That Translator Can Cook: Zarb
Chicken and vegetables are marinated with various spices, and then are slow cooked underground.
Image Source: YouTube
Yes! Another meal cooked underground. Most of us may be under quarantine, but it’s almost summer and we have to do something interesting! I’ve had zarb when we spent the night in Wadi Rum, Jordan. If you ever visit Jordan, I suggest you camp in Wadi Rum at least once, you won’t regret it.
The chicken and vegetables are laid out on racks and put into an oven in the ground that’s filled with hot coals. The oven is covered with a few layers of blankets or a few sheets of aluminum, and then sand is poured over top. Zarb is left to slow cook in this underground oven for hours, and the result is juicy and tender meat and vegetables, and since the vegetables have been cooked with the meat, they have absorbed the meat’s flavor. Zarb is then typically served on a communal platter. Trust me, this dish is sooo delicious.
Zarb is originally a Bedouin (indigenous nomadic people of the Levant and Gulf) recipe. Bedouins have always cooked food in underground earthen ovens because it doesn’t require much equipment. Bedouin culture/heritage is important in Gulf countries, but zarb is more of Jordanian Bedouin delicacy. Some even say that Bedouin culture is the backbone of Jordanian culture and that Bedouins are the “pure-blooded” people of Jordan. Some Bedouins offer guided tours in Wadi Rum to show tourists their way of life, which is something I have done. It was amazing and recommend it to all of you if you’re ever in Jordan.
Here’s how to make zarb (recipe belongs to Umm Rayyan)
Ingredients
The quantities depend on your taste:
Cuts of chicken
Basmati rice
Tomatoes
Onions
Chili peppers
For the potatoes:
Olive oil
Salt to taste
A dash of black pepper
A dash of paprika
For the chicken marinade:
Salt
A dash of black pepper
Yogurt
A dash of seven-spice blend
A dash of paprika
Ketchup
Crushed garlic
Lemon juice
For the rice:
Salt
A dash of seven-spice blend
Bay leaves
Dried lime
Onions
Cardamom pods
Cinnamon sticks
Cumin seeds
Anise seeds
Shredded carrots
Tomato juice
Instructions
Wash the rice and let it sit. In a pot on the stove, put oil, finely minced onions, turmeric, anise seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, and cardamom; and sauté them all until the onions soften. Add the carrots, sauté a bit, and then add the tomato juice.
Stir it a little, then add salt, seven-spice blend, bay leaves, and dried lime. Add the rice and cover it with water, then set it aside.
Season the chicken and place it on the highest part of the zarb rack, while putting the tomatoes, onions, and rice on the lower racks. Put the rack into the barrel [underground pit for cooking].
Translators’ Discussion
The recipe stated ‘عصير البندورة’, which is why I used ‘tomato juice’ not ‘tomato sauce’, even though I would rather use tomato sauce than tomato juice. I know that people usually think of Italian tomato sauces in a jar, but there are also cans of plain (no spices) tomato sauce, which I think would be better than tomato juice because it’s less watery than tomato juice. Any input from other food translators?
I translated ‘شبك الزرب’ as ‘zarb rack’ because I’ve seen a few sources refer to the instrument used to cook zarb on as such, but I feel like there’s a better way to say it. Do any Arabic speakers/translators (especially those familiar with the Jordanian dialect) know what it should be called?