That Translator Can Cook: Shuwa
Meat (beef, lamb, or goat) slathered in a thick blend of spices and oil, wrapped in palm fronds or banana leaves, and cooked slowly underground for two to three days.
Image Source: Times of Oman
Since it’s Eid al-Fitr, I decided to showcase a really cool dish from Oman. I’ve never had it before, but I have had food cooked underground in Wadi Rum. It may be unrealistic to actually cook it underground for some of us, but we can use a Crockpot or the oven to mimic the slow cooking conditions in the traditional recipe. Who knows, some of us are still in quarantine and may have the time/means to cook the meat underground.
Shuwa derives from the Arabic verb ‘shawaa,’ which means “to grill.” This dish is considered “the cornerstone of Oman’s culture” according to the Times of Oman, and the Oman Daily Observer says that shuwa is a “symbol of the coutnry’s togetherness.” Shuwa is made for special occasions, like Eid al-Fitr, most likely because of the amount of time it takes to make it. People create a paste with a spice blend (every family tends to have their own custom spice blend) and olive oil. Then, the meat is wrapped with banana leaves or palm fronds and put into a ‘sand oven’ placed underground.
Image Source: Times of Oman
Some families have their own oven, but most neighborhoods and villages have communal pits where each family can place their parcel of meat to cook alongside other families’. The pit depicted to the right is a pit used for tourist experiences, but it’s an accurate depiction of what a communal pit looks like. People start cooking their shuwa on the first day of Eid, and pull it out of the oven on the second or third day of Eid (in Muslim-majority countries, Eid al-Fitr tends to be observed for four days, while countries like the US only observe Eid for one day).
So not only does shuwa seem super delicious because of the spices and extreme slow cooking, it also seems to be a familial and communal experience. Just another meal/experience I’m putting on my list.
Here’s how to make shuwa (recipe belongs to Maggy [ماجي]) with a conventional oven rather than an underground oven.
Ingredients
1 whole, bone-in goat leg (2-3 kg)
1 large banana leaf, washed and cut into 5x30 cm (~2x12 in.) strips
4 teaspoons of lemon juice
2 chicken bouillon cubes
4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
20 grams (~0.75 oz.) of dried red chili pepper
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
8 whole cloves
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
4 teaspoons of date vinegar, or half balsamic half apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns
80 grams (~3 oz.) of crushed garlic
3 cups of water
Instructions
Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan until it boils. Take it off the burner and add the red pepper, cumin seeds, cloves, coriander seeds, and black pepper. Mix all of the spices. Put it back on the burner and sear them for 30 seconds, until the cumin seems to pop. Move the frying pan from the burner and let it sit until it cools. Put the cooled spices and oil in a pestle and grind them until they become a paste. Then, add the garlic and coriander mixture. Add the lemon juice and vinegar to finish preparing the marinade.
Wash the meat with cold water and pat it dry. Cut it into thick pieces. Put the meat in a big bag and add the marinade. Make sure to completely cover it with the marinade. Close the bag and put it into the refrigerator for about 12-24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 220°C (~425°F) and put the shelf on the level between the middle and bottom. Arrange the banana leaves in a casserole dish, and arrange others around the edges. Take the meat out of the bag and place it on the banana leaves. Pour any remaining marinade over the meat. Put the dish into the oven when it has preheated, and let it roast for 30 minutes (10 minutes for every kilogram).
Dissolve the bouillon cubes in the water and heat it in a saucepan on low heat. Take the casserole dish out of the oven carefully, put the remaining banana leaves on top of the meat, and pour the prepped broth over the leaves. Cover the dish and banana leaves with aluminum foil, and seal it up tight. Put the dish back into the oven and lower the temperature to 150°C (~300°F) and let it cook for 6 hours (2 hours for every kilogram). Take the dish out of the oven and set it aside for 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with rice or pita bread.
Translators’ Discussion
For the “dried red chili pepper”, I wasn’t sure if the recipe meant whole dried chili peppers or chili powder. Since it had been using tablespoons and teaspoons for other ingredients, but used grams for this one, I didn’t think it was referring to powder. Can any food translators share some advice about whole vs powdered chili peppers? I don’t like spicy things, so I don’t really deal with chili peppers.
I decided to use ‘marinade’ for ‘عصير التتبيل’ (lit. ‘seasoning juice’), is this term common in Arabic, or at least common in Omani dialect?
I wasn’t sure how to translate الخبز العربي, I went with ‘pita bread’ because ‘Arab bread’ doesn’t sound appropriate. I thought about saying ‘unleavened bread,’ but I thought pita bread was acceptable since it’s eaten daily in the Middle East and English speakers already associate it with Middle Eastern food. How would have translated الخبز العربي?