Chufa and the Egyptians

Chufa, bucket and barley

In another article, we wrote about the use of chufa by primeval man. In more modern times, it was the Egyptians who made great use of chufa. After emmer (a primal grain) and barley, chufa was the most commonly used food. Other commonly eaten foods were onions, lettuce, carobe, fish and dates.

Chufa was already eaten 5000 BC in Egypt. Indeed, images of the chufa plant have been found in tombs and chufa itself has been found in the stomachs of ancient mummies.

Rekhmire

One of the images was found in the tomb of Rekhmire, advisor to the pharaohs Tutmosis III and Amenhotep II. He died in the mid-15th century B.C. In his tomb, many images were found depicting daily activities at that time, and one of them was weighing chufas or tiger nuts.

The Egyptians used chufa in cooking to chew on, cooking in beer and in recipes such as dressings and breads. It was also used as an ingredient in salves and cosmetics, for on the skin, for bowel movements and as an air freshener in combination with myrrh.

Also on the wall of Rekhmire's tomb: a recipe for a sweet snack made from chufa.

The recipe which was on the wall of the tomb translated to today:

Recipe Egyptian rolls anno 1550-1292 BC

Grind whole chufas in a mortar and sieve the flour. Add some honey to the mixture and mix into a dough. Put it in a (metal) baking tin and place it on a fire along with some fat. It is ready when it has become a firm mass, it should not smell burnt but lightly toasted. Let it cool and then cut it into pieces, or form the dough into oblong shapes beforehand.

Our version of this antique recipe:

Recipe Egyptian rolls anno now

The secret of the sandwiches: the texture! They are deliciously crunchy and also delicious without toppings. Perfect for on the go.

Version 1, natural

125 grams of chufa flour
25 g Arrowroot
30 grams of honey
50 ml chufa oil
10 ml water
Sea salt

Mix the flour with the salt and oil, add water and honey. Knead into a dough and make 2 balls out of this. Bake for half an hour at 175c.

Version 2, with Middle Eastern spices

Same base as the plain one but add to the flour: 30 grams of chopped apricots, a teaspoon of cinnamon powder, 1/4 cardamon, a little saffron, 1/4 teaspoon aniseed, 1/4 teaspoon allspice and a pinch of vanilla.

Also knead these into 2 balls and bake at 175c for 30 minutes.

From Egypt to Spain

From Egypt, chufas were brought to Spain by the Moors (mainly Moroccan Berbers and Arabs) in the conquest of Spain by the Moors in the 8th century. Where the Moors were only driven out after centuries, the chufa was in Spain to stay. It became the origin for the drink 'orxata (or horchata) de chufa'.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Ancientfoods