Freekeh

This article is about the Middle Eastern dish. For the village in northern Syria, see Farikah.

Freekeh

Course	Main
Place of origin	Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, Israel and Syria
Region or state	Jordan, Palestine, Egypt , Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Iraq
Main ingredients	Green wheat
Media: Freekeh

Freekeh (sometimes spelled frikeh) or farik (Template:Lang-ar / ALA-LC: farīkah) (pronounced free-kah) is a cereal food made from green wheat that goes through a roasting process. It is an ancient Arabian dish that is especially popular in Levantine, Arabian Peninsulan, Jordanian and Egyptian cuisine, but also in North African and other neighboring cuisines.

The wheat is harvested while the grains are yellow and the seeds are still soft; it is then piled and sun-dried. The piles are carefully set on fire so only the straw and chaff burn and not the seeds. The high moisture content of the seeds prevents them from burning. The now roasted wheat undergoes further threshing and sun-drying to make the flavor, texture, and color uniform. This threshing or rubbing process of the grains gives this food its name, farīk or “rubbed”. The seeds are then cracked into smaller pieces so they look like a green bulgur.

History

Freekeh is mentioned in an early 13th-century Baghdad cook book as farīkiyya. In that recipe, meat is fried in oil and braised with water, salt, and cinnamon bark. Then, dried coriander is stirred in with young wheat ("freekeh") and is cooked. Finally, the meal is served with cumin, cinnamon, and fresh lamb tail fat.

In Egypt, freekeh is served as ḥamām bi’l-farīk (pigeon stuffed with green wheat). Freekeh is also prepared in Egypt with onion and tomato, and sometimes with chicken. Shūrbat farīk bi’l-mukh is a freekeh and bone marrow soup from Tunisia. Freeket lahma, a green wheat pilaf dish with roasted lamb, spring peas, and pine nuts, comes from Jordan, and shūrba al-farīk is a Jordanian cuisine soup with green wheat and chicken.

In Syria, freekeh is usually prepared with lamb, onion, butter, almonds, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and salt. In Israel, it is eaten in some region as part of a Hamin stew along with chicken, tomatoes, potatoes, red chili peppers and beans. In Jordan (Druze in Jordan), Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, traditional Druze populations still make freekeh in the old ways.

Nutritional value

Freekeh (green durum wheat)

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	1,418 kJ (339 kcal)
Carbohydrates	71 g
Fat	2.5 g
Protein	14 g
Vitamins and minerals Vitamins Quantity %DV† Thiamine (B1) 35% 0.42 mg Riboflavin (B2) 9% 0.12 mg Niacin (B3) 42% 6.7 mg Pantothenic acid (B5) 19% 0.94 mg Vitamin B6 25% 0.42 mg Folate (B9) 11% 43 μg Minerals Quantity %DV† Calcium 3% 34 mg Iron 19% 3.5 mg Magnesium 34% 144 mg Manganese 130% 3.0 mg Phosphorus 41% 508 mg Potassium 14% 431 mg Sodium 0% 2 mg Zinc 38% 4.2 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
selenium	89 ug
water	11 g
Link to Full USDA Database
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.

Freekeh's nutritional attributes are comparable to other cereal grains, especially durum wheat from which it is derived, depending on the durum cultivar. Durum is notable for its high contents (more than 19% of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins and several dietary minerals, especially manganese (143% DV) (table). Before roasting, freekeh is 11% water, 71% carbohydrates, 2.5% fat and 14% protein (table).

Baking or roasting wheat, as done in the preparation of freekeh, substantially reduces these nutrient contents (roasted durum or freekeh nutrient data are not available; example, amaranth nutrition).

See also

• List of African dishes