Mesopotamian lamb and cumin stew

A recreation from the world's oldest written recipes: lamb braised with cumin, coriander, and onion from the clay tablets of ancient Babylon

Origin: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq)

From the journey of Cumin.

The Yale Babylonian Collection holds three clay tablets dated to approximately 1700 BCE, inscribed with cuneiform recipes now considered the oldest written culinary texts in human history. Among them are multiple lamb stew preparations that call for kammūnu: the Akkadian word for cumin, the earliest recorded name of any spice. These recipes describe a cooking tradition of surprising sophistication: layered aromatics, braising in water and fat, and the deliberate use of cumin as both spice and medicine. This recreation is an informed interpretation, using the documented ingredients with modern proportions.

Ingredients

Meat

800 g bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into large pieces
2 tbsp rendered lamb fat or olive oil

Aromatics

2 large onions, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed

Spices

2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seed
0.5 tsp ground cumin seed, whole (for finishing)
1 tsp salt

Liquid

500 ml water

Herbs

2 sprigs fresh coriander, roughly torn

Vegetables

1 small leek, roughly sliced

Method

Heat the lamb fat or oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Brown the lamb pieces in batches until deeply coloured on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Add the onions to the same pot and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until golden. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
Return the lamb to the pot. Add the ground cumin, ground coriander, and salt. Stir to coat the meat in the spices.
Pour in the water. Add the leek and torn coriander. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a very gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 75–90 minutes until the lamb is completely tender and falling from the bone.
Taste and adjust salt. The broth should be deeply aromatic with cumin and coriander as the dominant notes.
Serve in deep bowls with flatbread for scooping, scattering a few whole cumin seeds over each portion as a finishing touch; as the tablets suggest.

Notes

The original Yale Babylonian tablets (YBC 4644, YBC 8958, YBC 4648) are fragmentary and open to interpretation. Scholars including Jean Bottéro (Oldest Cuisine in the World, 2004) have studied them extensively. The ingredients listed in the tablets include meat, fat, water, onion, leek, garlic, and several spice names; kammūnu (cumin) among the clearest. This recipe is a careful recreation in that spirit, not a literal transcription.

The Gastrographer

Name: Mesopotamian lamb and cumin stew
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mesopotamia
Ingredients: 800 g bone-in lamb shoulder, cut into large pieces; 2 tbsp rendered lamb fat or olive oil; 2 large onions, roughly chopped; 4 cloves garlic, crushed; 2 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground coriander seed; 0.5 tsp ground cumin seed, whole (for finishing); 1 tsp salt; 500 ml water; 2 sprigs fresh coriander, roughly torn; 1 small leek, roughly sliced

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control