Lebanese greens

[Nicolai]

A point of necessary clarification:

Baqli is from the verb Baqala which means to grow, to sprout, to germinate.

Al Baq'ala is the grocery

Buqul are edible pulses such as Foul and Humus(chickpeas).

Baqli is Purslane

Baqli Hamqa'a(stubborn) is Pussley

Baqli Mubaraka(blessed) is Endive/Chicory

Baqli Barida(cold) is Hyacinth bean

Hindibah is Endive/Chicory

Hindibah Bariah(wild) is Dandelion/Taraxacum

In this context and as reported by Wolfert: Baqli is indeed Purslane and Hindiba is indeed Dandelion.

Edited January 24, 2006 by Nicolai (log)

[sazji]

Baqli is from the verb Baqala which means to grow, to sprout, to germinate.

Al Baq'ala is the grocery

Buqul are edible pulses such as Foul and Humus(chickpeas).

Baqli is Purslane

Baqli Hamqa'a(stubborn) is Pussley

Baqli Mubaraka(blessed) is Endive/Chicory

Baqli Barida(cold) is Hyacinth bean

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Here we use the word "Bakliyat" to refer to pulses. Interesting, I never thought about the relationship to the word "bakkal" (grocer).

[sazji]

They are sold and eaten as a green vegetable when between one inch to about two and a half inches or three inches long. There's a picture of papdi/val here. Sem are a little flatter, and are slightly undulating.

So, do the plants you grow look/sound like this?

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The pods on mine are shorter and wider. I grow the purple one as it's more ornamental.

[archestratus]

I think it's important to remember what FoodMan says, that it depends on what neck of the woods you're in. The word baqli is indeed used to refer to all kinds of things from purslane to "greens" to chickweed. Remember too that the Arab world is a huge place.

I've encountered this problem, amusingly, in California when at a local farmer's market I asked for some coriander and was told they didn't have any when there it was right in front of me. When I held it up they told me that that isn't coriander it's cilantro. I didn't argue to point out that cilantro is merely the Spanish word for coriander.

[Adam Balic]

Member of the beet family are another very problematic group. Swiss Chard is my favourite green, but difficult to get in Edinburgh. When I found some at a farmers market the guy on the stall insisted that it wasn't Chard, but a special type of spinach. Mind you he also mis-identified my "La Ratte" potatoes as white asparagus - which was a bit surreal.

For some reason this Swiss Chard Beta vulgaris var. cicla (actually in our family it is called Silverbeet) has dozens of names and is widely distributed, so it can get very confusing. What is it's name in Arabic?

[Nicolai]

In case you are refering to the Mediterranean Swiss Chard which is used for two well known dishes across the ME such as Lentil soup or a variant of Dolmades then the Arabic name is:

Selek or Selk

Maybe it is difficult to find in Edinburgh as even in Moscow Road it is on off/on basis. Fantastic winter soup though!

Edited January 26, 2006 by Nicolai (log)

[archestratus]

Silq means Swiss chard, but I've heard the word used for beets too.

[Adam Balic]

See.

Sort of like the Italian dish "Sepia a zimino", which I thought refered a stew of the greens with cuttlefish, but have ordered and had cuttlefish with the roots instead.

[Catherine Iino]

Excuse me, may I tag on a question here? A friend from Lebanon brought me some wonderful herbs and spices, in clear triangular boxes, from a store called Goody's. They are labeled in English and Arabic, which I don't read or speak. I can identify most of them, but I was wondering if you could help me with a couple: Carvi, and Sweet Pepper. I think sweet pepper might be allspice, but I'm not sure.

Thank you all in advance.

[Nicolai]

Excuse me, may I tag on a question here? A friend from Lebanon brought me some wonderful herbs and spices, in clear triangular boxes, from a store called Goody's. They are labeled in English and Arabic, which I don't read or speak. I can identify most of them, but I was wondering if you could help me with a couple: Carvi, and Sweet Pepper. I think sweet pepper might be allspice, but I'm not sure.

Thank you all in advance.

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Sweet Pepper. You guessed right. It is a spice mixture a la allspice as you say.

Carvi is Caraway (non pungent) or Cumin (pungent). Give it a sniff and see.

Edited January 26, 2006 by Nicolai (log)

[Catherine Iino]

Ah, caraway--I wouldn't have guessed. Definitely not cumin. Thanks so much.

[helou]

Member of the beet family are another very problematic group. Swiss Chard is my favourite green, but difficult to get in Edinburgh. When I found some at a farmers market the guy on the stall insisted that it wasn't Chard, but a special type of spinach. Mind you he also mis-identified my "La Ratte" potatoes as white asparagus - which was a bit surreal.

