Aish as-Saraya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Type | Dessert |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Arab world |
| Main ingredients | bread, sugar, qishta, rosewater, orange blossom water, lemon juice, water |
Aish as-Saraya (Arabic: عيش السرايا, lit. 'palace bread', in Egypt it is shortened "عيش" "bread") is an Arab dessert eaten regularly in the Levant and Egypt,[1][2] consisting of syrup-soaked breadcrumbs topped with clotted cream and pistachios, and contains neither eggs nor butter.[3] It is popular in the Arab world.[4]
Preparation and Ingredients
Usually, Aish as-Saraya is made with a layer of finely shredded bread that is doused with syrup, with a second layer of cream on top of the bread layer, typically qishta, a type of clotted cream, is used, the dish is then topped with fruits and nuts.[5][7]
Qatir is often mixed with the bread, and also used as garnish.[5][8]
History
The exact era and location from which the dessert originated is debated,[9] with some attributing it to the Ottoman Empire,[5] or even the much older Fatimid Caliphate.[7]
The name Aish as-Saraya, meaning "bread of the palace", is said to have been given to the dish due to the fact that it originated from palaces which were plentiful in the region, in which ingredients like qishta, nuts, and bread, which were too expensive for the common man, were readily available.[7]
According to historian Mary Isin, saray etmeği (meaning "palace bread") was a popular pudding in the Ottoman empire during the 19th century, it was made from kaymak (a form of clotted cream) and the crusts of fine white bread loaves that were baked in the Sultans kitchen, eventually, the bread was replaced by a form of rusk called a "Damascus rusk".[10] An 1895 Arabic-English dictionary by author Socrates Spiro described aish as-saraya as a "kind of Turkish cake eaten with cream".[11]
In popular culture
A book titled "The Aish Al-Saraya Incident and Attendant, Amusing Events" (Arabic: حادثة عيش السرايا وما يتعلّق بها من وقائع مسلية) by Sudanese author Hammour Ziada was released in Arabic, its name directly referencing the dessert.[12][13]
ِAnother Arabic book with a title referencing the dessert was written by Egyptian author Saeed Hajjaj, titled Aish as-Saraya..and other texts (Arabic: عيش السرايا.. ونصوص أخرى).[14]
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