Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Random Ramadani craving : Tarabolsieyh


Today is slow , very slow ! The past two days were running without a leash, obviously, because my hands were full with ASAP-must–be-done tasks .However today is moving like a turtle ! It could be because I do not have lots of work to do, actually I have few things that need to be done, you know those little scattered tasks that you know you should finish and if anyone asks about it , you'll shove your hand and say "Uh , piece of cake! I'll be done with it in no time " and then you realize its accumulating into a group of small irritating tasks that you need to be done with , your subconscious is telling you are being silly putting them away and you should be done with them ,but you are simply stalling, because you don't feel like it today ! How unprofessional!


Anyway, that's not where I was intending to go with this post. Actually, I wanted to talk about a food craving that I had. Yesterday, I had the most consuming craving for an Arabic sweet called Tarabolsieyh** I was sitting on my desk doing some work , everyone was talking about food and sweets "the main chatter in Ramadan , next to religious issues ,family visits , TV shows and everybody's lack of proper sleep " and of course Atayef had to be mentioned , Atayef with cheese ,Atayef with walnuts and some new revolutionary Atayef with apples and raisins ( right !!! With apples and raisins. it made me wonder about its taste! Sounds like a good combination with cinnamon and melted sugar, but as an atayef ! hmm , I should try it and see ) and in the middle of everybody's talk I was haunted with the thought of Tarabolsieyh , I suddenly was able to smell , taste and chew it in my mind ! The smell , the memorized taste of sweetened pistachios under my teeth and whipped cream , all over made my mouth water , and I kept seeing pieces of Tarabolsieyh flying around me at work ! The case were food flies around me happened before, it could get as bad as seeing people with food heads!

Its funny how our bodies respond to cravings, like for example, whenever someone mentions lemons and salt, my mouth wont stop watering! But you know what is even funnier, is how mind ties some foods to specific occasions or people. In the case of Tarabolsieyh , I only had this kind of sweet at one of my friends house , when she used to invite me over for Iftar each Ramadan , Tarabolsieyh was the first sweet we start with after finishing Iftar and starting the tea and coffee session . My friend got married and moved out of Jordan, and the memory of me and her having Tarabolsieyh remained with me in every Ramadan. A part of my craving might be well explained by the fact; I miss her ever since she has traveled away.


Of course, after work I went straight to the only bakery that prepares it in Amman, grabbed some to have after Iftar , you can see below the single remaining piece !

**( It is a sweet , I am guessing Lebanese from the town of Tripoli , as you can see from the name. It consists of two parts the lower is smellier to ma3omoul be fosto2 7alabi and the upper is a type of whipped cream called Natef , however, these days they are using the ordinary whipped cream )


(Tarabolsieyh)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Danah,
Ii think you have to make up your fasting this day you wrote this if it was done before iftar time. (just kidding)
But yes Food as S,ongs and other things we do, and eat or drink...etc can be memorized by association to what ever we were doing that we had the first encounter with that thing. Like every time I hear 3abdul 7aleem "7ubak Nar" I remeber my self walking in my old town streets and shops opened and playing that on the radio, thats when I first heard it. It is that great gift that Allah gave us which is called Brain. Which many people elecet to ignore and put on the shelf when its needed the most.
Ramadan Mubarak 3alaiki w3ala umat muhammdad SAAW.
Enjoy some Karawya too..Aw sa7lab...
and don't forget my dear Kharoob. lol

(Tealover) said...

Abdullah ..
oh you think so ! lol

I agree with you , each has its own memory thats attached to , thats why we sometimes cannot help smiling when seeing something that looks familiar to us , to realize later on it reminded us of another thing/someone that is dear to our hearts ..

Ramadan kareem o kol 3am o enta welli bet7ebhom be alf 7'air :) .. I am thinking "kollaj" still did not had any this year ..

Me said...

Danah..i do not like arabic sweets that much but Tarabolsieyh is my favorite one..i love the Natef part of it. did you get it from Geneva?? i know it is the only place that has in in Amman! Sahtain and i hope that you enjoyed it as i enjoyed reading from you! Happy Ramadan to you and yours!

Anonymous said...

Danah,
Elkulaj 3alam akhar la7alu... ela tsa7i elmawaje3 :)

Sa7i7 did Geneva still in the same old place?
I didn't see it last time I came to Amman.
Regards,
Abdullah

(Tealover) said...

Summer
:) ooh .. I like arabic sweets , but I get full with few bites usually .. with tarabolsyieh the other day .. it was different , I had more than bites for sure :D ! yep .. got it from Geneva :).. thank you for stepping by .. and all good wishes of Ramadan to you as well.

Abdullah

:) yes, Geneva still at the same old place close to 7th circle .

Tamara said...

Danah

This is unfair, sitting inthe office reading about sweets !!

I have never had it, hmm me thinks of passing by Geneva on the way home ...

(Tealover) said...

Oh Tamara .. you should .. I think you're gonna like it :)

Anonymous said...

Asalam 3alaykom,
danah..and i thought i had it all!!
nop..i didn't taste this before..similar things though..
tayeb ya danah..is kollaj is what we call golsh??
is it sheets that could be done sweet and salty with cheese or meat??
if it is..then i know that:)
it's eno's fav . from me and i promised to make her some next week when she returns to cairo..
ramadan mubarak sweety:)

Oula said...

That's very nice narrative!well done! going to buy some tarabolsiyyeh tonight!

(Tealover) said...

Rasha

Looks like you've missed one ;).. it is very good and tasty , I'd recommend you'd taste it once you find it :) .. as for Kollaj , I guess it is the same as golsh from the description you've provided .. the sheets are specially made by a number of bakeries here , and we only use them to wrap cheese in , then fry it in oil or grill it inside oven , then soak it in melted sugar "2ater" .. then ta daa ready to eat :) .. and 7amdellah 3ala salamet Eno in advance :).

Oula,

I am glad you stepped by , thank you for your sweet comment :) ..

OH YES .. you probably should , I'm telling you , these cravings are contagious !

Anonymous said...

Hey danah!

I know all about the accumulating pile of sh**, er, I mean, tasks (hehe) at work! That's the story of my work life! "Yeah, sure. I'm just finishing it right up, boss!"
And meanwhile you're frantically looking for where you even kept that file...

Hehe. As for that yummy-looking and sounding dessert, I have yet to try it - sounds great! I'm like you in Ramadan; I crave foods like mad. And I envision it in front of me. One of the foods that remind me of you is Kabseh (you know why) and chocolate, of course :D

(Tealover) said...

Hey deenie :)

LOL .. so .. I am not ALONE in that area .. i sometimes think I am the only chaotic person in the whole world !
Actually looks like I am not alone in both areas..

Hey .. next time my mom is making Kabseh ,you'll be invited in .. and I wont accept a NO for an answer :)