بصلية

"To make it, cut fatty meat into small, thin slices. Render soft tail fat and discard its residue. Add the meat to the fat and stir until it turns pink. Add enough water to cover it, with a little salt, fresh coriander leaves, and a stick of cinnamon. Boil and skim off the foam. When the water reduces, take fresh white onions, peel them, cut them crosswise, and add them to the pot after washing with water and salt. The amount should be about half that of the meat. Add ground cumin, coriander, pepper, mastic, and cinnamon, all finely pounded. Some people add a little saffron for color. For a sour flavor, add about ten dirhams of lemon juice or vinegar. Let it simmer on the fire for an hour, wipe the sides, and remove from the heat."

The recipe is written in a narrative, almost conversational style, typical of medieval Arabic manuscripts. Instead of precise timings or measurements, it relies on the cook’s judgment and observational skills—hence instructions like 'until it blushes' or 'a little salt.' Some ingredients have archaic spellings or terms: 'دارصيني' refers to what we call cinnamon, and 'مصطكى' is mastic—less common in modern pantries but central to historical flavors. The use of 'دراهم' (dirhams, a unit of weight) for liquids reflects period measurement methods rooted in market trade. Overall, the recipe blends direct instruction with assumed culinary intuition, encouraging cooks to taste, observe, and improvise.