tbikhas

[torakris]

I made a recipe from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food and she called it Tbikhit Qra and says it is a type of dish referred as tbikhas in North Africa. Neither of these words are bringing up anything on google. Are there different spellings? What exactly are they?

[chefzadi]

It can also be spelled Tbikyah or Tblykhet.

In Algeria it refers to vegetable dishes, sometimes with the addition of legumes and served with rice.

They can be like stews.

What did her recipe contain?

[torakris]

pumpkin, chickpeas, tomatoes, onions and an optional red bell pepper

probbaly not traditional but I topped it with a mixture of parsley and preserved lemon..

[chefzadi]

Flat leaf parsley or cilantro and prserved lemon can be traditional. Depends on the choice of the cook in Algeria.

I see your version served more with rice, bread or berkoukes.

[torakris]

Flat leaf parsley or cilantro and prserved lemon can be traditional. Depends on the choice of the cook in Algeria.

I see your version served more with rice, bread or berkoukes.

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She didn't mention how to serve it and couscous is the fastest.

Is this specific more to one country or pretty much eaten in a variety of places?

My kids put stickers on a map showing all of the different countries dishes we have eaten and I am not sure what to do with this one....

It is normally seasoned just with salt and pepper?

She listed harissa but as an optional ingredient.

[Behemoth]

Just for fun, the word comes from the three syllable root (past tense) verb "Ta-ba-kha" which means cooked. Tabikh would mean "something cooked". In the Levant "tabikh" or "tbikha" generally seems to imply something cooked in a big pot, as a stew. Just in case you were looking for, like, a fifth language there Kris

[torakris]

Just for fun, the word comes from the three syllable root (past tense) verb "Ta-ba-kha" which means cooked. Tabikh would mean "something cooked". In the Levant "tabikh" or "tbikha" generally seems to imply something cooked in a big pot, as a stew. Just in case you were looking for, like, a fifth language there Kris

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I have no desire to learn another language, but I do like to learn things like this! Thank you for breaking it down like that it makes it easier to understand and the next time I see one of these words on a menu I will know what it is!

[chefzadi]

She didn't mention how to serve it and couscous is the fastest.

fastest? You made it according to the package directions, didn't you?

Is this specific more to one country or pretty much eaten in a variety of places?

My kids put stickers on a map showing all of the different countries dishes we have eaten and I am not sure what to do with this one....

It's eaten in Tunisia and Algeria. Similar preparations would be found in Morocco, but I don't if they call it tbikahs.

The sticker goes in the center. The center of Maghrebian cuisine is A l g e r i a.

It is normally seasoned just with salt and pepper?

She listed harissa but as an optional ingredient.

Depends on the cook, you add spices such as cumin, coriander, caraway. To suit your tastes.

Edited April 10, 2005 by chefzadi (log)

[Wolfert]

Tebikha has infinite variations in Tunisia, but it usually begins with some dried chickpeas or favas, soaked overnight in cold water with a pinch of baking soda.

The following day, olive oil is heated in a clay pot along with chopped onions, tomato paste, and some harissa. When the tomato paste begins to shine, water is added along with the drained chickpeas or favas and cooked slowly until half done. Finally, a single seasonal vegetable group is added: cardoons and chard; tomatoes and pumpkin (qraa); and carrots and turnips are typical.

Usually lemon juice is added at the end. Tebikha is traditionally eaten with flat griddle bread in rural Tunisia.

Moroccans don't use the word tebikha; they call it marqua.

[chefzadi]

Interesting in Algeria we use both words. A tabikha can have a range of vegetables in it as well or highlight a single one. Marqa refers to stews. In Tlemencen some marqas can be tabikha as well.

[Wolfert]

Interesting in Algeria we use both words. A tabikha can have a range of vegetables in it as well or highlight a single one. Marqa refers to stews. In Tlemencen some marqas can be tabikha as well.

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Tebikha in Tunisia is most often a bean and vegetable stew without meat and is cooked in a deep-sided pot.

Marqa in Morocco is a vegetable or fruit stew with or without meat and cooked in a tagine.

Marqa in Tunisia is a vegetable or fruit stew with meat and cooked in a tagine.

Edited April 10, 2005 by Wolfert (log)

[chefzadi]

In Algeria marqa can even be a braised meat dish with no vegetables.

[edsel]

Usually lemon juice is added at the end. Tebikha is traditionally eaten with flat griddle bread in rural Tunisia.

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See there, Kristin, your instincts were right on the money! OK, preserved lemon isn't the same as lemon juice, but it's in the same spirit....

She didn't mention how to serve it and couscous is the fastest.

fastest? You made it according to the package directions, didn't you? ←

Hey c'mon, we're all learning here.

Anyways Kristin, that stew looked yummy!

[chefzadi]

Usually lemon juice is added at the end. Tebikha is traditionally eaten with flat griddle bread in rural Tunisia.

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See there, Kristin, your instincts were right on the money! OK, preserved lemon isn't the same as lemon juice, but it's in the same spirit....

She didn't mention how to serve it and couscous is the fastest.

fastest? You made it according to the package directions, didn't you? ←

Hey c'mon, we're all learning here.

Anyways Kristin, that stew looked yummy!

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I know. I have a sense of humour. I'm teasing Kris, then again maybe i'm not/

[FoodMan]

marka, marqa or mar'aa in Lebanon usually refers to sauce, cooking liquid or broth. as in "would you like more chicken marka with your burgul?".

to break mthe word Tabikh further:

Tabkha (or Tbikha) is a stew of some sort. I sort of explain this, to the best of my ability, in my eGCI class.

Tabikh is cooking in general

Tabakh is a cook

Elie