Eyes of Eggs

Some of the medieval Baghdadi cooks used to break some eggs on a cooking stew the moment they stop fueling the fire underneath the pot. They let the eggs set with the remaining heat. The set eggs resemble what people in the western world might call ‘sunny-side-up eggs’. Medieval Baghdadi cooks called them ‘eyes of eggs,’ and sometimes compared them to cows’ eyes ‘uyoun al-baqar (al-Warraq). Today, we still call fried eggs prepared this way beidh ‘ein (eggs like eyes).