B1Unit 10 · Palestine and the diaspora · Lesson 93 of 100
Stuffed, fried, closed: participles
maḥshi · maʾli · maṭbūkh · maʿmūl min · maftūḥ · msakkar
Goal: Describe a dish, what it is made of and how it is cooked, and say whether something is open or closed.
Dialogue
Sitti Halime has come from the village with the new olive oil, and Imm Khalil has cooked a big Sunday lunch. Lina asks what each dish is. You will learn passive participles, words like maḥshi "stuffed", maṭbūkh "cooked" and msakkar "closed".
Sunday lunch at the Khalil house, a few days after the olive harvest.
- Imm Khaliltfaḍḍalu, il-ghada ḥāḍer!Come and sit down, lunch is ready!
- Linashu hāda, ya khālto?What is this, auntie?
- Imm Khalilhāda msakhkhan: khubz ṭābūn maʿ jāj w baṣal maʾli bi-zēt iz-zētūn, w fōʾo ṣnōbar.This is musakhan: taboon bread with chicken and onions fried in olive oil, with pine nuts on top.
- Sitti Halimew il-khubz khabazto ana ṣ-ṣubḥ fiṭ-ṭābūn. il-ʿajīn ʿmilto mbāreḥ.And I baked the bread myself this morning in the taboon. I made the dough yesterday.
- Linaw hāda l-betinjān maḥshi bi-shu?And this eggplant, what is it stuffed with?
- Ranamaḥshi bi-ruzz w laḥme, w fī bhār w ʾirfe.It's stuffed with rice and meat, and there's allspice and cinnamon.
- Abu Khalilw hādi shōrabit ʿadas, maṭbūkha min iṣ-ṣubḥ.And this is lentil soup; it has been cooked since this morning.
- Khalilyamma, ʾannīnit iz-zēt msakkara.Mom, the oil bottle is closed.
- Imm Khaliliftaḥha w ḥuṭṭ zēt jdīd ʿal-msakhkhan.Open it and put some new oil on the musakhan.
- LinaNūr ḥakātli ʿan il-ʾidre. shu hiyye?Nour told me about qidreh. What is it?
- Abu Khalilil-ʾidre akl khalīli: ruzz w laḥme maṭbūkhīn fi ʾidre fil-furn.Qidreh is a Hebron dish: rice and meat cooked in a pot in the oven.
- Sitti Halimew lal-ḥilu: maʿmūl maḥshi bil-ʿajwe. kulu, ya ḥabāybi!And for dessert: maamoul stuffed with date paste. Eat, my dears!
- Linakull ishi zāki. yislam īdēkom!Everything is delicious. Bless your hands!
- Imm Khalilalla ysallmik, ḥabībti! ṣaḥḥtēn!Thank you, my dear! Enjoy your meal!
New words
| Palestinian Arabic | English |
|---|---|
| msakhkhan | musakhan (taboon bread with chicken, onions, sumac and olive oil)a dish of the olive season, from the north (Tulkarm, Jenin) |
| ʾidre | qidreh (rice and meat cooked in a pot in the oven)a dish of Hebron; ʾidre is also the pot |
| ṭābūn | taboon (clay bread oven); taboon breadplural ṭawābīn; khubz ṭābūn = taboon bread |
| mansaf | mansaf (lamb and rice with a dried-yogurt sauce)Jordan's national dish |
| ṣnōbar | pine nuts; pine trees |
| ʿadas | lentilscollective |
| shōraba | soupshōrabit ʿadas = lentil soup |
| ḥasha | to stuff, fillḥasha / yiḥshi; b-present baḥshi; maḥshi = stuffed |
| ʿajīn | dough |
| khabaz | to bake (bread)khabaz / yikhbiz; b-present bakhbiz |
| bhār | spices; allspice |
| ʾirfe | cinnamon |
| ʿajwe | date paste (pressed dates)maʿmūl bil-ʿajwe = maamoul with dates |
Grammar
1. Passive participles: maṭbūkh "cooked"
A passive participle describes the state of something after an action: ṭabakh "he cooked" gives maṭbūkh "cooked". Simple verbs add ma- in front and a long ū before the last consonant. You already know some: maʿrūf "known" (lesson 92), mashghūl "busy", maʾlūb "upside down" (that is why maʾlūbe is called maʾlūbe!).
| Verb | Participle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ṭabakh cook | maṭbūkh | cooked |
| fataḥ open | maftūḥ | open |
| ʿimil make | maʿmūl | made |
| ʾalab turn over | maʾlūb | upside down |
They agree like adjectives: feminine -e or -a (by the usual rule), plural -īn.
2. Verbs ending in a vowel: maḥshi "stuffed"
Verbs like ḥasha "stuff" and ʾala "fry" end their participle in -i; the feminine is -iyye.
| Verb | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| ḥasha stuff | maḥshi | maḥshiyye |
| ʾala fry | maʾli | maʾliyye |
3. Verbs with a doubled middle letter: msakkar "closed"
For verbs like sakkar "close", put m- in front of the verb: msakkar, feminine msakkara.
4. Made of: maʿmūl min
To say what a dish is made of, use maʿmūl min (feminine maʿmūle min). For the filling, maḥshi bi-.
Practice
1Complete with the right participle
il-betinjān ___ bi-ruzz w laḥme. = The eggplant is stuffed with rice and meat.
shōrabit il-ʿadas ___ min iṣ-ṣubḥ. = The lentil soup has been cooked since this morning.
shōraba is feminine: maṭbūkha.
il-bāb ___, iftaḥo law samaḥt. = The door is closed, please open it.
il-knāfe ___ min jibne w ʿajīn. = Knafeh is made of cheese and dough.
2Choose the right answer
Which word means "open"?
Why is maqluba called maʾlūbe?
maʾlūb means "upside down".
In the dialogue, il-ʾidre is a dish from:
How do you say "fried onions"?
3Match the Arabic and the English
msakhkhan
ṭābūn
ʿadas
ṣnōbar
ʿajwe
mansaf
4Put the words in order
This is taboon bread with chicken and fried onions.
The oil bottle is open.
5Say it in Palestinian Arabic, then check
Maamoul stuffed with date paste.
maʿmūl maḥshi bil-ʿajwe.
The soup is cooked.
ish-shōraba maṭbūkha.
6True or false?
Sitti Halime baked the bread in the taboon.
Qidreh is fried in a pan.
Abu Khalil says it is cooked in a pot in the oven: maṭbūkhīn fi ʾidre fil-furn.
Summary
- You can describe food with passive participles: maṭbūkh, maḥshi, maʾli, maʿmūl.
- You can say what a dish is made of or stuffed with: maʿmūl min …, maḥshi bi- ….
- You can say whether something is open or closed: maftūḥ, msakkar.
- You know some regional dishes: msakhkhan, ʾidre, knāfe, maʾlūbe.