Drathiraiqy
The full moon is important to the drow following Faith of Children of The Dancer. These drow, often called simply the Children consider the midsummer full moon as the most important one. During Midsummer Moon, traditional drathiraiqy or "mooncakes" are part of the celebration cuisine. Midsummer is definite drathiraiqy-season, but pastries are often present in other festivities as a delicacy.
Drathiraiqy is a bit sticky, often round or crescent-shaped pastry or confection depending on your definition. The dough is white and mixed with herbs and spices, giving it the spicy flavour typical to drow cuisine. The typical piece is between the size that fits on one's palm to one that is about the size of a fist. It is filled with mildly sweet, thick, jellied jam/paste, though also some savoury variations occur.
The paste inside is often made of berries, nuts, roots and mushroom typical to underdark, and maybe have alcohol added to it. The cake is decorated with edible flower petals and moon-shape decorations to reminded the goddess Eilistraee and her moon.
Eating too many drathiraiqy in a short period of time can, besides tummy ache from eating too many sweets, cause mild hallucination and drowsiness. This is a good thing to note by travellers unfamiliar of the drow cuisine: many plants in Underdark are poisonous or have narcotic uses, including some basic cooking spices if consumed in high enough quantities. The effect should wear off after some rest.
History
There is no definite moment known when drathiraiqy became its own distinct pastry. This is partly because many of the main ingredients are typical to other drow cuisine way before the time of Eilistraee, and similar pastries can be found in other drow cultures.
First, written records found that mention drathiraiqy by name come from the year 1523 AoS. The pastry was mentioned in a song describing mid-summer celebrations. After that, mentions become more prominent in literature and written recipes start to emerge.
Execution
Extra careful precision is used making the drathiraiqy cakes, as the cakes have a religious connection. Making the cakes are seen as offering to the Goddess. Thus it is very typical that to honour Eilistraee, goddess of moonlight, dance, song, sword fight and beauty, bakers sing during the process of making the cakes. Some even consider it to be a mandatory ingredient, or otherwise, the cake might start to taste like ash.
Components and tools
Drathiraiqy are made from ssinjineer flour, which when worked with and mixed with water turns into a paste that slightly resembles dough made from mochigome rice. This is mixed with spider egg yolks, making it more thick and little less sticky than used in most drow sweets. Spices are added to give it more character before the paste is added in and covered with dough.
The paste can include nuts, berries, and mushrooms, and are mixed with spices and sometimes alcohol. Sometimes berry jams from the surface are added to extra sweet flavour.
"They will sell out like mooncakes!"
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Author's Notes
This article was created as an entry for World Anvil's Summer Camp 2019 event. Sometimes it's easier to get things done when there is an event involved! You can view all my entries to the event here, or check out Summer Camp 2019!