Isaura Daniel*
São Paulo – Arab food is so present in the daily life of Brazilians that it has already arrived at the most important religious festivities, like Easter. Most of the Christian Arabs follow the tradition of bringing their family together for a meal on Easter Sunday and at this time the recipes of their Arab mothers and grandmothers are usually there. Syrian descendant Ivone Kurbhi, 87 years old, normally organizes a luncheon for her family on this date. They serve, according to her daughter in law, Maria Lúcia Haddad Kurbhi, from kibbehs to stuffed squash and chicken rice.
Maria Lúcia also prepares a dinner or lunch for her family during this period of the year, but on Good Friday, the day in which Christians refrain from eating meat, except for fish. Catholic, she cooks the traditional cod, but she always makes some typically Arab dish too, like fish kibbehs. Maria Lúcia works in cuisine. She supplies sweets, Arab specialties, for events, and as a specialist in the field, she says that it is possible to have entirely Arab meals on Good Friday.
The list of suggestions goes from chard rolls, with rice and chickpea, fish kibbehs, with walnuts and onion, fish risotto, formally called Saiadíe, which includes butter and syrian pepper. According to Maria Lúcia, other possible dishes include tabule, a salad made out of wheat, tomato, onion and green leaves, and lentils with rice in the Arab style, named Mudardara. For desert, both on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, the company suggests cheese and pistachio sweet, cream filled pie and Ataief, a little bun cake with cream or walnuts.
Trade
The activity in the kitchens and dining rooms of Arab homes during Easter also generates an increase in sales for those who work in the trade of dishes typical to the colony. At Confeitaria Pajé, which sells ingredients for the preparation of Arab foods and finished products, Mamoul, a buttered sweet that may be filled with walnuts, dates or pistachio, usually sells well at this time of year. The owner of the company, Nadim Nagib Kahil, stated that he does not know exactly why this takes place, but he says that some kinds of sweets, like Mamoul, sell better at Easter.
Also at Empório Syrio, a shop of Arab products, the search for dried fruit, like apricots and dates, used in the stuffing of Arab sweets, rises before Easter. These are also products that sell well during the year, according to the store manager, Alexandre Luiz Pereira. Empório Syrio, which belongs to Ricardo Cury, is one of most traditional Arab food stores in São Paulo, and has been on the market for 82 years.
Although Arab cuisine is part of Easter celebrations, most of members of the Arab colony who live in Brazil also give chocolate eggs as presents to their children on this date, as is traditional.
Service
Empório Syrio
Rua Comendador Abdo Schahin, 136
Bom Retiro – SP
Confeitaria Pajé
Rua Afonso Kherlakian, 63
Centro – SP
Maria Lúcia Kurbhi
Site: www.marialuciasouvenirs.com.br
E-mail: mldoces@bol.com.br
Telephone: (+55 11) 3021-9723
*Translated by Mark Ament
