the founder of sufra archive on her recipe for syrian mahshi, food as political expression, and eating two breakfasts
reality bites with salma serry
meet salma serry
Food historian Salma Serry has long believed that food is about more than just satiation for the stomach. Her upbringing in the United Arab Emirates emphasized food as a medium of exchange between friends and family, and taught her that a meal can be a window into political, romantic, and communal expression — a kind of satiation for the soul. It’s that knowledge that drove her to start Sufra Archive, a collaborative space to research Middle Eastern cultural history and to understand the past, present, and future of food. When she’s not expanding the archive or pursuing her PhD on food supply ecosystems in the Gulf, you can find her refining her eclectic collection of tableware, making a cup of warm tea, or taking silent, focused trips to the grocery store.
Read our reality bites interview with Salma here — paid subscribers can also scroll down for her recipe for mahshi (stuffed eggplants and zucchini).
“Food history as a concept isn’t just about what people ate — it’s a lens into how societies functioned, how power shifted, and how cultures evolved. It tells us about trade routes, colonization, migration, and — at its core — survival. It reveals class structures and who had access to what and why. It reveals narratives of resistance, like how communities reclaimed or adapted food and technologies imposed on them. Recipes are archives in themselves, carrying stories across generations. Even a single ingredient can trace a journey of empire, war, or ingenuity. Studying food history isn’t just about the past — it helps us understand current issues around globalization, sustainability, and food politics today.”
discover our exclusive discounts
passerby club paid subscribers receive exclusive discounts from over 20 partners
Natoora is a high-end greengrocer focused on revolutionizing the supply of fruit & vegetables to shape the future of food for the better. Their Peak Season Box reflects their nimble sourcing — every two weeks they select the best produce from their community of growers. Paid passerby subscribers receive 20% off the Peak Season Box.
discover more interviews
salma’s go-to recipe
I’ve been obsessed with this Syrian recipe for mahshi (stuffed eggplants and zucchini) from a 1960s cookbook, Fan Al-Tabkh.
Ingredients: