Beyond the Buzz: Global Pot Recipes

By Jen Polachek

Credit: (Illustration) Mark Smith/Salzman International

Do you remember (perhaps it was a blur) those Alice B. Toklas brownies that were passed to you at a party in college? The recipe—for fudge, actually, made with hashish, compressed marijuana resin—was popularized by writer Gertrude Stein's partner. She got it from painter Brion Gysin and included it in The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook (Harper & Row, 1954). But it has global precedents, dishes containing different amounts of cannabis, for varying levels of herbaceousness—and high. They include:

Bhang Ki Thandai
In India, the fresh leaves and flowers of the female Cannabis sativa plant are ground to a paste and mixed with milk, nuts, and spices in a potent shake that's popular during March's raucous Holi festival.

Mad'joun
Moroccans mix toasted marijuana tops or hashish with dried fruit, nuts, honey, and spices for the psychoactive confection mad'joun, which means "love potion" in Arabic.

Mie Aceh
In Indonesia's Aceh region, marijuana pops up in unexpected places. The spicy noodle dish mie aceh, a hawker favorite, sometimes has a unique earthy quality, thanks to a touch of pot leaves.

See Edible Weed: Marijuana Chicken Curry »