1.
History of Djibouti
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Djibouti is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Somalia to the southeast, Eritrea and the Red Sea to the north and northeast, Ethiopia to the west and south, in antiquity, the territory was part of the Land of Punt. The Djibouti area, along with other localities in the Horn region, was later the seat of the medieval Adal, in the late 19th century, the colony of French Somaliland was established following treaties signed by the ruling Issa Somali and Afar Sultans with the French. It was subsequently renamed to the French Territory of the Afars, a decade later, the Djiboutian people voted for independence, officially marking the establishment of the Republic of Djibouti. The Djibouti area has been inhabited since at least the Neolithic, pottery predating the mid-2nd millennium has been found at Asa Koma, an inland lake area on the Gobaad Plain. The sites ware is characterized by punctate and incision geometric designs, long-horned humpless cattle bones have also been discovered at Asa Koma, suggesting that domesticated cattle was present by around 3,500 years ago. Rock art of what appear to be antelopes and a giraffe are found at Dorra. A team of archaeologists discovered funds stone houses, the walls of an edifice with orienteer recess to Mecca. They have also updated shards of ceramics, chipped stone tools, an old settlement, Handoga is the site of numerous ancient ruins and buildings, many of obscure origins. Including ceramic shards matching vases used brazier, or containers that can hold water, several choppers and microliths, blades, drills, trenchers basalt, a team of archaeologists discover an elephant date of 1.6 million years near the area. Also a pearl orange coralline, three glass paste, etc, between Djibouti City and Loyada are a number of anthropomorphic and phallic stelae. The structures are associated with graves of rectangular shape flanked by vertical slabs, the Djibouti-Loyada stelae are of uncertain age, and some of them are adorned with a T-shaped symbol. Together with northern Somalia, Eritrea and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, the old territorys first mention dates to the 25th century BC. The Puntites were a nation of people that had relations with Ancient Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure. They traded not only in their own produce of incense, ebony and short-horned cattle, according to the temple reliefs at Deir el-Bahari, the Land of Punt was ruled at that time by King Parahu and Queen Ati. Islam was introduced to the early on from the Arabian peninsula. Zeilas two-mihrab Masjid al-Qiblatayn dates to the 7th century, and is the oldest mosque in the city, in the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Horn seaboard. He also mentioned that the Adal kingdom had its capital in Zeila and this suggests that the Adal Sultanate with Zeila as its headquarters dates back to at least the 9th or 10th century
2.
Somalis
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Somalis are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family, ethnic Somalis number around 16-20 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. Expatriate Somalis are also found in parts of the Middle East, North America, Oceania, Samaale, the oldest common ancestor of several Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali. The name Somali is, in turn, held to be derived from the words soo and maal, another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic for wealthy, again referring to Somali riches in livestock. The first clear reference of the sobriquet Somali, however. Simur was also an ancient Harari alias for the Somali people, Ancient rock paintings, which date back 5000 years, have been found in the northern part of Somalia, these depict early life in the territory. In other places, such as the northern Dhambalin region, a depiction of a man on a horse is postulated as being one of the earliest known examples of a mounted huntsman. Inscriptions have been found many of the rock paintings. During the Stone age, the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here with their industries and factories. The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to 4th millennium BC. The stone implements from the Jalelo site in northern Somalia are said to be the most important link in evidence of the universality in palaeolithic times between the East and the West. In antiquity, the ancestors of the Somali people were an important link in the Horn of Africa connecting the regions commerce with the rest of the ancient world. According to most scholars, the ancient Land of Punt and its inhabitants formed part of the ethnogenesis of the Somali people, the ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut. The pyramidal structures, temples and ancient houses of dressed stone littered around Somalia are said to date from this period, the city of Mogadishu came to be known as the City of Islam, and controlled the East African gold trade for several centuries. The Sultanate of Ifat, led by the Walashma dynasty with its capital at Zeila, ruled parts of what is now eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti. The historian al-Umari records that Ifat was situated near the Red Sea coast and its army numbered 15,000 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. Al-Umari also credits Ifat with seven cities, Belqulzar, Kuljura, Shimi, Shewa, Adal, Jamme. The Harla, an early Hamitic group of tall stature who inhabited parts of Somalia, Tchertcher and other areas in the Horn and these masons are believed to have been ancestral to the Somalis
3.
