Asida (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

"عصيدة", Maghrebi "Ġsydë" �ʕæs(ˁ)iːdə is a common dish in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. It is a lump of dough, obtained by stirring wheat flour into boiling water, sometimes with added butter or honey. Similar in texture to fufu, it is eaten mainly in

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and African countries. It is considered one of the most popular desserts and traditional dishes in many Arab countries. Asida is particularly popular in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

, and the rest of the

. Often served during religious holidays such as

Mawlid The Mawlid () is an annual festival commemorating the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad on the traditional date of 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar. A day central to the traditions of some Sunnis, Mawlid is al ...

and Eid, it is also served during other traditional ceremonies, for example accompanying the birth of child, such as the ''‘ aqīqah'', the cutting of the hair of a newborn seven days after birth. A simple, yet rich dish, often eaten without other complementary dishes, it is traditionally served at breakfast and is also given to women in labor.Famous Everyday Dishes from the Medieval Arab World
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Etymology

The word ''asida'' is an

word that is derived from the root عصد (''asada''), meaning 'twist it'.

History

One of the earliest documented recipes for asida is found in a tenth century Arabic cookbook by

Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq () was an Arab author from Baghdad. He was the compiler of a tenth-century cookbook, the (, ''The Book of Dishes''). This is the earliest known Arabic cookbook. It contains over 600 recipes, divided into 132 chapters. The is the oldest survivi ...

called ''Kitab al-Ṭabīḫ'' (, ''The Book of Dishes''). It was described as a thick pudding of dates cooked with clarified butter (''samn''). A recipe for asida was also mentioned in an anonymous Hispano-Muslim cookbook dating to the 13th century. In the 13th and 14th centuries, in the mountainous region of the Rif along the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, a flour made from lightly grilled

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

was used in place of wheat flour. A recipe for asida that adds argan seed oil was documented by Leo Africanus (c. 1465–1550), the Arab explorer known as Hasan al-Wazan in the Arab world. According to the French scholar Maxime Rodinson, asida were typical foods among the

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

of pre-Islamic and, probably, later times.

Variations

Morocco

In the old city of Fez, vendors sell squares of cold semolina pudding sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, usually consumed by children after school.

Libya

The Libyan variation of asida is served with a sweet syrup, usually date or carob syrup ( rub), but also with honey, as well as melted butter around the asida itself.

Tunisia

The

n version of this dish is served with either a mixture of honey and butter or a hot chili pepper paste (

harissa Harissa (, from Maghrebi Arabic) is a hot chili pepper paste, native to the Maghreb. The main ingredients are roasting#Vegetables, roasted chili pepper, red peppers, Baklouti peppers (), spices and herbs such as garlic paste, caraway seeds, c ...

). The latter is more common later in the day and the former earlier. Asida is also commonly consumed with carob syrup or date syrup in southern parts of

Yemen

Aseedah or aseed () is one of the staple dishes in

and is usually served for lunch, dinner, or breakfast. Its ingredients include wholemeal wheat, boiling water, and salt as needed. A pot of water is placed on high heat until boiling. Slowly, handfuls of wholemeal wheat are added and then mixed quickly with a large wooden spoon to avoid forming lumps. The process is repeated until the mixture is thick. Traditionally the cook lowers the pot to the floor where they hold the pot with their feet and stir vigorously. Finally, the hot, steaming dough is shaped using bare oiled hands and usually placed in a wide, wooden bowl. Sometimes a depression is made in the middle of the shaped aseedah into which a hot chili tomato paste can be added or helba, a

fenugreek Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small Glossary_of_leaf_morphology#Leaf_and_leaflet_shapes, obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiar ...

mixture made with parsley and garlic. Lamb or a chicken

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

is then poured around the aseedah. It is then served hot. Aseedah can also be made using white, bleached wheat. Honey can be used instead of stock and chili/helba. It is a meal, using only boiled water, flour, and some salt. Typically it is smothered in beef soup or chicken or even lamb. It is usually served hot and eaten with hands or spoons. Aseed is eaten particularly at lunchtime and during

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

Ethiopia

The Ethiopian version of this dish is called genfo in Amharic. It is served with Ethiopian ghee (called niter kibbeh),

berbere Berbere ( ''bärbäre'', ''bärbärä'') is a spice mixture whose constituent elements usually include chili peppers, coriander, garlic, ginger, Ethiopian holy basil (besobela) seeds, korarima, rue, ajwain or radhuni, nigella, and fenugr ...

(an Ethiopian spice mix), yogurt, or even milk. This dish is served for breakfast.