Hungover?

A big night out is usually followed by a fry-up, a cup of tea and painkillers.

But a Middle Eastern recipe uncovered in a 10th century cookbook could be all you need to cure a hangover.

The 1,000-year-old Iraqi dish involves cooking meat with vegetables and spices, and then adding something known as ‘kashk’.

Kashk is combination of fermented yoghurt, milk and whey, and is common in Iranian, Turkish, Balkan and Arabic food.

It is the main ingredient in this hangover cure found in ancient book, written by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, and translated by Nawal Nasrallah in ‘Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens.’

‘We need to keep in mind that people in medieval times believed in the Galenic theory of the four humors — blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile, and their properties, of cold, hot, humid, and dry,’ Ms Nasrallah told MailOnline.

‘The rationale was that with its cold properties, easy digestion, and nourishing power, it helped alleviate the hangovers – usually people suffer from excess heat in the head and stomach.’

The book claims that eating cabbage before drinking prevents you from getting too drunk.[amazon asin=B00GGRC0B8&template=*lrc ad (right)]

It also advises eating snacks between drinks to slow down the effects of alcohol.

‘You need to know that drinking cold water first thing in the morning is recommended only for people suffering from…hangovers,’ Al-Warraq wrote.

‘However, they should avoid drinking it in one big gulp. Rather, they need to have it in several small doses and breathe deeply between one dose and the other.’

Historians believe that al-Warraq’s Kitab al-Tabikh, or ‘The Cooking Book,’ is the oldest cookbook in the Arab world.

Al-Warraq says that sips of coldwater should be followed up with Kkishkiyya, an ancient meat and chickpea stew.

To make Kkishkiyya, you cook the meat – usually lamb – with some vegetables and spices such as coriander and cumin. You then let it boil.

The Kashk, also known as Kishk, is added and the dish left to simmer and rest on the remaining heat.

In the book, Al-Warraq cites an older poem about the dishes ability to cure a hangover.

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