2.2 The Persian Factor

During the Abbasid rule, especially the early period when the Barmacide family was still influential, the Persians enjoyed enviable prestige and power. It was the time when doing things the Persian way was the mark of fashion and a guarantee of social acceptance and favor, and cooking was no exception. The impact showed itself in the names of dishes – mostly ending with -aj, such as sikbaj (stew soured with vinegar), narbaj (pomegranate stew), zirbaj (delicate stew of birds) – food items, culinary terms, kitchen utensils, and the like. Even Arabic words started to be suffixed with the medieval Persian sounding -aj, such as jawzeenaj (walnut confections).