A New Assyrian Cook Book

Mom's Authentic Assyrian Recipes

Hilda Sterner

My mom has always been known for her awesome cooking ability. She passed on the love of cooking to my three sisters and I, but with no written recipes. My sisters learned to cook by watching her over the years. I, however, left home at the young age of 18 to serve in the United States Navy.

During those years in the military, I longed for mom’s cooking, but did not know how to make any of my favorite dishes. The only time I got to eat Assyrian food was when I was home on leave. When I looked for Assyrian cookbooks, I found that although some had been published, most were no longer in print and very expensive! This showed me that there was a demand for this type of book.

This continues to be a problem, as the younger generation of Assyrians get married, move away from home, and not know how to cook Assyrian food. Many Assyrians, myself included, have married outside of our nationality. The men in particular, long for their wives to cook their favorite Assyrian food, but getting the recipes from their moms is nearly impossible!

In 2001 my mom moved from Chicago to California, where I currently live. I took advantage of having her near, by watching her do her magic in the kitchen, measuring the ingredients, and writing everything down! “Someday I will make a book with these recipes”, I promised mom.

Slowly, over a few years, I began compiling the recipes. When her cancer came back for the third time, I began working feverishly at completing the book. This involved testing the recipes, taking pictures, editing the text, and designing the layout of the book. I prayed that God would allow my mom enough time to see “her book” published.

In August of this year, my hard work finally paid off! Mom got to see “Mom’s Authentic Assyrian Recipes” published. The chapters include: Assyrian History, Assyrian Traditions & Holidays, Special Ingredients, Appetizers, Salads, Soups, Rice Dishes, Stews, Stuffed Vegetables, Family Favorites, Desserts, and Beverages. Recipes include favorites such as: - dolma,- biryani, -girdoo, booshala, -maklooby,- mesta,- masheh, many shirwas,- potato chop,- and masgoof. Desserts include nazookeh,- kileche, - kadeh, - baklawa,- zlabya and more! There are 82 recipes included in this book, with a picture for most of the detailed recipes.

To learn more, please visit my website, http://www.assyriancookbook.com