Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh (Template:Langx), also transcribed tabouleh, tabbouli, tabouli, or taboulah, is a Levantine salad of finely chopped parsley, soaked bulgur, tomatoes, mint, and onion, seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and sweet pepper. Some variations add lettuce, or use semolina instead of bulgur.

Tabbouleh is traditionally served as part of a mezze in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Arab world. Like hummus, baba ghanoush, pita bread, and other elements of Arab cuisine, tabbouleh has become a popular food in the United States.

Etymology

The Levantine Arabic is derived from the Arabic word from the Aramaic root word t-b-l Template:Gloss or more literally "dip". Use of the word in English first appeared in the 1950s.

History

Originally from the mountains of Lebanon and Syria, tabbouleh has become one of the most popular salads in the Middle East. The wheat variety salamouniTemplate:Which lang cultivated in the Beqaa Valley region in Lebanon, was considered (in the mid-19th century) as particularly well-suited for making bulgur, a basic ingredient of tabbouleh. In Lebanon, the Lebanese National Tabbouleh Day is a yearly festivity day dedicated to Tabbouleh. Since 2001, it is celebrated the first Saturday of the month of July.

Regional variations

File:Tabouleh (3949565145).jpg

Tabbouleh ingredients

In the Arab world, especially Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, it is usually served as part of a meze. The Syrian and the Lebanese use more parsley than bulgur wheat in their dish. A Turkish variation of the dish known as , and a similar Armenian dish known as use far more bulgur than parsley. Another ancient variant is called . In the Dominican Republic, a local version introduced by Syrian and Lebanese immigrants is called . It is widely popular in Israel.

Retail sales

File:Oasis taboule.jpg

A package of tabbouleh

Several manufacturers make tabbouleh for sale in supermarkets.

See also

• List of salads
• List of vegetable dishes
• Kısır
• Eetch