Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh
Tabbouleh
CourseSalad
Place of originLebanon and Syria
Region or stateEastern Mediterranean
Serving temperatureCold
Main ingredientsParsley, tomato, bulgur, onion, olive oil, lemon juice, salt
VariationsPomegranate seeds instead of tomato

Tabbouleh (Arabic: تبولة, romanizedtabbūla), also transcribed tabouleh, tabbouli, tabouli, or taboulah, is a Levantine salad made mostly of finely chopped parsley, with tomatoes, mint, onion, soaked bulgur, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and sweet pepper. Some variations add lettuce, or use semolina instead of bulgur.[1][2][3][4][5]

Tabbouleh is traditionally served as part of a mezze in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Arab world.[6][7][8][9] Like hummus, baba ghanoush, pita bread, and other elements of Arab cuisine, tabbouleh has become a popular food in the United States.[10][11]

Etymology

The Levantine Arabic tabbūle is derived from the Arabic word tābil from the Aramaic root word t-b-l, meaning "seasoning"[12][13] or more literally "dip".[citation needed] Use of the word in English first appeared in the 1950s.[12]

History

Originally from the mountains of Lebanon and Syria,[14] tabbouleh has become one of the most popular salads in the Middle East.[15] The wheat variety salamouni[what language is this?] cultivated in the Beqaa Valley region in Lebanon, was considered (in the mid-19th century) as particularly well-suited for making bulgur, a basic ingredient of tabbouleh.[16] In Lebanon, the Lebanese National Tabbouleh Day is a yearly festivity day dedicated to Tabbouleh. Since 2001, it is celebrated the first Saturday of the month of July.[17]

Regional variations

Tabbouleh ingredients

In the Arab world, especially Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, it is usually served as part of a meze.[18] The Syrian and the Lebanese use more parsley than bulgur wheat in their dish. A Turkish variation of the dish known as kısır,[19] and a similar Armenian dish known as eetch use far more bulgur than parsley. Another ancient variant is called terchots.[20] In Cyprus, where the dish was introduced by the Lebanese, it is known as tambouli.[what language is this?] In the Dominican Republic, a local version introduced by Syrian and Lebanese immigrants is called Tipile.[21] It is widely popular in Israel.[22][23][24]

Retail sales

A package of tabbouleh

Several manufacturers make tabbouleh for sale in supermarkets.[25][26]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Zubaida 2000, pp. 35, 37.
  2. ^ Roden, Claudia. A Book of Middle Eastern Food. p. 86.[full citation needed]
  3. ^ Helou, Anissa. "Lebanon". In Davidson, Alan (ed.). Oxford Companion to Food.[full citation needed]
  4. ^ Davidson, Alan (ed.). "tabbouleh". Oxford Companion to Food.[full citation needed]
  5. ^ Madina, Maan Z. (1973). تبل. Arabic-English Dictionary of the Modern Literary Language.
  6. ^ Basan 2006, p. 125, 180.
  7. ^ Wright 2001, p. 251.
  8. ^ Peck 2010, p. 97.
  9. ^ Davis 2011, p. 58.
  10. ^ Zelinsky 2001, p. 118.
  11. ^ Schloss 2007, p. 27.
  12. ^ a b Morton 2004, p. 302.
  13. ^ Löw, Immanuel (1881). Aramæische Pflanzennamen (in German). Vienna: K. Akademie der Wissenschaften. Retrieved June 30, 2021 – via menadoc.bibliothek.uni-halle.de.
  14. ^ Kummer, Corby (2007). "Tabbouleh". 1,001 Foods to Die For. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-7407-7043-2.
  15. ^ Basan 2006, p. 180-181.
  16. ^ Nabhan 2008, pp. 77–78.
  17. ^ Yazbeck 2008, pp. 266–267.
  18. ^ Wright 2001, pp. 250–251 "In the Arab world, tabbouleh (tabbūla) is a salad usually made as part of the mazza table (p xx) especially in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine."
  19. ^ Basan 2006, pp. 180–181.
  20. ^ "Parsley - Ajmooda (hindi) - Bagdunis (arabic)".
  21. ^ Brown, Isabel Zakrzewski (1999). Culture and Customs of the Dominican Republic. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 56. ISBN 9780313303142.
  22. ^ Degutiene, Nida (August 18, 2015). A Taste of Israel – From classic Litvak to modern Israeli. Penguin Random House South Africa. ISBN 978-1-4323-0654-0.
  23. ^ Hobby, Jeneen (2009). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 60. ISBN 9781414448909.
  24. ^ Edelstein, Sari (2010). Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 585. ISBN 9781449618117.
  25. ^ "Dry4Good Provides Healthy Ingredients For Food Manufacturers". DirectIndustry e-magazine. September 23, 2020.
  26. ^ Bules, Rachel (October 17, 2018). "If you haven't been to Trader Joe's yet, let me tell you why you're wrong". The Lantern.

References

Further reading