tharid

{{Short description|Traditional Arab stew consumed during Ramadan}}

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Tharid

| image = Tharid. (cropped).JPG

| image_upright = 1.2

| caption = Tharid

| alternate_name = Trid, taghrib, tashreeb or thareed

| country = Arabian Peninsula

| region = North Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia

| place_of_origin = Mecca, Saudi Arabia

| course = Main course

| type = Stew

| served = Main dish

| main_ingredient = Bread, vegetable or meat broth

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

Tharid also known as trid, taghrib, tashrib, tashreeb or thareed is a bread soup that originates from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, an Arab cuisine also found in many other Arab countries. Like other bread soups, it is a simple meal of broth and bread, in this instance crumbled flatbread moistened with broth or stew.{{Cite book |title=Eat Your Words: The Definitive Dictionary for the Discerning Diner|last=Convery|first=Paul|publisher=Mango Media Inc.|year=2019 |isbn=9781642501353 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KFHGDwAAQBAJ}} Historically, the flatbread used was probably stale and unleavened.{{cite book|editor-last=Curtis |editor-first=Edward |title=Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owZCMZpYamMC&pg=PA237|year=2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|page=127|isbn=9781438130408 }} As an Arab national dish it is considered strongly evocative of Arab identity during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to a widespread legend, this unremarkable and humble dish was the prophet's favorite food.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7MwDwAAQBAJ|title=Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World: A Concise History with 174 Recipes|last=Zaouali|first=Lilia|publisher=University of California Press|date=September 2009|isbn=978-0-520-26174-7|page=xiii|language=en|access-date=May 19, 2022}}

It is a common Ramadan dish.{{Cite web |last=St John |first=Bill |date=2022-09-27 |title=One of the Prophet Mohammed's favorite dishes is Tharid, a delicious stew |url=https://www.uchealth.org/today/tharid-emirati-lamb-stew-prophet-mohammed-favorite-stew/ |access-date=2024-05-20 |website=UCHealth Today |language=en-US}}

Origin

The dish is a mainstay of Arab culture, notable in that it is mentioned in a number of hadith attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, in which he said that tharid was the best of all dishes, being superior to all others in the same way that his beloved third wife, the wise young Aishah, was superior to all other women.{{cite book|author1=Coeli Fitzpatrick Ph.D.|author2=Adam Hani Walker|title=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God [2 volumes]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AtvBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA214|date=25 April 2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-178-9|page=214}}

Spread

Tharid is not only widespread in the Arabian Peninsula, but also in North Africa, where it is known as trid; Turkey, where it is known as tirit; and even in Xinjiang, where it is known as terit. Multiple variations of the recipe were brought to Spain by the Arabs. The Moroccan rfissa is created by ladling a chicken and lentil stew on top of thin crepe-like flatbread (warqa) that has been cut into long thin pieces. In Syria, a similar dish named fatteh is a mix of roasted and minced flatbread with yogurt and cooked meat. In Indonesia, tharid is known via Malay cuisine, due to Arab influences on Malay culinary culture.{{cite web|url=https://www.womensweekly.com.sg/gallery/food/asian-recipes/delicious-malay-recipes-hari-raya-dishes/|title=22 Delicious Malay And Indonesian Dishes The Whole Family Will Love|date=17 May 2020|publisher=Women's Weekly}}

The dish also spread into Portugal, where it evolved to be a bread soup with cilantro, garlic, and eggs known as açorda Alentejana.{{cite web |last1=Rei |first1=António |title=A Açorda. Uma sopa de pão, da Alta Idade Média à atualidade |url=https://run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/20916/1/acorda.pdf |access-date=23 May 2021 |publisher=NOVA University Lisbon}}

Consumption

Dipping the bread into the broth and eating it with the meat is the simplest method of eating tharid. Another variation involves stacking the bread and the meat in several layers.

It is a common Ramadan dish.