Whispering About The Mandalorian

To begin, i’ll give a list of a few Mando’a words related to food and eating (via mandocreator.com):

“Kai : food”

“Skraan: food, *scran* (generic slang for a meal)”

“Kai’tome : meal (lit. food together)”

“Gett : a nut (generic food) (pl. gett’se)”

“Gaid : plate - for armor or food use; armor was often used to heat food over open fires in the field”

“Draluram : vivid - used only of food, to indicate strong, distinct flavour (lit. *bright mouth* - one of the four essentials of Mandalorian cooking)”

“Hetikleyc : spicy, as in makes the sinuses burn (a sensation like eating horseradish or wasabi)”

“Heturam : "mouthburn" - a sought-after state of intense burning in the mouth brought about by very spicy food - see also hetikleyc”

“Ori’skraan : A delicacy, a real treat in terms of food; A blow-out meal, a feast (slang), *big eats*”

“Pirijanad : hot sauce”

“Skraan'ikase : assorted small snacks like meze or tapas - *small eats* - a celebratory meal for Mandos because it can take hours to eat, and the dishes are often fiddly, a contrast to the easy-to-eat, quick meals necessary in the field”

“Yai’yai : *richly nourishing* - peculiarly Mandalorian description of dense, high-calorie food, of great importance to people dependent on highly portable field rations”

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Canon & Legends Mandalorian Foods (via wookiepedia, mandocreator, and…cook books…?):

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Pog Soup:

This one needs no real introduction. Bo-Katan famously touts Pog Soup as a mandalorian staple. Disney/Lucasfilm released an official recipe for pog soup, it is essentially a thai coconut curry.

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Tiingilar:

an extremely spicy mandalorian stew. Tiingilar means “eat at your own risk.”

Actually available in Disneyland as a stew of shrimp, sausage, and pasta

There is a cookbook that has a full recipe for Tiingilar, which is essentially a curry (like pog soup). In the interest of playing it excessively safe, I will quote the excerpt from the book and give a description of the ingredients. If you’d like to make it yourself, there definitely aren’t PDFs of the cook book floating around. Wink wink.

“Mandalorians were proud warriors with a real reputation for toughness. If somethin' didn't pose a challenge, it wasn't worth their time. Apparently, that point of view carried over into suppertime as well, as evidenced by this traditional stew that's so blazin' hot it'll burn the hair right outta your nostrils. This old Mandalorian gem is known in their native tongue as tingilar—| ain't fluent in Mando'a, but I assume it roughly translates to "eat at your own risk." Combinin' a hearty blend of meat and veg with a scorchin' seasonin' mix, this concoction would make even the hardiest Mandalorian sweat themselves right outta that crazy armor of theirs.” - Strono Tuggs; Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook

notable ingredients include onion, garlic, ginger, chicken, apple, carrots, potatoes, garam masala, curry powder, tomato paste, broth, and couscous.

Considering the discrepancies between the two recipes, I fully wholeheartedly believe Tiingilar eventually became a general name for an extremely spicy stew. The only hard requirements is that it is blisteringly spicy, contains meat, a starch, and some kind of vegetable. I imagine that different regions and tribes have wildly different variations and recipes, and it makes sense that one mando would have a very, very different idea of what good tiingilar is than another mando.

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Cassius Tea:

a tea brewed from cassius tree florets, believed to bring good health (via wookiepedia)

Chamomile, Chrysanthemum, Hibiscus, Jasmine, Rose, Honeysuckle, Osmanthus, and Lavender are all examples of floral teas-- I like to think the flavor profile of Cassius tea is similar to jasmine or lavender tea.

the flowers come from the Cassius tree. This is unconfrimed, but I assume the tree is named after Cassus Fett- AKA Mandalore the Ultimate.

There is a real-life Cassia tree (Cassia fistula), which may be the alternative point of inspiration. The seeds, as well as other parts of the tree, are considered toxic. Please do not try to make any teas, cookies, or tinctures from any parts of this tree. The Cassia tree is used in traditional herbalism, but it is strongly discouraged to attempt to use the plant parts to self-medicate-- a common medicinal use is as a potent laxative. The appearance of the tree is gorgeous, and I mention the tree because its stunning appearance may be a point of inspiration in writing for Cassius tea and Cassius tea cookies.

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Cassius Tea Cookies :

Another recipe from one of Strono Tuggs' cookbooks; the recipe is for a sugar cookie with black sesame seeds. It's intended to be cookies created using Cassius Tea seeds; much like earl-grey tea & earl-grey cookies.

