- Title: SUDAN: Raw camel liver-breakfast of champions
- Date: 22nd April 2011
- Summary: TAMBUL, JAZEERA STATE, SUDAN (APRIL 20, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TAMBUL VILLAGE VARIOUS OF CAMELS AT SLAUGHTERING LOCATION VARIOUS OF BUTCHER SKINNING CAMEL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AL-FADIL EISA, TAMBUL BUTCHER SAYING: "During Tambul's market day, we slaughter 40 camels'' VARIOUS OF BUTCHER BREAKING CAMEL BONES REMOVING ITS SKIN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AHMED MOHAMMED, CAMEL MEAT TRADER SAYING: "It is delicious and has many health benefits. Since I was child I've been used to eating it. It has never harmed me. It has no negative side effects." CAMEL VARIOUS OF TAMBUL MEAT AND VEGETABLES MARKET. BUTCHERY. CAMEL LIVER HANGING IN THE BUTCHERY. BUTCHER REMOVING FAT FROM LIVER CAMEL LIVER. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) YASSIN, TAMBUL BUTCHER SAYING: "The liver that people buy here is bought at 35 sudanese pounds a kilo from its source but here the kilo costs 40 sudanese pounds." VARIOUS OF TAMBUL RESIDENT CARRYING LIVER HE BOUGHT ALONG WITH THE ACCOMPANYING SPICES TO EATERY VARIOUS OF WOMAN SETTING INGREDIENTS IN BOWL CUSTOMER WATCHING WOMAN CUTTING UP CAMEL LIVER INTO SMALL CHUNKS CUSTOMER WATCHING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MIRIAM BAKHIT, RESTAURANT OWNER AND COOK SAYING: ''Residents of this area eat camel's liver. It is very important to them. They eat it in the morning for breakfast." RESIDENTS IN EATERY VARIOUS OF BAKHIT MIXING LIVER WITH INGREDIENTS DISH SET ON TABLE VARIOUS OF TAMBUL RESIDENTS EATING LIVER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MUBARAK MOHAMMED AHMED, TAMBUL RESIDENT SAYING: "It is good for the body, it allows one to stay in the sun for long periods. it's easy to digest lifts the mood and one feels more active after eating it." LIVER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) KAMAL, TAMBUL RESIDENT SAYING: "It nourishes the body and can have medicinal effects'' AHMED SMOKING A CIGARETTE EATERY
- Embargoed: 7th May 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Sudan, Sudan
- Country: Sudan
- Topics: Health
- Reuters ID: LVAB888N9Y4NH5TEKIAV8RODXIFX
- Story Text: Bloodied chunks of raw liver from a freshly slaughtered camel may not be the idea of an appetizing breakfast for most, but for some in northern Sudan there is no better way to start the day.
In Tambul, a village of low mud and stone houses off a dirt track lined only with the occasional donkey carcass, the camel market is where raw liver aficionados gather for their weekly fix of the local delicacy.
The liver, extracted from slaughtered camels is brought in large quantities to the market by butchers and traders.
"During Tambul's market day, we slaughter 40 camels,'' said al-Fadil Eisa, a butcher.
He and his peers have been feasting on the delicacy for years. For them, camel liver is delicious and nourishing and has been for as along as they can remember.
"It is delicious and has many health benefits. Since I was child I've been used to eating it. It has never harmed me. It has no negative side effects," said Ahmed Mohammed, a camel meat trader.
At the crack of dawn on a Saturday, Mubarak Mohammed Ahmed, 57, stood waiting by the main highway from Khartoum, hoping to hitch a ride to the market for a liver breakfast.
Here, residents can purchase it for 15 US dollars a kilo.
"The liver that people buy here is bought at 35 sudanese pounds a kilo from its source but here the kilo costs 40 sudanese pounds," said Yassin, a Tambul market butcher.
Like many others in the area, he brings his day's ration along with herbs and spices to a local eatery, run by Miriam Bakhit, who mixes the liver with onions, lemon, and peppers.
''Residents of this area eat camel's liver. It is very important to them. They eat it in the morning for breakfast," said Bakhit.
And just like his fellow Tambul residents, he swears the dish offers an array of health benefits -- though some of the claims may be debatable at best.
"It is good for the body, it allows one to stay in the sun for long periods. it's easy to digest lifts the mood and one feels more active after eating it," said Ahmed.
Eaten directly from a communal bowl with one's fingers, the liver tastes crunchy despite its gelatin-like texture. The hint of peanut sauce and lemon do little to mask the feeling that one is, well, eating the uncooked insides of a camel.
"It nourishes the body and can have medicinal effects,'' said Kamal, another Tambul resident.
The camel has long served as food, friend, transport and war machine in the Arab world and its liver is eaten raw in some other Middle Eastern countries as well.
Despite its local reputation as only healthy, a joint study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Saudi Ministry of Health in 2005 documented cases of plague in a remote Saudi village from eating infected raw camel liver. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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