Politics of Djibouti
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Politics of Djibouti takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic, whereby the executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament, the party system and parliament are dominated by the conservative Peoples Rally for Progress. In April 2010, a new constitution was approved. The president serves as the head of state, and is elected for single five-year terms. Government is headed by the minister, who is appointed by the president. There is also a 65-member chamber of deputies, where representatives are elected for terms of five years. Administratively, the country is divided into five regions and one city, Djibouti is also part of various international organizations, including the United Nations and Arab League. In 1958, on the eve of neighboring Somalias independence in 1960, the referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, partly due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans. There was also widespread vote rigging, with the French expelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached the polls. The majority of those who had voted no were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia as had proposed by Mahmoud Harbi. Harbi was killed in a crash two years later. In 1967, a plebiscite was held to determine the fate of the territory. Initial results supported a continued but looser relationship with France, however, the referendum was again marred by reports of vote rigging on the part of the French authorities. Shortly after the referendum was held, the former Côte française des Somalis was renamed to Territoire français des Afars et des Issas, in 1977, a third referendum took place. A landslide 98. 8% of the electorate supported disengagement from France, hassan Gouled Aptidon, a Somali politician who had campaigned for a yes vote in the referendum of 1958, eventually wound up as the nations first president. He was re-elected, unopposed, to a second 6-year term in April 1987, the electorate approved the current constitution in September 1992. Many laws and decrees from before independence remain in effect, in early 1992, the government decided to permit multiple party politics and agreed to the registration of four political parties. By the time of the assembly elections in December 1992
4.
Djibouti Armed Forces
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The Djibouti Armed Forces are the military forces of Djibouti. They consist of the Djibouti National Army and its sub-branches the Djibouti Air Force, as of 2013, the Djibouti Armed Forces consists of 16,000 ground troops, which are divided into several regiments and battalions garrisoned in various areas throughout the country. Djibouti Armed Forces are an important player in the Bab-el-Mandeb and Red Sea, in 2015 General Zakaria Chiek Imbrahim was chief detat-major general of the Forces Armees Djiboutiennes. He assumed command in November 2013, historically, Somali society accorded prestige to the warrior and rewarded military prowess. Except for a man of religion, and they were few in number, Djiboutis many Sultanates each maintained regular troops. In the early Middle Ages, the conquest of Shewa by the Ifat Sultanate ignited a rivalry for supremacy with the Solomonic Dynasty, many similar battles were fought between the succeeding Sultanate of Adal and the Solomonids, with both sides achieving victory and suffering defeat. However, both polities in the process exhausted their resources and manpower, which resulted in the contraction of both powers and changed regional dynamics for centuries to come, the Ogaden War was a conflict fought between the Ethiopian government and Somali government. The Djibouti government supported Somalia with military intelligence, in a notable illustration of the nature of Cold War alliances, the Soviet Union switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been backed by the United States. This in turn prompted the U. S. to later start supporting Somalia, the war ended when Somali forces retreated back across the border and a truce was declared. A radical group continued to fight the government, but signed its own treaty in 2001. The war ended in a government victory, and FRUD became a political party, Djibouti has fought in clashes against Eritrea over the Ras Doumeira peninsula, which both countries claim to be under their sovereignty. The first clash occurred in 1996 after a nearly two-months stand-off, in 1999, a political crisis occurred when both sides accused each other for supporting its enemies. In 2008, the countries clashed again when Djibouti refused to return Eritrean deserters, in the following battles, some 44 Djiboutian troops and some estimated 100 Eritreans were killed. In 2011, Djibouti troops also joined the African Union Mission to Somalia, as of 2013, the Djibouti Armed Forces are composed of three branches, the Djibouti National Army, which consists of the Coastal Navy, the Djiboutian Air Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The Army is by far the largest, followed by the Air Force, the Commander-in-Chief of the DJAF is the President of Djibouti and the Minister of Defence oversees the DJAF on a day-to-day basis. The Djiboutian Army is the largest branch of the Djibouti Armed Forces, Djibouti maintains a modest military force of approximately 25,500 troops, the army is made of 16,000 troops. The latter are divided into regiments and battalions garrisoned in various areas throughout the country. The Army has four military districts, the army has concentrated on mobility in its equipment purchases, suitable for patrol duties and counterattacks but ill-suited for armoured warfare
5.
