood something about Iraqi cuisine and the Iraqi palate. I think I would have been frustrated had I actually tried to cook from it, though. For example, there were frequent vague references to throwing some spices in, but not a lot of guidance to how much of each of the suggested spices. And though there were plenty of large pictures of the dishes, there were no smaller, instructive photos of ingredients, techniques, or what the dish should look like mid-preparation.

[Brook]

mmmmm....yummy

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find it fascinating to see what other cultures eat. Photography was gorgeous but would have to admit at the same time it didn't make me think I would find most of the food palatable.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recipes could use some more detail (ie. "add some spices"; "stir in enough water") - Er, say what? But it's authentic and a fun peek into Iraqi cuisine. Kubba kubba!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I'm not imagining properly, but it seems like these recipes would be lacklusterly spiceless?
But a gorgeous book at any rate.