Evening star., 1943-01-18
Arabian Caid's Feast
Ranks With Banquets
OF Ancient Romans
Burbecued Wild Boor
And Roast Peacock
Are Just Starters
BY RICE YAHNER,

| Associated Press War Correspondent.
MARRAKECH, French Morocco
Dec. 27 delayed For imagination
in cooking and practicability in eat.
ing, the Arabs have top place in my
| book.
When you dine with them, they
| take something of virtually every.
thing they have at the moment
cook it tastily with all the spice:
and some of the perfumes in the
village and serve it up in innumer-
able courses.
You sit on the floor surrounded
with cushions and dig in with youl
| fingers.
You eat until you have SENSE
enough to quit, or just roll over.
If you're dining with a pasha-
they rank next to the Sultan-the
meal is likely to begin with a whole
barbecued wild boar or roasted
peacock. then go on through NUT
ton and chicken served severa.
ways.
tChtf VI oubu Il UOu'
If you make hog of yourself on
the first courses, you'll never last
for honey cakes, mint tea and milk
of almonds.
Even the perfume shower and the
smoke of burning sandalWood won't
revive you.
I've been up to eight courses
any one of which would almost
make a main course at home-dur-
ing a trip into the interior seeing
how the French administer fabu-
lous Morocco. And there's one
thing sure-theres plenty of good
food, even if it isn't prepared In
White-tiled kitchens.
Besides, the dishwashing prob
lem is practically non-existent.
There's only one big plate or bowl
for each course and there aren't
any side plates, knives or forks.
AS a special favor to a guest try
ing to manipulate cous cous-mostly
farina-with unaccustomed fingers,
they sometimes put out tablespoons.
Country Markets.
This is an account of one feast
7 had as a guest of Caid Moulay
Ydris, chief of a tribe in the foot
hills of the snow-capped Atlas
Mountains, home of the Riffs and
Berbers. I'm stuffed now, but I'll
tell you about the dessert later.
About 65 miles from Marrakech,
babbling city in a lush oasis that
for centuries was the Sultan's cap
ital, you come upon the site of a
SIOUX de bled-a country market.
1t is a bare hillside with only
adobelike buildings and walls.
Six days weekly it is practically
deserted, but today is market day
and the hillside is swarming with
thousands of Arabs, droopy-eyed
donkeys and camels, and brightly
dressed native cavalrymen mounted
on caparisoned and prancing Arab
ian horses.
You are met and welcomed hos
pitably, and led through crumblng
outside walls and through twisting
passageways until you finally come
out on sunlit patio abloom with
flowers around bubbling fountain
and fruit trees. 80 ..-
r Piece de Resistance.
When you enter, it's like coming
through barnyard, but now in the
Caid's silken-furnished rooms which
face colorful garden, it is verit-
able fairly-tale picture.
In the largest and most sumptu-
Gus room are great platters of vi
ands, each covered with a clean
cloth. Brass kettles steam on orn-
ate charcoal braziers, with smaller
silver kettles and pitchers here and
there.
Now I'll tell you about the finish
ing courses of the feast
Here are great honeycakes, re-
sembling pretzels, covered with
honey taffy and coriander seeds.
Next are f1aky butterflies of paper
thin pastry cooked in deep fat and
shaped like pithy streaks in orange
slices. They are favored with
orange water.
But the piece de resistance is a
pie-shaped affair made of many
wafer-thi sheets of pastry binding
up a kind of mincemeat, the prin-
cipal flavor of which is almonds.
Into this you dig with your fingers
1t is said to require all day to make
such a pastille and three hours tc
bake it, for each thin layer of -four
and water is fried separately on a
griddle.
1t is also said that the early ver-
sionS Of the paStille had 1000 layers
but there couldn't have been more
than 100 in the one I had.
Oranges and Mandarins.
With oranges and mandarins from
the Caid's trees you're through eat
ing-for a while. Servants bring
silver pitchers and basins and you
wash your hands. The right one
needs the most washing, for you de
all your eating with that hand
MoSlemS CONSIDER the left hand un.
clean, no matter how much it's beer
washed.
Once washed, silver shakers O.
perfumed rose water are passec
around and you sprinkle it on you
hands and face, your hair, up you
cuffs, down your neck and, in fact
any place you want. The more
| places, the better. The theory i
that you're getting rid of food odors
Then censers Of smoking sandal
wood are brought in and you un
button your blouse and stand owe,
/ one.
What food you've been unable Il
eat goes first to lesser tribal mel
and what they leave reaches tn,
women and children.