Dietary Restrictions

I was curious whether there are any strictures regarding food and alcohol in the Azadi faith. In several of the religions it seems to draw from, for instance, certain fish and meat can't be eaten, or alcohol cannot be consumed (or must be consumed during certain religious holidays, depending on the Faith).

Diet

The staple diet of the caliphate is heavier on grains and vegetables than meat, with variety added by whatever fruits happen to be in season. Wheat and barley are widely available and are commonly used to bake bread -- typically flatbread -- and small cakes. However, they must be transported in bulk from the caliphate's chief agricultural regions to the more arid and rugged parts of the provinces that can grow them only on a small scale or not at all. Many provinces grow their own local grains which are better suited to local conditions, especially small-seeded species like teff and millet. Besides being cooked and eaten as part of a wide variety of dishes, teff and millet can also be used to make flatbreads that are sometimes locally preferred to imported wheat or barley. Millet is also very commonly used to make a much beloved treat called mahani -- puffed millet shaped into cakes sweetened and stuck together with honey and date syrup.

The meat consumed in the caliphate primarily consists of lamb, mutton, breel, goat, and various types of domestic and wildfowl, with beef and camel available locally or during feasts. Pork is not eaten, being proscribed by Azadi; the flesh of carrion-eating creatures is also forbidden. All animals slaughtered for their meat must be killed and prepared in the proper way, with due care and mercy shown to the animal, and the carcass drained of blood. Blood is likewise a forbidden item of consumption among Azadi. Duck, goose, partridge, pigeon, and many other birds may be eaten, but eating minglefowl is generally considered taboo though not actually proscribed. Although these dietary practices are based on religion, they are common throughout the caliphate's populace regardless of faith, simply due to long custom and the limited availability of non-Azadi foods.

Alcohol is also generally given to be a proscribed item of consumption, but various intoxicating drinks are consumed around the caliphate nevertheless. Strict Azadi will not touch them, but those of a more moderate bent may partake in small amounts occasionally, and in some regions of the caliphate (especially Amunat, with its heqet, and Irzal, with its wine) the proscription on alcohol is not very well observed at all. But abstinence and sobriety are very accepted ideals in the caliphate, so a great variety of non-alcoholic beverages are readily available, from coffee and tea to countless fruity drinks.


[copying from the wiki as written by Mistsparrow, of course]

Whoo! Thank you!