Doll-baby Red (rang-i arusak)

Ingredients

kasunab, mu'safar, safflower, saji, pomegranate juice, lime juice, tamarind juice

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The half-crushed seeds are placed in a jar and moistened with water. The next day they are wrapped in a square of fine linen (kerbas) tied to a four-legged frame. Water is poured through until the safflower-extract is washed out. The extract is squeezed and sun-dried until half-dry. Some saji is added (1/4 ser per 18 ser of mu'safar) and rubbed vigorously until the safflower is 'killed' (kushta) — verified if it settles to the bottom of a cup of water. This product is 'doll-baby red'. For coloring paper, sour pomegranate juice, lime juice, or tamarind juice is added to the mu'safar water and churned until froth stops forming. Paper is then dipped in the mixture for three to six hours (p. 47).

Evidence

"'Doll-baby' Red (rang-i arusak): This is extracted from kasunab, which is also known as mu'safar (safflower). Depending upon how much is needed, the half-crushed (seeds) are placed into a jar (zarfi), and a little water is added to moisten them."

Remarks

The recipe provides a rigorous test for the 'killing' of the pigment, which is a critical chemical transformation in traditional safflower processing (p. 47). The author notes these vegetable dyes were used primarily for tinted paper borders (p. 46).