The National Transitional Council is about to announce the complete liberation of Libya 8 months after the first demonstrations and exactly 2 months after the capital was freed. Gaddafi's last stronghold and hometown of Sirte has been liberated, as Libyans celebrate the demise of the bizarre and brutal dictator who has ruled us for 42 years. His humiliating last scenes, reminiscent of deaths of Ceausescu and Mussolini, are a fitting end to a man who delighted in televising executions and left the corpses hanging in university campuses and public squares. In some ways building a state of institutions will be much more difficult than the battle against Gaddafi's brigades, but today is a day to honour the martyrs and wounded who sacrificed for a free Libya, it is a day to celebrate.
Celebrations in Libya mean one thing: Asida, a quick dessert that is made for births and Eid and is traditionally cooked and eaten as soon as possible after receiving good news.
Asida is a cooked dough eaten with honey or date syrup and melted butter. We have a step by step recipe for asida showing how the dough is cooked in water. Asida is an Arabic word and the dish is also known in the Arab Peninsula, but is in some ways a sweet version of the Amazigh Bazeen which is also a dough of wheat or barley flour cooked in water.
As soon as the news was announced, we at the Libya Food Blog made this Asida to celebrate the liberation of our country.
As soon as the news was announced, we at the Libya Food Blog made this Asida to celebrate the liberation of our country.
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Smiley face asida with a Libyan flag. |
First of all, I want to say a huge congratulations for everything that the Libyan people have endured with such courage and resilience, and what they have achieved over recent months.
ReplyDeleteMy friend and I both work in Berlin currently and work a lot on Libyan issues so have been following things closely. I have also been drooling over your recipes and photos, which remind me so much of my beloved Azerbaijan, about whose cuisine I love to write.
My deepest congratulations once again.
Lucy
http://thecolourofpomegranates.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your interest in Libya and pointing me to your blog. I would never have guessed our food looked similar to Central Asian cuisine (!) looking forward to dicovering Azerbaijani food!
ReplyDeleteألف مبروك للشعب الليبي والعربي
ReplyDeleteYou're right to celebrate this victory, I would have been happy to share this dessert with you ;-)
I hope the Syrian dictator will be the next one !
الله يبارك فيكي Tfadali al asida :)
ReplyDeleteLibyans also pray that Bashar will be next, in every liberation day celebration we chanted for Syria. Inshalla you will be posting a Syrian celebratory meal soon.