LIMBA Palestinian ArabicFree written course · 100 lessons Audio course

A2Unit 6 · Hospitality · Lesson 53 of 100

In the kitchen

ʾaṭṭʿi · iʾli · ḥuṭṭi · iʾlibi

Goal: Follow and give the steps of a simple recipe, speaking to a man, a woman or several people.

1

Dialogue

Imm Khalil is famous for her maqluba, and today she teaches Lina how to make it. You will learn the cooking verbs as orders (the imperative) and the names of a few ingredients.

A Saturday morning in the kitchen. Imm Khalil and Lina are making maqluba.

  1. Imm Khalilil-yōm bnuṭbokh maʾlūbe, ya Līna!Today we are cooking maqluba, Lina!
  2. Linayalla! shu baʿmal awwal ishi?Great! What do I do first?
  3. Imm Khalilawwal ishi, ʾaṭṭʿi l-betinjān w iz-zahra.First of all, chop the eggplant and the cauliflower.
  4. Linakhalaṣ! w baʿdēn?Done! And then?
  5. Imm Khalilhallaʾ iʾli l-khuḍra biz-zēt.Now fry the vegetables in oil.
  6. Linaʾaddēsh milḥ baḥuṭṭ ʿal-jāj?How much salt do I put on the chicken?
  7. Imm Khalilmaʿlaʾit milḥ w shwayy filfil, w ukhloṭi mnīḥ.A spoonful of salt and a little pepper, and mix it well.
  8. Linaṭayyib. w hallaʾ?OK. And now?
  9. Imm Khalilḥuṭṭi l-jāj fiṭ-ṭanjara, w fōʾo l-khuḍra, w baʿdēn ir-ruzz. ḍīfi l-mayye w khallīha tighla.Put the chicken in the pot, the vegetables on top of it, and then the rice. Add the water and let it boil.
  10. Linakhalaṣ?(An hour later.) Is it ready?
  11. Imm Khalilā! hallaʾ bniʾlib iṭ-ṭanjara. yalla, maʿ baʿḍ!Yes! Now we turn the pot over. Come on, together!
  12. Linamashalla! ṭilʿat ḥilwe ktīr!Wow! It came out beautifully!
2

New words

Palestinian ArabicEnglish
maʾlūbemaqluba (rice, vegetables and meat, turned upside down to serve)
ṭabakhto cookṭabakh / yuṭbokh, b-present baṭbokh
ʾaṭṭaʿto cut up, chopʾaṭṭaʿ / yʾaṭṭeʿ, b-present baʾaṭṭeʿ
ʾalato fryʾala / yiʾli, b-present baʾli
ghilito boil (of water, food)ghili / yighla; il-mayye btighla the water is boiling
ʾalabto turn over, flipʾalab / yiʾlib, b-present baʾlib; maʾlūb upside down
khalaṭto mixkhalaṭ / yukhloṭ, b-present bakhloṭ
ḍāfto addḍāf / yḍīf, b-present baḍīf
ṭanjaracooking pot, saucepanplural: ṭanājer
maʿlaʾaspoonplural: maʿāleʾ; maʿlaʾit milḥ a spoonful of salt
milḥsalt
filfilpepper (black pepper, sweet pepper, chili)filfil aswad black pepper
zahracauliflower; flowercollective: zahr
betinjāneggplantcollective; one eggplant: betinjāne
3

Grammar

1. Kitchen orders: the imperative

Recipes use the imperative (lesson 43): take the "you" form of the present without b-, drop the t-, and add -i for a woman or -u for several people. In verbs like ʾaṭṭaʿ the e of the stem falls before -i and -u: ʾaṭṭeʿ, ʾaṭṭʿi, as in ʿallem, ʿallmi.

Verbto a manto a womanto several people
ʾaṭṭaʿ chopʾaṭṭeʿʾaṭṭʿiʾaṭṭʿu
ʾala fryiʾliiʾliiʾlu
khalaṭ mixukhloṭukhloṭiukhloṭu
ḍāf addḍīfḍīfiḍīfu
ḥaṭṭ putḥuṭṭḥuṭṭiḥuṭṭu
ʾalab turn overiʾlibiʾlibiiʾlibu

Verbs that end in a vowel, like ʾala, have one form for a man and a woman: iʾli, like iḥki and imshi.

2. Don't…!

The negative is ma + the "you" form + -sh. A final vowel becomes long before -sh, and after a doubled consonant the ending is -ish.

ma tḥuṭṭīsh milḥ ktīr! Don't put in too much salt! (to a woman)
ma tḥuṭṭish milḥ ktīr! Don't put in too much salt! (to a man)

3. A spoonful of…

Amounts use the construct: maʿlaʾa "spoon" becomes maʿlaʾit milḥ "a spoonful of salt", just like kāsit mayye "a glass of water".

4

Practice

1Choose the right words

  1. Imm Khalil tells Lina: "Chop the eggplant."

  2. Lina tells Sam: "Add the salt."

  3. Which word means "spoon"?

  4. Why is the dish called maʾlūbe?

2Complete the sentence

  1. ___ il-khuḍra biz-zēt. = Fry the vegetables in oil. (to a woman)

  2. ma ___ milḥ ktīr! = Don't put in too much salt! (to a woman)

  3. khalli l-mayye ___. = Let the water boil. (to a woman)

3Match the Arabic and the English

  1. ṭanjara

  2. milḥ

  3. filfil

  4. zahra

  5. betinjān

4Put the words in order

  1. Put the chicken in the pot. (to a woman)

  2. Today we are cooking maqluba.

5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check

  1. Tell Sam: Chop the onions!

  2. Tell Rana and Khalil: Turn the pot over!

6True or false?

  1. Lina fries the vegetables in oil.

  2. The rice goes into the pot first.

  3. Imm Khalil and Lina turn the pot over together.

Well done — your score: .
5

Summary

  • You can follow a simple recipe: ʾaṭṭʿi, iʾli, ḥuṭṭi, ḍīfi.
  • You can give the same orders to a man, a woman or several people: ḍīf, ḍīfi, ḍīfu.
  • You can say "don't": ma tḥuṭṭīsh milḥ ktīr!
  • You can name a few ingredients and kitchen things: milḥ, filfil, betinjān, ṭanjara, maʿlaʾa.

Unit 6: Hospitality

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