December 4th is the Feast of Saint Barbara which is very important for Christians of the Middle East. You can find out more about her on the December 4th episode of the podcast. One special part of this feast is the serving of slee'a [also known as emeh, ilbee or iyouk]- a dish of wheat or barley with fruits, nuts and candy. Here is one recipe from Khouriyye Fran Russo:
Slee'a
2 or 3 pounds of unhulled wheat
1 or 2 boxes of confectioner's sugar
walnuts
1 box white raisins
pomegranate seeds
white sugar coated almonds
cinnamon sticks
anise seed (optional)
orange water (optional)
1.Place the wheat in a largebowl with cold water to cover and 2 tablespoons of baking soda and soak overnight.
2.Drain, rinse and place in a large pot with plenty of fresh water.
3.Bring to a boil and simmer with several cinnamon sticks for from 3 to 5 hours, stirring frequently to prevent the wheat from sticking.
4.Test for doneness (note:a small amount of wheat should be allowed to cool before testing since it tends to harden when cool).
5.When the wheat is soft but not mushy, strain and spread on a clean white cloth for several hours or overnight.
6.Place in a large bowl and mix with one or 2 boxes of confectioner's sugar, the chopped walnus, raisins, pomegranate seeds and orange water. Decorate with almonds.
This dish is often served to the singing of a popular folk song:
Refrain: ‘Ideesa Barbara, ‘end il-rab il-mukhtarra, abooki hel-kafir, hel aba
il-hejarra.
Saint Barbara, you were chosen by the Lord but your pagan father
worships stones.
Verses:
Your father who rules in the land of Sham is a pagan and a hypocrite. To
make you reject the Christians, he went to war against them.
Calling his daughter to the stone shrine, he talked about his faith. He
ordered her to worship the stones and deny the Christians.
Barbara told her father, “My lord, I will not abandon my faith even if they
threaten me with the knife.”
The king ordered his servants to place her in a cell, but to give her
anything she wanted if she would deny the Christians.
Barbara told her father, “Ruler of the land, you only deceive yourself. My
faith is a jewel while your gods are but stones.”
The king, seeking to stop the faith, told his servants to punish and torture
her, to blind her eyes and cast her out.
The king ordered his swordsman to kill Barbara, but the sword only
became a belt around her. He ordered fire to burn her, but the fire
became incense.
Then a cloud covered her and raised Barbara to Christ. Thus, all must
seek the prayers of the holy martyr Barbara.
Saint Barbara, chosen by the Lord, has been graced with God to pray for
Christians.
You can find the complete Arabic version of this song here.
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