For some reason this Swiss Chard Beta vulgaris var. cicla (actually in our family it is called Silverbeet) has dozens of names and is widely distributed, so it can get very confusing. What is it's name in Arabic?

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swiss chard is called silq in arabic. i'm just back from rome where there was a lot of cicoria in the market and it is defintiely hindbeh. it looks like the hindbeh we have in lebanon and tastes like it. had some in a trattoria one evening. i took a picture but am not sure how to psot pictures here. i'll try to send the pics by bluetooth from my mobile to my computer and then will try to post them before i go off again.

[helou]

i transferred the pictures of the italian cicoria or hindbeh on my computer but i'm not sure how to post them here.

[ludja]

i transferred the pictures of the italian cicoria or hindbeh on my computer but i'm not sure how to post them here.

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Useful step-by-step instructions on this thread and accompanying links here from the "The Technical Support" forum.

[helou]

i transferred the pictures of the italian cicoria or hindbeh on my computer but i'm not sure how to post them here.

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Useful step-by-step instructions on this thread and accompanying links here from the "The Technical Support" forum.

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thanks ludja. i posted them but i'm not sure where they went. as for sweet pepper (b'har helo), it is allspice nicolai and not a mixture a la allspice.

[helou]

i transferred the pictures of the italian cicoria or hindbeh on my computer but i'm not sure how to post them here.

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Useful step-by-step instructions on this thread and accompanying links here from the "The Technical Support" forum.

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thanks ludja. i posted them but i'm not sure where they went. as for sweet pepper (b'har helo), it is allspice nicolai and not a mixture a la allspice.

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i kind of stalled at the more options stage. anyway, if you want to see the pics, they are in my new album called cicoria. by the way, is anyone interested in attending the oxford symposium of food and cookery. the theme this year is eggs. let me know and i'll pass on the details of the organiser.

[sazji]

Member of the beet family are another very problematic group. Swiss Chard is my favourite green, but difficult to get in Edinburgh.

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If you happen to have some land to garden, chard is easily one of the easiest, most forgiving of vegetables to grow. Here the common one has very large, flat leaves, not crinkled like the ones we mostly grow in the west, and very good for stuffing. If you want to grow some I could gladly pop some seeds into the mail for you. There is also a wild form that grows all over the place; I've even seen it popping up in median strips in the middle of the city.

[gethin]

A Turkish Cypriot friend recently prepared me a vegetable he calls "hostes", which he believes is mainly eaten by Turkish Cypriots (but not by Greek Cypriots or mainland Turks) and in Lebanon.

It apparently grows wild in upland areas, is harvested in February/March, looks something between a beet/chard leaf and a cardoon/thistle leaf. The edible bit is the base of the spine, which is peeled before use (staining your hands black as you do it).

When cooked the sections of hostes looked a bit like dwarf beans cooked in a tomato infused broth and was served with meatballs , yoghurt and radish. The hostess was quite sharp in taste but also "earthy" and a very mild celery/fenel taste.

Anyone able to identify this vegetable ?

Gethin

[archestratus]

A Turkish Cypriot friend recently prepared me a vegetable he calls "hostes", which he believes is mainly eaten by Turkish Cypriots (but not by Greek Cypriots or mainland Turks) and in Lebanon.

It apparently grows wild in upland areas, is harvested in February/March, looks something between a beet/chard leaf and a cardoon/thistle leaf.  The edible bit is the base of the spine, which is peeled before use (staining your hands black as you do it).

When cooked the sections of hostes looked a bit like dwarf beans cooked in a tomato infused broth and was served with meatballs , yoghurt and radish.  The hostess was quite sharp in taste but also "earthy" and a very mild celery/fenel taste.

Anyone able to identify this vegetable ?

Gethin

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I wonder if it could be Carum ferulifolium Boiss. a member of the Umbelliferae, a perennial herb with small, edible tubers. Dioscorides said that its white and bitter roots could be eaten raw or cooked. It is still eaten today in Cyprus. This is perhaps the same plant as Bunium ferulaceum Sibth. & Sm.

[Erich vG]

Member of the beet family are another very problematic group. Swiss Chard is my favourite green, but difficult to get in Edinburgh. When I found some at a farmers market the guy on the stall insisted that it wasn't Chard, but a special type of spinach. Mind you he also mis-identified my "La Ratte" potatoes as white asparagus - which was a bit surreal.

For some reason this Swiss Chard Beta vulgaris var. cicla (actually in our family it is called Silverbeet) has dozens of names and is widely distributed, so it can get very confusing. What is it's name in Arabic?

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Sorry for the late timing on this post, but I just saw the original. We always called it "silq" around Beirut.

Erich