Moroccan Word of the Day - Danjal
Eggplants, or aubergines, are called a number of different things in Morocco. Early on, these Arabic words sounded so similar to my untrained ear that I thought they were a single word which I couldn't remember correctly. In print, though, it's easy to see the differences.
Danjal seems to be the most popular word in darija for eggplant, followed by badanjal, which my in-laws favor.
Some Moroccan also use danjan, or even the Standard Arabic of badanjan.
Moroccan Fried Eggplant was the first Moroccan eggplant recipe my mother-in-law taught me. My whole family likes them, and I usually serve them as part of a Moroccan Fried Fish Dinner.
Other Moroccan Eggplant Recipes on the site include:
- Zaalouk
- Moroccan Eggplant Puree
- Sweet and Spicy Moroccan Eggplant
Photo © Christine Benlafquih
Do you Twitter? Follow @moroccan_food.
Sign up for the free weekly Moroccan Food Newsletter.
Have questions about Moroccan food or cooking? Post them to the Moroccan Food Forum.
Comments
I always get danjal, jijlan and javil mixed up in my head, but luckily not in real life!
Are you going to write about those long acorn looking nuts that seem to be in season and for sale everywhere. I’m very curious about them.
Also, do you know about those stinky nasty little brown round nut things? Sorry…that might not say much, but sometimes we walk by a cart full of little round brown nuts that have quite a stench eminating from them and I tasted them one time, and bleckh!
Acorns are called bilote (not sure if that’s a good tansliteration, billotte may be better). I don’t care for them, but some people like to eat them.
I’m not sure what the nuts are without seeing them. Nothing comes to mind except nutmeg, which should be grated to add seasoning to dishes…but I’d be inclined to rule that out since I find the smell pleasant. See if you can google the image of nutmeg and let me know if that’s what you saw being sold.
No, it’s not nutmeg- that I know and wouldn’t describe as stinky either. The thing I’m talking about my husband said is called nbag.