Economy of Djibouti
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The economy of Djibouti is derived in large part from its strategic location on the Red Sea. Djibouti is mostly barren, with development in the agricultural and industrial sectors. The country has a climate, a largely unskilled labour force. The country’s most important economic asset is its strategic location connecting the Red Sea, as such, Djibouti’s economy is dominated by the services sector, providing services as both a transit port for the region and as an international transshipment and refueling centre. From 1991 to 1994, Djibouti experienced a war which had devastating effects on the economy. Since then, the country has benefited from political stability, in recent years, Djibouti has seen significant improvement in macroeconomic stability, with its annual gross domestic product improving at an average of over 3 percent since 2003. This comes after a decade of negative or low growth and this is attributed to fiscal adjustment measures aimed at improving public financing, as well as reforms in port management. Despite the recent modest and stable growth, Djibouti is faced with economic challenges, particularly job creation. With an average population growth rate of 2.5 percent. Unemployment is extremely high at over 43 percent and is a contributor to widespread poverty. Efforts are needed in creating conditions that will enhance private sector development and these conditions can be achieved through improvements in macroeconomic and fiscal framework, public administration, and labour market flexibility. Djibouti was ranked the 177th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings, Djibouti has experienced stable economic growth in recent years as a result of achievements in macroeconomic adjustment efforts. From 2003 to 2005, annual real GDP growth averaged 3.1 percent driven by performance in the services sector. Inflation has been low, due to the fixed peg of the Djibouti franc to the US dollar. However, as mentioned above, unemployment has remained high at over 40 percent in recent years, Djiboutis gross domestic product expanded by an average of more than 6 percent per year, from US$341 million in 1985 to US$1.5 billion in 2015. The government fiscal balance is in deficit because the government has not been able to raise sufficient tax revenues to cover expenses, in 2004, a substantial increase in expenditure resulted in a deterioration of the fiscal position. As a result, the government deficit increased to US$17 million in 2004 from US$7 million in 2003, but improvement in expenditure management brought down the fiscal deficit to US$11 million in 2005. Djibouti’s merchandise trade balance has shown a large deficit and this is due to the countrys enormous need for imports and narrow base of exports
6.
