Ramadan Recipes: Meatless Baqla Stew with Chickpeas
Purslane, also known as Baqla (Bagla in Gazan colloquial) is considered one of the most nutritious wild greens on the planet, boasting an impressive 300 to 400 mg of alpha-linolenic acid (more than any other leafy plant) per cup, according to Wikipedia. It is also an excellent source of calcium, potassium, and Vitamin A.
Considered an old-world, drought-resistant green, it grows in the wild in Palestine between rocky shrubs though it can also be found rooting extensively near pools of water. It is much more difficult to find in the U.S., so you will probably have to do some gathering (I once found a hearty bunch next to a tree near the Vienna/Nutley metro in Northern VA.). Most people here consider it a pesky and resilient weed and will be more than happy to have someone uproot it from their gardens. Ask around your local farmer’s market.
Baqla is most commonly eaten raw, roughly minced and added to Fattoush, the popular Levantian Ramadan bread salad.
Ever the naturalist, my father sought new ways to cook Baqla. So he consulted the falla7a he buys his baladi (organic) eggs, chickens, pigeons, and herbs from in the Nusseirat refugee camp Tuesday Market in Central Gaza. What follows is her orally transmitted recipe, again with some of our own modifications. Simple vegetarian recipes such as these utilizing wild green and legumes have a rich culinary history amongst the falla7een in Palestinian cuisine.
Fresh Baqla Stew made with some Baqla I picked from a friend's garden
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bunch Purslane, washed and roughly chopped (discard tough stems only; keep soft stems)
4 cloves garlic, ground/mashed with 1 tsp salt in mortar and pestle or mini-food processor
2 medium tomatoes, finely diced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 T. fresh cilantro, minced
Red pepper flakes to taste
Olive Oil
Sautee onion until tender and yellow in 2 T. olive oil.
Add Purslane until just wilted.
Add crushed garlic-salt mixture and stir.
Stir in tomatoes and chickpeas and simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in cilantro, pinch of pepper flakes, and serve warm with Kmaj. Adjust seasonings to taste
08/31/2009 at 2:33 am
(Not necessary to publish this) Just to tell you, I read that you got a death threat from your site, please report it here: http://www.cybercrime.gov/
08/31/2009 at 2:34 am
(If you have not done so already)
Oh, wow, it publishes automatically. Surprising?
08/31/2009 at 10:04 pm
pamela,
no it wasn’t supposed to published automatically but was put on a setting where if you’ve already been approved once for a comment, you don’t need to be approved again. Anyway I’m tinkering with my comments moderation page now -adding some protocol and spamming/blocking offensive users so we’ll see what happens.
08/31/2009 at 10:48 pm
Thank you for posting the recipe for Baqla, I read it about two hours ago and I m having it with dinner now. It is delicious.
I will be glad to help locate any ingredient that is required for any arabic cooking. I have been here for over 50 years and still cook and love all arabic foods. BTW, I also collect arabic recipes.
10/31/2009 at 7:02 pm
Recipe for Sumagiyyah please! Thanks
12/02/2009 at 6:41 pm
Laila,
I’m delighted to finally learn the name in English of baqla — purslane — from your great blog. For years I’d wondered about its name in English, I’ve enjoyed it all my life in fattoush and regular garden salad but no-one in my extended family knew what it was called. I’ll have to try the stew and pass the recipe on to my mother. Thank you
01/18/2010 at 7:30 pm
Your recipes sound yummy–love your blog!
01/19/2010 at 7:11 am
Thanks so much for this recipe! Purs|ane grows everywhere in my front yard, so it is not hard for me to get and I’ve been interested in how to prepare it since I just eat it raw.
01/30/2010 at 2:14 am
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