It's the national dish that brought down a dictator. And it's delicious
BAGHDAD - Standing by a small concrete pool, chef Mohammad Qassem thrusts his hand into the murky water. Out comes a sizable carp, 6 pounds or so. As the fish thrashes, he grabs a club. He thwacks once. He thwacks twice. Then he puts the carp - its wriggling stayed by the blows - on a scale.
The fish is stunned, but Qassem still moves with brutal efficiency: He plunges a knife into the center of its head, dragging the blade along the spine before splaying the fish open with a sharp crack. He scoops the innards out, sluices the now disclike fish with water and applies generous heaps of rock salt. He turns to impale the fish on two stakes driven astride a fierce wood fire; the carp's flesh turns pearly before the open flame.
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