Somali cuisine
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Somali cuisine varies from region to region and is a fusion of different Somali culinary traditions, with some East African, Arab, Ethiopian, Yemeni, Turkish, Indian, and Italian influences. It is the product of Somalias tradition of trade and commerce, some notable Somali delicacies include sabayad, lahoh/injera, halva, sambuusa, basbousa, and ful medames. Breakfast is an important meal for Somalis, who start the day with some style of tea or coffee. The tea is often in the form of haleeb shai in the north, the main dish is typically a pancake-like bread similar to Ethiopian injera, but smaller and thinner. It might also be eaten with a stew or soup, canjeero is eaten in different ways. It may be broken into pieces with ghee and sugar. For children, it is mixed with tea and sesame oil until mushy. There may be a dish of liver, goat meat, diced beef cooked in a bed of soup, or jerky. Lahoh is a pancake-like bread originating in Somalia, Djibouti, and it is often eaten along with honey and ghee, and washed down with a cup of tea. During lunch, lahoh is sometimes consumed with curry, soup, sabayad or Kibis is another type of flatbread similar to injera/lahoh, as well as the desi paratha. Polenta or porridge with butter and sugar is eaten in the Mogadishu area, elsewhere in the south, such as in the Merca region, special bread known as rooti abuukey with tea is preferred. This is also known as muufo, and is cooked in a clay oven by sticking the mixture to the walls. Flatbread referred to as rooti is consumed in the north, nationally, a sweeter and greasy version of canjeero known as malawax is a staple of most home-cooked meals. Lunch is often a main dish of pasta or rice spiced with cumin, cardamom, cloves. The diffused use of pasta, such as spaghetti, comes from the Italians and it is frequently presented with a heavier stew than the Italian pasta sauce. As with the rice, it is served with a banana. Spaghetti can also be served with rice, forming a novelty dish referred to as Federation, the dish is usually served with equal portions of rice and spaghetti, split on either side of a large oval plate. It is then layered with assorted stewed meats and vegetables, served with salad and it has been suggested that the name of the dish is derived from the union of two dishes in Somalia and also from the size and quantity of the food
7.
French cuisine
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French cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from France. In the 14th century Guillaume Tirel, a chef known as Taillevent, wrote Le Viandier. During that time, French cuisine was influenced by Italian cuisine. Cheese and wine are a part of the cuisine. They play different roles regionally and nationally, with many variations, gastro-tourism and the Guide Michelin helped to acquaint people with the rich bourgeois and peasant cuisine of the French countryside starting in the 20th century. Gascon cuisine has also had influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated in variations across the country, knowledge of French cooking has contributed significantly to Western cuisines. Its criteria are used widely in Western cookery school boards and culinary education, in November 2010, French gastronomy was added by the UNESCO to its lists of the worlds intangible cultural heritage. In French medieval cuisine, banquets were common among the aristocracy, multiple courses would be prepared, but served in a style called service en confusion, or all at once. Food was generally eaten by hand, meats being sliced off in large pieces held between the thumb and two fingers, the sauces were highly seasoned and thick, and heavily flavored mustards were used. Meals often ended with an issue de table, which changed into the modern dessert. The ingredients of the time varied according to the seasons and the church calendar, and many items were preserved with salt, spices, honey. Late spring, summer, and autumn afforded abundance, while winter meals were more sparse, livestock were slaughtered at the beginning of winter. Beef was often salted, while pork was salted and smoked, bacon and sausages would be smoked in the chimney, while the tongue and hams were brined and dried. Cucumbers were brined as well, while greens would be packed in jars with salt, fruits, nuts and root vegetables would be boiled in honey for preservation. Whale, dolphin and porpoise were considered fish, so during Lent, artificial freshwater ponds held carp, pike, tench, bream, eel, and other fish. Poultry was kept in yards, with pigeon and squab being reserved for the elite. Game was highly prized, but very rare, and included venison, wild boar, hare, rabbit, kitchen gardens provided herbs, including some, such as tansy, rue, pennyroyal, and hyssop, which are rarely used today
8.
