View source for Masgouf

{{Infobox prepared food
| name             = Semeç Masgûf<br />سمچ مسگوف
| image            = [[File:Maskuf8.jpg|300px]]
| caption          = Carp Masgûf slowly roasting on the [[wood fuel|wood]] embers
| country          = Southern [[Mesopotamia]] (Modern day [[Iraq]])
| region           = [[Baghdad]] and along the [[Tigris River]]
| creator          = [[Sumer]]ian-[[Babylonia]]n<ref>[http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/3592 Food of Iraq: Enshrined With A Long History]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iraqicookbook.com/contents/intro/main.html|title=Delights from the Garden of Eden, A History of the Iraqi Cuisine|accessdate=2010-12-15}}</ref>
| course           = Main course
| served           = Hot
| main_ingredient  = Large freshwater [[carp]]s and [[Barbus grypus|barb]]s  from the [[Tigris-Euphrates river system|Tigris-Euphrates Basin]]<ref>[http://www.froststreet.net/archives/2004_07.html#000193 Masgouf:From Mesopotamia to Manhattan]</ref>
| variations       = Northern Iraqi variation, in a [[tandoor|clay oven]]
}}
'''Semeç Masgûf''' ([[Iraqi Arabic]]: سمچ مسگوف'), or simply "'''Masgûf'''", is a traditional [[Iraqi cuisine|Mesopotamian]] dish, consisting of seasoned, grilled [[carp]]. It is de facto considered the [[national dish]] of [[Iraq]].

==Geographical Distribution==
The Iraqi capital city [[Baghdad]] prides itself of making the best of the Masgûf, with its famous [[Abu Nawas|Ebû Newâs]] district on the shores of the [[Tigris]] river, "dedicated" to this dish, with more than two dozen fish restaurants.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1991034.ece|title=Imams put fatwa on carp caught in Tigris | location=London | work=The Times|first=Richard|last=Beeston|date=27 June 2007}}</ref> Nonetheless, one can find the Masgûf all over Iraq, from North to South, especially in the regions near the [[Tigris-Euphrates river system|Tigris-Euphrates Basin]].

Outside of Iraq, the Masgûf is more or less popular in the [[Al-Jazira, Mesopotamia|Jazīra]] as in the rural parts of [[Syria]], especially in the regions bordering Iraq, such as in the [[Raqqa]] Governorate, (crossed by the [[Euphrates]]). It is also seen, at a lesser scale, in the [[Al-Jazira, Mesopotamia|Jazīra]] areas located in [[Turkey]], such as [[Nusaybin]] and [[Cizre]], on the Iraqi border.

On a slightly larger scale, Masgûf can now be enjoyed in [[Damascus]] due to a high number of Iraqis living there as a [[diaspora]], that immigrated after the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]].<ref name="Dp">[http://www.dp-news.com/pages/detail.aspx?l=1&articleId=6207 "أسعار العقارات في جرمانا تتحدى الإنحدار .. والجمود لم " ("Real estate prices in Jaramana challenge Downgrade ..")] ''De Press - Buildex Online'' 19 March 2009, in Arabic, last accessed 18 September 2010</ref> In the district of [[Jaramana|Jeremana]] alone, where dwell most of the Iraqis, more than ten Masgûf restaurants, staffed exclusively by an Iraqi personnel have been opened in a row. The fish is brought daily from the Syrian Euphrates to these restaurants, and is kept alive in a fishpond or a big [[aquarium]] until it is ordered by a customer for serving.

==Preparation and Serving==
[[File:Maskuf9.jpg|thumb|left|125px|Live carps waiting for their fate]]

Upon request of a customer, the fish is caught live and weighed. If agreed on, the animal is killed on the spot by a quick blow onto the forehead with a small rod. It is then partially scaled, gutted and cut in two identical halves from the belly up while leaving the back intact, opening the fish in the shape of a big symmetrical circle. From there, the master cook generously bastes the marinade on the inside of the fish with a brush. 

Note that the aforementioned marinade is exclusively made by a variable mixture of [[olive oil]], [[rock salt]], [[tamarind]] and ground [[turmeric]].

Following the marination process, the fish is either impaled on two sharp piles of wood, or placed in a big cast iron grill with a handle and a locking snare, designed specifically for that duty.<ref>[http://www.myjewishlearning.com/culture/food/Overview_Sephardic_Cuisine/The_Middle_East/Food_Perspective_Masgouf_Recipe.htm Masgouf :Prepare fish like they did along the Tigris]</ref>

[[File:Maskuf5.jpg|thumb|right|230px|The locking grills made of [[cast iron]]]]

The next step is the most delicate one, since the fish, together with the grill or the piles, is placed near the fire of the [[altar|fire altar]], a common feature shared by all Masgûf restaurants. The said "altar" typically consists of a big open-air area centered by a raised, podium-like sandbox that is either round, octagonal or sometimes rectangular and in the middle of which there's always a rather large bonfire, consisting exclusively of [[apricot tree]] logs.

The cooking typically takes between one and three hours depending on the size of the fish, until most of the fish's fat is burnt out (as the carps are  typically fatty), time during which the guests will pick at their [[meze]]s.

[[File:Maskuf4.jpg|thumb|left|125px|Masgûf served on a tray]]

When the fish is well cooked and crispy on the outsides, it is typically laid on a big tray garnished with [[Lime (fruit)|lime]] (or [[lemon]]), slices of [[onion]] and Iraqi [[Pickled cucumber|pickles]]. Sometimes, in [[Baghdad]], a little bit of a [[mango chutney]] is also spread on the inside. The tray is then covered by a large crispy flatbread straight of a [[tandoor|clay oven]] to keep the contents hot until served to the client.<ref name="Iraq in Pictures">Taus-Bolstad, Stacy (2003) [http://books.google.com/books?id=FnJPct6scxcC&pg=PA55&dq=Masgouf+iraq&num=30&ei=4u8RSu7nF5vuzQS9wcyQCw#PPA55,M1 ''Iraq in Pictures''], Twenty-First Century Books, p.55, ISBN 0-8225-0934-2</ref>

==Variations==
[[File:Maskuf3.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Masgûf roasting in a [[tandoor|clay oven]]]]

The [[Iraqi Turkmen|Turkmens]] of Northern Iraq prepare exactly the same recipe, with the only difference of using a [[tandoor|clay oven]]. The end result is more or less the same, being just a little faster.

==Notes==

The Masgûf arguably being the most famous dish of [[Iraq]], it is also the one that is always the foremost served to foreign delegations visiting the country by the Iraqi statesmen.
Two notable admirers of this dish are said to be the former President of France, [[Jacques Chirac]] and [[Vladimir Zhirinovsky]], the former chairman of the Russian [[Duma]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=8882|title=Fish chef nostalgic about Iraq's glory past}}</ref> Chirac apparently fell for the Masgûf during a visit to Iraq in a formal dinner given to his honor by [[Saddam Hussein]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
{{commons category|Masgouf}}
*[[Iraqi cuisine|Mesopotamian cuisine]]
*[[Middle Eastern cuisine]]

[[Category:Iraqi cuisine]]
[[Category:Fish dishes]]