Tomb of Rekhmire IllustrationRAWI Publishing
Did the ancient Egyptian leave behind any recipes?
Despite having recorded many aspects of their lives in great detail, the ancient Egyptians do not seem to have written down any recipes that we know of. The closest thing to a recipe from the entirety of ancient Egyptian history comes from the tomb of a nobleman named Rekhmire.
Rekhmire served as governor of Thebes during the reigns of Kings Thutmose III and Amenhotep II around 1400 BCE. He was buried in the Theban hills like other nobility of the time.
The recipe depicted uses tiger nuts, a tuber popular in ancient Egypt. Experts have tried to reconstruct the recipe based on the scenes in the tomb. Some also have short hieroglyphs drawn next to them that serve as descriptions of the action or as brief bits of dialogue between the workers. We've translated these snippets into English, so you can follow the story recorded on the walls of Rekhmire's tomb.
Tomb of Rekhmire Illustration (with translations)RAWI Publishing
Rekhmire is the largest person depicted because he is the most important. Here, we see him supervising the delivery of tiger nuts and honey. You can see the translated hieroglyphs just above his head.
Farmers measure the harvest of the tiger nuts, while two scribes (standing to the right) record the quantities.
The first step of tiger nut cake making is pounding the tubers.
Dates were used as a sweetener for these cakes.
Hurry up so the boss can be happy is ALWAYS good advice!
Mix Mix Mix the dough!
The addition of fat is an important indication of how the tiger nut cakes were cooked. While some experts think they were deep fried, others believe that the dough was mixed with the fat and only lightly fried.
It seems something is being made for the temple, but we cannot be sure what as the text is missing! Could it be they are referring to the cakes?
The text is not clear, but we know that both dates and honey are mentioned.
Here you can see the cakes packed together and being transported.
How Were the Cakes Shaped?
Two men, on the far right, appear to be shaping the cakes into rather big cones. On the far left, a man is seen shaping them into rectangular pieces. Which shape did they prefer? It could be that the far left are in fact cones but arranged sideways. When we tried out the recipes, we found that the conical tiger nuts cakes kept their shape better, while the thinner triangular ones fell apart.
Based on these scenes, we have developed a modern recipe that you can try at home. If you cannot find a conical mould to shape the cakes, just form them into simple balls before frying!
Tiger Nuts Recipe (2020)RAWI Publishing
Ancient Egypt’s First Recipe?
Learn how to make Tigernut cones with Egyptologist Dr. Mennat-Allah El Dorry and Chef Moustafa Elrefaey.
For more ancient Egyptian recipes, check out this story on recreated historical recipes.
Translation of hieroglyphics:
Dr Arto Belekdanian
Images:
Tomb of Rekhmire Illustration, colouring by Maged El Sokkary and Moustapha Ashraf
Art Direction: Maijane Saba
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.