Mullah Nasruddin and the Feast of Rice

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Salmagundi

By Sally Butcher

Published 2014

  • About
Mullah Nasruddin (AKA Hodja) is the clown/philosopher/wiseman/fool of the Middle East: a larger-than-life, donkey-riding judge/mullah whose exploits are used to highlight and solve practically any foible or dilemma. Here he kindly illustrates the importance of rice in the region: bread was (and remains) the staple carbohydrate, and rice was regarded as the food of the rich.

Nasruddin was on a long journey, travelling back to his homeland after a pilgrimage. Tired, dusty and very hungry, he espied a caravan of wealthy-looking merchants dining on a lush pulao (rice dish): it was so fragrant that the aromas of cardamom and saffron wafted across the desert night to where he stood. It had been a long time since he had enjoyed a meal of rice: dry bread and dates were the normal fare of travellers. Drooling, he approached where they sat and prostrated himself on the ground.