South Asian cuisine
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South Asian cuisine is the cuisine of South Asia, comprising the traditional cuisines from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Chapati, a type of bread from the former regions, is a common part of meals to be had in many parts of Indian subcontinent. Other staples from many of the cuisines include rice, roti made from atta flour, foods in this area of the world are flavoured with various types of chilli, black pepper, cloves, and other strong herbs and spices along with the flavoured butter ghee. Ginger is an ingredient that can be used in savory and sweet recipes in South Asian cuisine. Chopped ginger is fried with meat and pickled ginger is often an accompaniment to boiled rice, ginger juice and ginger boiled in syrup are used to make desserts. Turmeric and cumin are used to make curries. Common meats include lamb, goat, fish and chicken, beef is less common than in Western cuisines because cattle have a special place in Hinduism. Prohibitions against beef extend to the meat of buffalo and yaks to some extent, pork is considered as a taboo food item by all Muslims and is avoided by most Hindus, though it is commonly eaten in Goa, which has a notable Roman Catholic population from Portuguese rule. A variety of very sweet desserts which use dairy products is also found in South Asian cuisines, the main ingredients to South Asian desserts are reduced milk, ground almonds, lentil flour, ghee and sugar. Kheer is a dairy based rice pudding, a popular and common dessert, many of Indias foods go back as far as five thousand years. The Indus Valley peoples, who settled in what is now northern Pakistan, hunted turtles and they also collected wild grains, herbs and plants. Many foods and ingredients from the Indus period are common today. Some consist of wheat, barley, rice, tamarind, eggplant, the Indus Valley peoples cooked with oils, ginger, salt, green peppers, and turmeric root, which would be dried and ground into an orange powder. Indians have used leafy vegetables, lentils, and milk products such as yogurt and they also used spices such as cumin and coriander. Black pepper which is native to India was often used by 400 A. D, the Greeks brought saffron and the Chinese introduced tea. They also used water, cashews, raisins and almonds
9.
Indian cuisine
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Indian cuisine encompasses a wide variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Indian food is heavily influenced by religious and cultural choices. Also, Middle Eastern and Central Asian influences have occurred on North Indian cuisine from the years of Mughal rule, Indian cuisine is still evolving, as a result of the nations cultural interactions with other societies. Historical incidents such as invasions, trade relations, and colonialism have played a role in introducing certain foods to the country. For instance, the potato, a staple of the diet in some regions of India, was brought to India by the Portuguese, Indian cuisine has shaped the history of international relations, the spice trade between India and Europe was the primary catalyst for Europes Age of Discovery. Spices were bought from India and traded around Europe and Asia, Indian cuisine has influenced other cuisines across the world, especially those from the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, the British Isles, Fiji, and the Caribbean. Indian cuisine reflects an 8, 000-year history of groups and cultures interacting with the subcontinent, leading to diversity of flavours. Later, trade with British and Portuguese influence added to the already diverse Indian cuisine, early diet in India mainly consisted of legumes, vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy products, honey, and sometimes fish, eggs, and meat. Staple foods eaten today include a variety of lentils, whole-wheat flour, rice, and pearl millet, over time, segments of the population embraced vegetarianism during Śramaṇa movement while an equitable climate permitted a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains to be grown throughout the year. A food classification system that categorised any item as saatvic, raajsic, the Bhagavad Gita proscribes certain dietary practices. Consumption of beef is taboo, due to cows being considered sacred in Hinduism, beef is generally not eaten by Hindus in India except for Kerala and the north east. During the Middle Ages, several Indian dynasties were predominant, including the Gupta dynasty, travellers to India during this time introduced new cooking methods and products to the region, including tea. India was later invaded by tribes from Central Asian cultures, which led to the emergence of Mughlai cuisine, hallmarks include seasonings such as saffron. Staple foods of Indian cuisine include pearl millet, rice, whole-wheat flour, and a variety of lentils, such as masoor, toor, urad, lentils may be used whole, dehusked—for example, dhuli moong or dhuli urad—or split. Split lentils, or dal, are used extensively, some pulses, such as channa or cholae, rajma, and lobiya are very common, especially in the northern regions. Channa and moong are also processed into flour, many Indian dishes are cooked in vegetable oil, but peanut oil is popular in northern and western India, mustard oil in eastern India, and coconut oil along the western coast, especially in Kerala. Gingelly oil is common in the south since it imparts a fragrant, in recent decades, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, and soybean oils have become popular across India. Hydrogenated vegetable oil, known as Vanaspati ghee, is another popular cooking medium, butter-based ghee, or deshi ghee, is used frequently, though less than in the past
10.
