Tabbouleh ~ Middle Eastern Parsley Salad

Pin

 

This month, being Ramadan, for the MENA Cooking Challenge, we were given a free reign. We were asked to choose any recipe that is normally cooked during this holy month in the MENA region. The first thing that came into my mind was salad – and of course, what better than Tabbouleh!

 

One good thing about this region is the incorporation of a routine of soup and salad into their daily eating habits. You will see that before every meal, even in restaurants, a small serving of soup and salad is always provided. It is a mandatory part of their eating habit, unlike our Indian style of mostly having only onions as salad and never any soup! I have tried hard this Ramadan to introduce a soup and salad routine, but barring from a day or two, I wasn’t really successful, thanks to the heat in the kitchen making it uncomfortable to stay there for long. 😕

 

Tabbouleh is one of the easiest salad that you can find in this region. I am not sure of the origin but you can find it being eaten in almost all of the Middle Eastern countries. A little bit of digging in tells me that this salad originated from Syria and Lebanon, and then spread on to the other nearby countries, in fact even Turkey, Cyrpus, Armenia and Dominican Republic have their own version of this salad, but in different names!

 

Pin

 

The main ingredient of this salad, and the star you can say is parsley, in fact lots and lots of parsley! Another major ingredient are the tomatoes. I used to never like this salad, especially from restaurants where they serve it really tangy. However, after eating it from various places asking them to reduce on the tanginess, this salad has grown on me. Now this is definitely one of my favorite salad. It is really easy to make, with so little effort. Sometimes, onions are also added, but I am not really fond of raw onion for obvious reasons, so I try to avoid it in my salads.

 

Normally, a small quantity of burgul (crushed wheat) is added to this salad for a bite. Burgul cooks so fast, all that it needs is soaking in hot water till it absorbs it all! However, you can find new versions of tabbouleh with quinoa in it. Personally, I still prefer the burgul, for authenticity sake! This is my delicious entry for this month’s challenge… hope you enjoy the recipe and try it too!

 

If you are keen on trying other salads, then here are some apt for the month:

Chickpeas Pomegranate Salad – a family favorite!

Sweet Corn Salad

Mango Avocado Salsa – the best time to make it since mangoes are in season!

Waldorf Salad

Egg Mayo Salad

Greek Salad

 

Pin

 

 

Pin

Tabbouleh ~ Middle Eastern Parsley Salad

Course Salad
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 7 minutes
Servings 2
Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch parsley leaves
  • 10-15 large mint leaves
  • 1 small tomato chopped
  • 1 tbsp bulgur soaked in 1/4 cup hot water
  • A squeeze of lime juice
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  • Chop the parsley and mint till nicely minced. Put into a bowl.
  • Add the tomato and mix.
  • Drain the bulgur if it has not absorbed the water. The bulgur will have a bite, which is what is needed for the salad. Add in to the salad.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and toss well to coat.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

I added very little lime juice as per our taste. Lemon juice is usually used, so add more as per your taste buds.

 

Pin Loading InLinkz ...

Join the Conversation

  1. One of my favourite salads! Need to make some this weekend too.

    1. Rafeeda AR Author says:

      Thank you so much Angie…

  2. My fav too. Havent had it in long time as we havent eaten out long time! Hmmm time to takena kitchen break! ???? Love the clicks and yes burghul anytime. ????

    1. Rafeeda AR Author says:

      Thank you so much Fami dear… 🙂

  3. Goodness, I couldn’t resist seeing the picture. Must try, but wondering what is bulgur? Never heard of it. Nevermind, will read on it, hopefully available over here.

    1. Rafeeda AR Author says:

      Bulgur is basically crushed durum wheat, which is like short grains… Thank you so much Nava…

  4. Loved the salad and that Petti as well.

    1. Rafeeda AR Author says:

      Thanks a lot dear Tuma…

  5. Simple to make and very healthy too ????

    1. Rafeeda AR Author says:

      Thanks a lot Chitra… 🙂

  6. Hiba shameel says:

    Our family favourite.my hubby took this salad everyday to office for healthy snack time eating. Loved your bowl.????

    1. Rafeeda AR Author says:

      Thank you so much Hiba… 🙂

  7. A classic by far, and a frequent component of our Ramadan table. I recently tried out the spin-off tabboula made of kale and quinoa which was pretty great.

    1. Rafeeda AR Author says:

      Thank you so much Maryam…

  8. looks so refreshing…. and amazing pictures too… love the prop – the box 🙂

    1. Rafeeda AR Author says:

      Thank you so much Anupa… 🙂

  9. I cant resist commenting on that petti – i loved it!
    Tabbouleh and hummus is my favorite combo! This was my lunch in the office cafeteria along with grilled chicken or fish:)

    1. Rafeeda AR Author says:

      Everybody seems to be loving the petti… hehe… Thanks a lot Ria dear…

  10. This is one of my favorite salads. Highly recommended. Best served with Grilled Chicken.

    1. Rafeeda AR Author says:

      Thank you so much Sheila…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Like
Close
The Big Sweet Tooth © Copyright 2021.
All rights reserved.
Customized & Maintained Host My Blog
Close

NOTIFY ME ON NEW RECIPES