In the Beginning there Was No Musakka

Abstract

The article looks into the curious history and etymology of a famous casserole dish traditionally made with eggplant and chopped meat, or prepared as a cold vegetarian appetizer. Depending on where you are in the Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern regions, the dish may pass by the name of musakka or musaqqa'a. However, in places like Morocco, and the Levant and Iran, similar dishes are called brania and borani. This study probes into the challenging issues of what defines this dish and who invented it. By going back to the golden era of the Abbasid cuisine, the musakka emerges as a descendant of numerous comparable dishes known by other names, including maghmouma, buraniyya and buran. Such dishes were to become a staple in Ottoman kitchens, recognizable in their medfune and musakka. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, musakka established itself as the “official” name for a number of variations, all prepared as casseroles arranged in wide shallow pans, which was indeed the essential identifying element that gave the dish its name.