Saffron
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Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Saffron crocus grows to 20–30 cm and bears up to four flowers, the styles and stigmas, called threads, are collected and dried to be used mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in food. Saffron, long among the worlds most costly spices by weight, is native to Southwest Asia and was probably first cultivated in or near Greece. As a genetically monomorphic clone, it was slowly propagated throughout much of Eurasia and was brought to parts of North Africa, North America. Saffrons taste and iodoform or hay-like fragrance result from the chemicals picrocrocin and it also contains a carotenoid pigment, crocin, which imparts a rich golden-yellow hue to dishes and textiles. Its recorded history is attested in a 7th-century BC Assyrian botanical treatise compiled under Ashurbanipal, Iran now accounts for approximately 90% of the world production of saffron. A degree of uncertainty surrounds the origin of the English word saffron and it might stem from the 12th-century Old French term safran, which comes from the Latin word safranum or from Arabic, az-zafaran, having unknown origin. Safranum comes from the Persian intercessor zafarān, the domesticated saffron crocus, Crocus sativus, is an autumn-flowering perennial plant unknown in the wild. Its progenitors are possibly the eastern Mediterranean autumn-flowering Crocus cartwrightianus, which is known as wild saffron. The saffron crocus probably resulted when C. cartwrightianus was subjected to artificial selection by growers seeking longer stigmata. C. thomasii and C. pallasii are other possible sources, a corm survives for one season, producing via this vegetative division up to ten cormlets that can grow into new plants in the next season. Corms also bear vertical fibres, thin and net-like, that grow up to 5 cm above the plants neck, the plant grows to a height of 20–30 cm, and sprouts 5–11 white and non-photosynthetic leaves known as cataphylls. These membrane-like structures cover and protect the crocuss 5 to 11 true leaves as they bud and develop. The latter are thin, straight, and blade-like green foliage leaves, which are 1–3 mm in diameter, C. sativus cataphylls are suspected by some to manifest prior to blooming when the plant is irrigated relatively early in the growing season. Its floral axes, or flower-bearing structures, bear bracteoles, or specialised leaves, that sprout from the flower stems, after aestivating in spring, the plant sends up its true leaves, each up to 40 cm in length. The flowers possess a sweet, honey-like fragrance, upon flowering, plants average less than 30 cm in height. A three-pronged style emerges from each flower, each prong terminates with a vivid crimson stigma 25–30 mm in length. The saffron crocus, unknown in the wild, probably descends from Crocus cartwrightianus, if C. sativus is a mutant form of C. cartwrightianus, then it may have emerged via plant breeding, which would have selected for elongated stigmata, in late Bronze Age Crete
11.
Cinnamon
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Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamon is used in sweet and savoury foods. The term cinnamon also refers to its mid-brown colour, Cinnamon is the name for perhaps a dozen species of trees and the commercial spice products that some of them produce. All are members of the genus Cinnamomum in the family Lauraceae, only a few Cinnamomum species are grown commercially for spice. The English word cinnamon, attested in English since the 15th century, derives from the Greek κιννάμωμον kinnámōmon, via Latin, the Greek was borrowed from a Phoenician word, which was similar to the related Hebrew qinnamon. The name cassia, first recorded in English around AD1000, was borrowed via Latin and ultimately derives from Hebrew qtsīʿāh, Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity. It was imported to Egypt as early as 2000 BCE, the first Greek reference to kasia is found in a poem by Sappho in the seventh century BCE. According to Herodotus, both cinnamon and cassia grew in Arabia, together with incense, myrrh, and ladanum, the phoenix was reputed to build its nest from cinnamon and cassia. Herodotus mentions other writers who believed the source of cassia was the home of Dionysos, egyptian recipes for kyphi, an aromatic used for burning, included cinnamon and cassia from Hellenistic times onward. The gifts of Hellenistic rulers to temples sometimes included cassia