 MORE THAN MUTTON: Eid Al-Adha -- the Greater Eid -- is invariably associated with the slaughter of sheep. Yet despite the seeming preponderance of meat, the traditional dishes to appear on most Eid tables across the nation will be carbohydrate extravaganzas. Fatta -- rice, fried bread with a generous sprinkle of garlic fried in ghee and vinegar and then doused in broth -- is one Eid favourite. But the pièce de résistance is roqaq (being prepared left). Thicker-than-filo sheets of dough are alternated with ghee, minced meat and doused in broth before being baked. The recipe may sound easy but beware the cook untrained in the finer points of Eid cookery. They are guaranteed to get the dish too soggy or else too dry. Better by far to humbly defer to the family matriarch for the perfect dish. Roqaq also symbolises Egypt's very own brand of national unity. Coptic Christians -- the only Christians to call Easter the Greater Eid -- also serve roqaq on that occasion. photo: Mohamed Wassim parent page (20 - 26 January 2005, issue #726) |