That Translator Can Cook: Maftoul

Nutty, Palestinian grains served with chicken, onions, and chickpeas; and spiced with cumin, turmeric, and caraway

Maftoul is an interesting type of grain and probably tastes much better when you rinse it before cooking it, ahem, which I do not since I’m usually in a rush. I have yet to try this specific recipe, but I have cooked maftoul for myself before and it is delicious.

In Arabic, the word “maftoul” comes from the root “fa-ta-la”, meaning to twist or to roll, which is how maftoul is made. Maftoul is also known as moghrabiyeh in Lebanon and Syria because the recipe was adapted from Moroccan couscous, which is why maftoul is also known as Palestinian couscous. Instead of the semolina and durum used in couscous, maftoul uses bulgur and wheat flour.

Maftoul is typically prepared for special occasions or when you are feeding lots of people. Nowadays, people buy pre-prepared maftoul instead of making it at home, but there are some who still make maftoul by hand. I buy from a brand that works with a women’s co-operative and suggest you all buy fair trade or women’s co-operative products because it ensures that people are not exploited during the production process. I think that, if we can afford it, we should all practice ethical food choices with regards to animal abuse (though I like eating meat, so that one is more tricky), worker exploitation, and environmental devastation.

Here are a couple videos about maftoul and women’s co-operatives in the West Bank and Gaza:

Here is how to make this warm winter meal (recipe and picture belong to Rawwan Ouni Bata [روان عوني باطا]):

Steps

1. Prep the onion: mince it.

2. Half-boil the chicken, skim off the scum, and add the whole spices (cinnamon, bay leaves, black pepper, and cardamom).

3. Pour about a quarter cup of broth over the maftoul, and set it aside for 10 minutes.

4. Toss the julienned onions with the corn and olive oil until they soften, then add the chicken after removing it from the water.

5. Add the strained broth, spices, and salt.

6. Put the minced onion in a sieve (if there isn’t a pot available) and put the maftoul on top of it. Then, cover the pot and let it simmer for 20 minutes, stirring continuously.

7. After that, pour the maftoul into a pot and add ghee to it.

8. Add the chickpeas to the broth and cover for 10 minutes; then, serve and taste the broth to see if it needs salt or spices if you want more. The maftoul is ready; bon appetit!

Ingredients

• 1 kilo of maftoul

• 1 medium onion, minced

• ¼ teaspoon of salt

• ¼ of teaspoon of caraway

• ¼ teaspoon of cumin

• 4 onions, julienned

• 1 can of chickpeas

• 4 cuts of chicken

• Whole spices for the chicken broth

  • ½ teaspoon of black pepper

  • ½ teaspoon of caraway

  • ½ teaspoon of cumin

  • 1 teaspoon of turmeric

  • Salt to taste

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil and corn oil

Translators’ Discussion

1. The recipe calls for minced onion and “بصلة ريش\البصل الريش” (lit. feathered onions), hence why I wrote “julienned onions.” However, I’m little confused as to why 2 different shapes of onion are being used. Can anyone shed some light on this or give examples of when they saw a situation like this? Is بصل ريش a different type of onion? I did see pictures of green onions when researching this term, so it could refer green onions because the stalks resemble feathers? Yet you can’t see any green onions in the recipe’s picture.

2. I was little stumped by Step 2: “يسلق الدجاج نصف سلق” and I went with “half boil the chicken”. What do all you Arabic speakers think?