and cinnamon, as well as incense, myrrh, Cinnamon was brought around the Arabian peninsula on rafts without rudders or sails or oars, taking advantage of the winter trade winds. Pliny also mentions cassia as a agent for wine. According to Pliny, a Roman pound of cassia, cinnamon, or serichatum cost up to 300 denarii, diocletians Edict on Maximum Prices from 301 AD gives a price of 125 denarii for a pound of cassia, while an agricultural labourer earned 25 denarii per day. Malabathrum leaves were used in cooking and for distilling an oil used in a sauce for oysters by the Roman gourmet Gaius Gavius Apicius. Malabathrum is among the spices that, according to Apicius, any good kitchen should contain, through the Middle Ages, the source of cinnamon was a mystery to the Western world. From reading Latin writers who quoted Herodotus, Europeans had learned that cinnamon came up the Red Sea to the ports of Egypt. Marco Polo avoided precision on the topic, Pliny the Elder wrote in the first century that traders had made this up to charge more, but the story remained current in Byzantium as late as 1310. The first mention that the spice grew in Sri Lanka was in Zakariya al-Qazwinis Athar al-bilad wa-akhbar al-‘ibad about 1270 and this was followed shortly thereafter by John of Montecorvino in a letter of about 1292. Indonesian rafts transported cinnamon directly from the Moluccas to East Africa, venetian traders from Italy held a monopoly on the spice trade in Europe, distributing cinnamon from Alexandria
12.
Halva
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In global, popular usage it means desserts or sweet, and describes two types of desserts, Flour-based This type of halva is slightly gelatinous and made from grain flour, typically semolina. The primary ingredients are clarified butter, flour, and sugar, nut-butter-based This type of halva is crumbly and usually made from tahini or other nut butters, such as sunflower seed butter. The primary ingredients are nut butter and sugar, Halva may also be based on various other ingredients, including beans, lentils, and vegetables such as carrots, pumpkins, yams and squashes. Halva can be kept at room temperature with little risk of spoilage, however, during hot summer months, it is better kept refrigerated, as it can turn runny after several days. The Arabic root حلو ḥelw means sweet, most types of halva are relatively dense confections sweetened with sugar or honey. For example, semolina-based halva is gelatinous and translucent, while sesame-based halva is drier and this type of halva is made by frying flour in oil, mixing it into a roux, and then cooking it with a sugary syrup. This variety is popular in India, Greece, Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Somalia, Pakistan and this variety of halva is produced and served in India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and surrounding countries. It is usually made with semolina, sugar or honey. Raisins, dates, other dried fruits, or nuts such as almonds or walnuts, are added to semolina halva. The halva is very sweet, with a texture similar to polenta. The standard proportions of semolina halva are, one part fat, the semolina is sautéed in the fat, while a syrup is made from the sweetener and water. Then the two are mixed carefully while hot, and any extra ingredients are added, at this point, the halva is off-white to light beige, and rather soft. Depending on recipe and taste, it can be cooked a bit further, in India, halva is prepared in different forms. The recipes use flour, melted butter or ghee, sugar and it comes in various colors like orange, brown, green and white, in a translucent appearance studded with raisins, cashew nuts, pistachios, almonds, etc. Technically- the term halva is used in native recipes throughout India, a prominent South Indian version of halva is from Tirunelveli, a city in the state of Tamil Nadu. Another semolina preparation widely enjoyed throughout South India called kesari or kesari-bath originates from the state of Karnataka, alternative vegetable-based halva recipes popular in India and Pakistan use beetroots, potatoes, yams, and most commonly carrots, mung beans, or bottle gourds instead of semolina. Prepared with condensed milk and ghee, without semolina to bind it together, other examples include the famous Agra Petha- easily available at Taj Mahal, Agra. Cornstarch halva is popular in Greece, and has many variations, the Farsala recipe is the most well known
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