Mfarakeh

Mfarakeh (also spelled mofarakah or mufaraqah), known as batata wa bayd—Arabic for "potatoes and eggs"—is a simple Arab dish. Its ingredients are potato, egg, ghee, cumin powder, salt, and pepper, with chopped coriander leaf used as a garnish. It can be prepared easily for any meal and is commonly eaten with Arabic bread (pita) and Arabic tea. In the Arab world, especially the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan), it is traditionally served as part of a mezze.

The name "mfarakeh" comes from the Arabic verb *farak*, meaning "the rubbed." This root also describes how fully ripe wheat crumbles when rubbed in the hand, or a wooden whisk used to break up food. Thus the name suggests something "crumbled or broken apart into bits," reflecting how the egg falls in crumbles around the potatoes. Another name, *mfaraket baid o batata*, translates to "rubbed eggs and potatoes."

A 13th-century cookbook by Abbasid author Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi includes two recipes for *mufarraka*: one frying eggs and fish in sesame oil, the other using chicken liver instead of fish. Proceedings from 1889–1891 by the International Congress of Orientalists describe *kūsā mufarrrakah* as zucchini cooked in water and eaten with finely chopped meat and eggs. The 1885 cookbook *Ustadh al-Tabbakhin* by Lebanese author Khalil Khattar Sarkis offers two recipes for *mufarrakat baṣal*, a dish of cooked onions and sliced boiled eggs.

Variations exist: the ingredients can be cooked together like an omelette or prepared separately and served as a salad. Spices like sumac, za'atar, or seven-spice are sometimes used.

A similar dish, *mfaraket koosa*, is made with zucchini or courgette. It can include eggs, meat, or be vegan. Sometimes it is made by sautéing leftover pulp from coring zucchinis for stuffed dishes. The name *mfaraket koussa* also refers to a Syrian and Lebanese zucchini stew.