Scirpus Tuber Porridge - by: Sonya Atalay

Cooking time: approximately 5 hours (includes gathering tubers, processing tubers, heating balls, and cooking porridge)
You'll need:

• one medium-sized tightly woven basket
• 10-12 clay balls
• water
• flint for starting fire
• firewood, dung, flint fire starter
• tuber flour
• preferred seasonings
• clay ball scoop
• small clay pot of rinsing water

1. Fill basket with fresh water. Soak for 1 hour. (Basket will absorb water, expanding the fibers and making it water-tight. This will also keep your basket from scorching.)
2. Dig a shallow pit outside. Place your soaked cooking basket in the pit. The pit will hold the basket steady and prevent it from drying out.
3. Stack 10-12 clay balls on the ground. Stack dried dung on top of balls, along with small twigs and leaves. For best results, arrange dung and sticks in a pyramid over the balls. This allows for even burning and heating.
4. Strike flint. The sparks will ignite the dry dung and twigs. Burn until fire goes out and only ash remains.
5. Use clay ball scoop to remove 1 heated ball from the fire. Quickly dip the ball into pot of rinsing water to remove ash.) Be sure scoop has been soaked in water to prevent burning.
6. Add hot clay ball to the cooking basket. The clay ball will warm the water immediately.
7. Add 7-10 handfuls of ground tuber flour to the warm water and stir. Mix thoroughly. Add two more balls to the mixture. Continue stirring to prevent clay balls from burning through the bottom of the basket. As clay balls cool, remove them and replace with hot ones.
8. Continue adding and removing clay balls until tuber mixture thickens.

Serving Suggestions
Remove clay balls. Add desired seasonings, such as wild onion, and serve. We recommend that you thank the earth and earth goddess for providing the tubers, clay, and baskets that allow you to cook and nourish yourself and your family.

This recipe is from the imagination of archaeologist Sonya Atalay, of the University of California at Berkeley. She studies the clay balls found at Çatalhöyük.