WEST BANK: Palestinians in the village of Aroura aim to cook their way into the record books by preparing the biggest "Musakhan" ever made

Record ID: 561125

  • Title: WEST BANK: Palestinians in the village of Aroura aim to cook their way into the record books by preparing the biggest "Musakhan" ever made
  • Date: 23rd April 2010
  • Summary: COOKS GATHERED AROUND LARGE MUSAKHAN DISH VARIOUS OF COOKS PREPARING MEAL MORE OF PREPARATION (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COOK ABU MOHAMMED AL-BASHA SAYING: "A Palestinian dish par excellence. It's ingredients were, 500 kilograms of onions, 500 chickens, 170 litres of olive oil, 70 kilograms of almonds, 50 kilograms of sumac, one kilogram of cardamon, one kilogram of bay leaves, one kilogram of cinnamon sticks, eight kilograms of salt. We also used 250 kilos of flour, totalling 1,350 kilograms." MORE OF COOKS PREPARING AND CELEBRATING COOKED MUSAKHAN COOKS CARRYING PALESTINIAN FLAG AND CELEBRATING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COOK ABU MOHAMMED AL-BASHA SAYING: "We completed the dish following 20 consecutive hours of work. This came following three months of discussion and planning." MORE OF MUSAKHAN VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER SALAM FAYYAD AT EVENT CHILD HOLDING PRESENT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER SALAM FAYYAD SAYING: "Why do we celebrate? We celebrate our culture, our heritage, our roots, which confirms our attachment to this land, and our right to exercise our right in it. And a Guinness title or not, that would only be an additional benefit." VARIOUS OF FAYYAD EATING CROWD AS SEEN FROM A DISTANCE
  • Embargoed: 8th May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA456X0ABY736Y32UUU55FNX4WG
  • Story Text: In the small West Bank village of Aroura, home to around 2,000 people, more than forty chefs participated in making one of the largest ever dishes of musakhan, a traditional Palestinian dish. The chefs are hoping to enter their cooking attempt into the Guinness Book of World Records.
    Locals gathered in the village located north of the West Bank city of Ramallah to watch the huge dish being prepared.
    Musakhan is a round of toasted flat village bread drenched in olive oil. It is covered with sauteed onions, baked chicken and toasted almonds, and spiced primarily with sumac.
    The large round of bread measured 4.5 meters in diameter.
    "A Palestinian dish, par excellence. It's ingredients were, 500 kilograms of onions, 500 chickens, 170 litres of olive oil, 70 kilograms of almonds, 50 kilograms of sumac, one kilogram of cardamon, one kilogram of bay leaves, one kilogram of cinnamon sticks, eight kilograms of salt. We also used 250 kilos of flour, totalling 1,350 kilograms," explained Abu Mohammed al-Basha, one of the cooks.
    "We completed the dish following 20 consecutive hours of work. This came following three months of discussion and planning," al-Basha added.
    The organisers have been in contact with the Guinness Book of Records representatives, hoping that their record breaking attempt will be recorded.
    Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Palestinian Minister of Tourism Khuloud Deibis, Mayor of Ramallah Janet Mikhail and Ramallah governor Layla Ghannam were all present during the event.
    The record breaking attempt is the latest in a string of cooking activities in the region. Palestinians in Nablus made what is believed to be the largest knafeh, a traditional Palestinian sweet, in July last year.
    Chefs in the Palestinian-Israeli village of Abu Ghosh recently claimed the title from Lebanon for the largest plate of chick-pea salad, hummus.
    Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who was seen tucking into the dish, said there was reason to celebrate Palestinian cuisine.
    "Why do we celebrate? We celebrate our culture, our heritage, our roots, which confirms our attachment to this land, and our right to exercise our right in it. And a Guinness title or not, that would only be an additional benefit," Fayyad said.
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