"This tea biscuit made with the cassius flower's tiny black seeds. I s'pose you could enjoy a steaming mug of cassius tea with out one, but if you're hopin' to experience the true taste of Mandalore, this is the way." - Strono Tuggs ; Star Wars: The Ultimate Cookbook

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Uj’alayi:

Mandalorian fruit cake-- made from ground nuts and dried fruits, soaked in spiced syrup.

I imagine this cake is ideal for field conditions-- the dense cakes would keep well in ration packs, the spiced syrup can be made in-field and added later, and it's cute to imagine a group of Mandos passing around hunks of sweet, syrupy cake. It also sounds very high-nutrition-- dried fruits provide vitamins, nuts provide essential fats and proteins, and sugar is essential to energy and morale. A definite staple.

Looks like a dense brown cake, packed with chopped almonds and soaked in syrup. The ingredients for the cake include "walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, candied peel, golden raisins, dried figs, dried currants, dried cherries, flour, candied ginger, cinnamon, mace, pepper, curry powder and salt. The syrup includes honey, pomegranate/date molasses, and butter."

The recipe (and listed ingredients) for this is included in Strono Tuggs' cookbook:

"The sweet, sticky cake known as uj'alayi is a traditional Mandalorian dessert, the secret recipe for which was handed down through the generations."―Strono Tuggs; Star Wars: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook

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Ne’tra gal :

“black ale - sweet, almost spicy black beer similar to milk stout” (via mandocreator)

Milk Stout is an ale brewed with lactose-- these milk sugars are not fermented with the rest of the stout, making the beer rich, slightly sweet, and slightly creamy. Visually similar to Guinness-- dark and opaque.

A spicy-sweet dark ale sounds fucking fantastic and I'm upset I can't drink any right now-- some real-life variations of spiced milk stout are made to taste like chai! Jealous.

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Kri’gee :

a bitter mandalorian ale with a high alcohol content. Viewed as a challenge not only for its taste, but for the severe hangover it can cause. (via wookiepedia)

a comparable real-life ale would be bitter pale-ale-- usually translucent and golden, like traditional beer.

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Tihaar :

“a strong, clear liquor made from fruit— similar to eau de vie” (via mandocreator)

eau de vie is a distilled spirit similar to brandy made from fruit, and the flavor of the fruit is concentrated in the drink. Its used to make cocktails, enjoyed on its own, or as a digestif— I can see big celebratory Mandalorian dinners having these in stock, particularly for a Skraan’ikase, where the foods are meant to be savored and enjoyed slowly.

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Speculations, Suggestions, Et Cetera:

A collection of my own ideas and speculation, largely based on the information above.

Mandalorian cuisine is absolutely broad-reaching due to the highly diverse melting-pot culture! There is no real wrong answer when writing the foods your mandos are eating. The galaxy is an unfathomably massive place and mandalorians have been found all-over at some point or another-- get creative, take liberties. There are no wrong answers.

Off-Field Meals:

"Finnicky" foods are often shared on special occasions or holidays (see Skraan'ikase above.) Real-life foods that are meant to be shared, or require some form of intensive manual preparation/assembly, could serve as points of inspiration-- to include charcuterie, tapas, mezedes, sushi, crab legs, deviled eggs, kebab, cooked artichoke, hard-shelled nuts, korean hotpot, crawfish, shrimp cocktail, raw fruits and vegetables, etc etc! If it wouldn't be seen in a ready-to-eat ration pack, it's fair game for a skraan'ikase.

Home-cooked meals would be seen as delicacies in their own right, especially to traditionalist or nomadic mandalorians. Offering any mando a warm, home-cooked meal and a safe place to rest is no small thing.

Mandalorian food would likely be rich in beans/legumes. They're complete proteins, versatile, and easily stored long-term. Even if most prepared rations include them as a rule, it's likely that beans are a staple in mandalorian home-cooked meals.

On-the-Field Meals:

Again-- beans. Dried beans are found on any ship. I guarantee you that Din Djarin keeps a bag of dried legumes stashed in his rations for emergencies.

Ration packs in greater Star Wars lore include nutrient-dense bars and pastes, but may include dried soups, stews, and jerky. Real-life MREs are a good example-- add water, heat, eat.

I like to imagine that fresh fruits and vegetables are exchanged like currency on the field. Make a point of offering any mandalorians you see some fresh fruits and vegetables; their eyes will light up so bright you'll see it through their T-visors.