Lebanese pantry names in Arabic, English and Arabizi

A shopping list in Lebanon is often written three ways at once: in Arabic, in English, and in Arabizi, the Arabic typed in Latin letters with numbers for the sounds English lacks (3 for ع (ain), 7 for ح (ha), 5 for خ (kha), and 2 for the hamza that stands in for ق (qaf) in Lebanese speech). This glossary puts the three side by side for the dry goods on our shelves, so "yansoun in English" or "sumac in Arabic" has one answer. Arabizi spellings vary from person to person; we give common ones.

Spices and seeds

• Anise Seeds (Yansoun) · yansoun · يانسون. Small grey-green seeds with a sweet, liquorice-like smell. Steeped in hot water as a warm drink, and used in ka'ak, breads and meghli.
• Sumac · summa2 · سماق. A deep red, sour spice made from dried, ground berries. Sprinkled on fattoush, sliced onions and grilled meat, and one of the parts of a za'atar mix.
• Mahlab · ma7lab · محلب. The kernels from inside the stones of a small cherry, with a bitter-almond scent. A little goes into ka'ak and ma'amoul dough.
• Nigella Seeds (Habbet al Baraka) · 7abbet el baraka · حبة البركة. Small matte black seeds, sometimes sold in English as "black seed" or "black cumin", although they are not cumin. Scattered on ka'ak, bread and white cheese.

Grains and pasta

• Fine Brown Bulgur and Thick Brown Burghul · bourghol na3em / bourghol 5ichin · برغل ناعم / برغل خشن. Wheat that has been parboiled, dried and cracked. Fine is for tabbouleh and kibbeh, coarse for cooked dishes such as burghul bi banadoura. More in Fine or coarse bulgur.
• Freekeh · frikeh · فريكة. Wheat harvested young and green, then roasted, which gives it a smoky taste. Cooked in broth like rice and topped with chicken or meat.
• Moghrabieh (Lebanese Pearl Couscous) · moghrabiye · مغربية. Pearls of semolina dough, bigger than couscous. Also the name of the dish cooked from them with chicken, chickpeas and small onions.
• Vermicelli (Shaayreyh) · sh3ayriyye · شعيرية. Thin, short wheat pasta, browned in oil or butter and cooked with rice: riz bi sh3ayriyye.
• Egyptian Rice · riz masri · رز مصري. Short, round grains for stuffed vegetables, vine leaves and rice pudding. The four kinds of rice are compared in Egyptian, American, basmati or Italian rice?

Pulses

• Red Lentils, Green Lentils and Crushed Lentils (Adas Majroush) · 3adas a7mar, 3adas a5dar, 3adas majrouch · عدس أحمر / عدس أخضر / عدس مجروش. Each has its own dishes, from lentil soup to mujaddara: see Red, green and crushed lentils.
• Lupini Beans (Termos) · termos · ترمس. Large, flat yellow seeds. Soaked for days and kept in salted water to take away their bitterness, then eaten as a snack with lemon and cumin.
• Hommos Baladi (Dried Chickpeas) · 7ommos · حمص بلدي. Dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked for hummus, fatteh and stews.
• Foul Mdammas (Fava Beans) · foul · فول مدمس. Dried fava beans, soaked and simmered for the dish of the same name, eaten with lemon, garlic and olive oil.

Ask at the shelf

At Dekenet Al Nes you fill your own container from the shelf, so it helps to know what to ask for. If the name on the label is not the one you grew up with, ask us. New to refilling? Here is how it works.