In 9th-century Abbasid Khorasan, meals are taken seated around a cloth (sofra) spread on the floor. Bread (nan) is placed in the center, accompanied by a single main dish — stew, porridge, or tharid — and a few side items: dates, fresh cheese, herbs. The ascetic scholar often makes do with just one dish and water or date infusion. Festive meals add an elaborate meat dish and stuffed pastries.

The date is the staple food of the itinerant Muslim scholar: nourishing, durable, and laden with prophetic significance. Date vinegar, a major condiment in Abbasid Khorasan and Iraq, connects the two poles of the era's cuisine — frugal sweetness and preserving acidity.