Zarb

Zarb is less a recipe than an oven. A pit close to a metre deep is dug in the ground and a metal drum is lowered into it; the drum is there to stop the earth from sliding onto the food. Ghada, the black saxaul shrub of the steppe, is burned at the bottom of the drum and left until the flame dies and only embers remain. The meat and vegetables go down onto those embers.

How the pit is set

Trays of meat and vegetables are stacked in a metal basket. At the very bottom of that basket sits a pot of spiced rice. The order is deliberate: as the meat cooks its fat drips straight down into the rice, so the most talked-about part of the dish is the pot underneath it. Once the basket is lowered the drum is sealed and earth is heaped over the lid.

Why no air can get in

If the lid leaks, the embers catch flame and the food burns. Sealed, the embers give high heat without flaring, and the meat cooks for hours in its own steam. The job of whoever stays by the pit is therefore not to tend a fire but to make sure the seal holds.

Who cooks it

It belongs to the Badiat al-Sham, the steppe between Palmyra and Homs, and the same method is used across the Jordanian and Palestinian steppe. In Syria the meat is lamb. In parts of Jordan and Palestine chicken goes in, and nearer the coast fish. It is food for a gathering, like mansaf, but without the yoghurt that defines mansaf — zarb is dry and smoky.

Where and when to eat it

At desert camps, at weddings in the steppe, and on days when guests are received. You are unlikely to meet it in a city restaurant: the pit is set for a whole group and there is no such thing as a single portion. Several hours pass between digging and serving, so it has to be arranged in the morning.