Tashreeb
An Iraqi descendant of tharid, a dish of bread soaked in rich meat broth that traces to the Arabian Peninsula's early culinary tradition and holds a real, documented place in Islamic tradition — a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari compares the excellence of Aisha to that of tharid over other foods. The claim of a direct link to ancient pre-Islamic Mesopotamian cuisine is plausible given the region's long bread-and-broth food culture, but isn't something that can be verified as an established historical fact, so it's worth treating as a resonance rather than a documented lineage. The bread must be genuinely stale, torn and layered in a deep dish before hot broth is poured over — fresh soft bread turns to mush instead of holding its structure.
⚠ Contains: Gluten. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- Stale flatbread, torn into pieces
- 1 kg bone-in lamb or chicken
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 dried lime (optional)
- Salt and black pepper
Steps
- Simmer the lamb or chicken with onion, garlic, tomato paste, and the warm spices for 1.5-2 hours until very tender.
- Tear the stale bread into a deep serving dish.
- Ladle the hot broth generously over the bread to soak it thoroughly.
- Top with the cooked meat and a final ladle of broth.