{{Short description|North African dish}} {{Infobox food | name = Bissara | image = Bissara Moroccan split pea and fava bean soup.jpg | image_size = 250 | caption = Bissara with olives and spices | alternate_name = | region = Greater Middle East | place_of_origin = Ancient Egypt<ref name="Weiss Chirichigno 2007" /><ref name="Valenta 2016" /><ref name="Morse 1998 p. 63" /><ref name="Staff 2013" /> | course = | type = | served = Hot | main_ingredient = | variations = | calories = | other = }}
'''Bissara''' ({{Langx|ar|بصارة}})<ref name="VeganDip">{{citation |title=Bissara, Egyptian Vegan Dip of Split Fava Beans, البصارة المصرية |date=22 February 2022 |url=https://cheznermine.com/2022/02/22/dip-of-split-fava-beans/ |access-date=2 August 2023 |last1=Nermine |first1=Chez |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604112807/https://cheznermine.com/2022/02/22/dip-of-split-fava-beans/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Morse 1998 p. 63" /> is a dish in Egyptian and Moroccan cuisine.<ref name="Weiss Chirichigno 2007" /><ref name="Kitchen 2010" /><ref name="Engineers 2006" /> The dish contains split fava beans, onions, garlic, fresh aromatic herbs and spices. All ingredients are slowly cooked and then blended to yield a creamy and fragrant dip or side dish.
It is also called Talxca (ⵜⴰⵍⵅⵛⴰ) in Tashelhit, and Tamarakt (ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵔⴰⴽⵜ) in Tarifit.
== Etymology == Food historians believe that the name Bissara originates from the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic word ''bisourou'' (or ''bissouro''), which means "cooked beans".<ref name="Weiss Chirichigno 2007" /><ref name="Valenta 2016" /><ref name="Morse 1998 p. 63" /><ref name="Staff 2013" /><ref name="VeganDip"/>
== History ==
According to historian Daniel Newman, a 13th-century cookbook from al-Andalus contains the oldest known recipe for {{transliteration|ar|ALA-LC|baysār}} ({{langx|ar|بيسار}}), which is the ancestor to bissara, it was a porridge made with dried broad beans and meat.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Newman |first1=Daniel |author1-link=Daniel_Newman_(academic) |title=Spotlight on: Broad beans |url=https://eatlikeasultan.com/spotlight-on-broad-beans/ |website=Eat Like A Sultan |access-date=14 September 2025 |language=en |date=5 September 2025}}</ref>
In ancient Jewish cuisine, a similar dish, known as "mikpah ful" in rabbinic literature, was commonly consumed.<ref name=":0" />
== Preparation == Bissara uses puréed broad beans as a primary ingredient.<ref name="Weiss Chirichigno 2007" /><ref name="Valenta 2016" /><ref name="Morse 1998 p. 63" /><ref name="Staff 2013" /> Additional ingredients include garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, hot red pepper, cumin, and salt.<ref name="Weiss Chirichigno 2007" /><ref name="Hal Hamon Barbey 2013" /> Bissara is sometimes prepared using split peas or chickpeas.<ref name="Independent.ie 2014" /><ref name="Jaffrey 2014" />
=== Egyptian cuisine === In Egypt, bissara is eaten exclusively as a dip for bread, and is served for breakfast, as a ''meze'', or more rarely, for lunch or dinner. Egyptian bissara includes herbs or leafy greens, hot peppers, lemon juice, and occasionally onion.<ref name="Arabi">{{Cite news |last=كريم |first=محمد |date=2015-11-08 |title=البصارة... وجبة الشتاء الزهيدة |language=ar |work=العربي |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/miscellaneous/2015/11/8/البصارة-وجبة-الشتاء-الزهيدة |access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref> It is traditionally a rural farmer's dish,<ref name="Arabi" /> though it has become more popular in urban Egypt since 2011 because it is healthier than its urban counterpart, ful medames.<ref name="Lina">{{Cite news|last=El-Wardani|first=Lina|date=2010-05-05|title=An Ancient Diet|url=http://www.egyptindependent.com/ancient-diet/|access-date=2018-05-14}}</ref> It is typically inexpensive, and has been described as a pauper's dish.<ref name="Honnor 2012" /><ref name="Hal Hamon Barbey 2013" />
In Egypt, bissara also includes herbs or leafy greens—particularly parsley, mint, dill, spinach, or molokhiya, though the latter is more commonly added by Egyptian expatriates in Palestine—and is eaten with bread as a dip.<ref name="Arabi" /><ref name="Yasmine">{{Cite web |author=Yasmine |date=March 17, 2016 |title=Classic Egyptian Bessara |url=http://cairocooking.com/md_recipe/classic-egyptian-bessara/ |access-date=2018-05-14 |website=Cairo Cooking }} </ref> Bissara spread from Egypt to the Levant; Palestinians make bissara with fava beans and molokhiya.<ref> {{cite news |title=أطباق الشتاء في فلسطين.. الخبيزة ملكة المائدة |url=https://felesteen.news/post/40142/ |access-date=4 January 2026 |work=Felesteen News |date=4 January 2019 |language=ar |trans-title=Winter dishes in Palestine... Mallow, the queen of the table}} </ref><ref> {{cite book |last1=Tamimi |first1=Sami |last2=Wigley |first2=Tara |title=Falastin: A Cookbook |date=16 June 2020 |publisher=Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed |isbn=978-0-399-58174-8 |pages=523-533 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Falastin/PACmDwAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PT523 |access-date=4 January 2026 |language=en}} </ref>
=== Moroccan cuisine ===
In Morocco, bissara is popular during the colder months of the year and can be found in town squares and various alleyways.<ref name="Valenta 2016" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=''Bissara'', le plat chaud anti-froid|url=http://www.babmagazine.ma/bissara-le-plat-chaud-anti-froid|access-date=2021-12-27|website=www.babmagazine.ma|archive-date=2021-12-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227234207/http://www.babmagazine.ma/bissara-le-plat-chaud-anti-froid|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosa.|first=Amar|title=Cuisine juive marocaine: la cuisine de Rosa|date=2 November 2017|publisher=Editions Gisserot |isbn=978-2-7558-0763-9|oclc=1013172477}}</ref> It is typically served in shallow bowls or soup plates, and topped with olive oil, paprika, and cumin.<ref name="Jaffrey 2014" /> Bread is sometimes eaten dipped into the dish, and lemon juice is sometimes added as a topping.<ref name="Jaffrey 2014" />
=== Similar dishes === Tova Dickstein, an expert in ancient food, linked the ancient Jewish dish known as ''mikpah'' or ''mikpah ful'', mentioned multiple times in rabbinic literature, to the modern bissara. Ancient sources describe it as a dip made from fava beans, garlic, mint, and olive oil. Due to its frequent appearance in the Mishnah, which also includes a halakhic rule stating that a ''sukkah'' may only be abandoned during rain once the ''mikpah'' has become wet and smelly, she referred to it as the "national dish" of the ancient Israelites.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Dickstein |first=Tova |title=The Taste of Ancient Israel: Tales of Food and Recipes from the Land of Israel |publisher=Ofir Bikkurim |year=2021 |location=Israel |pages=86–88 |language=he}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Food}}
* List of bean soups * List of soups
==References== <references> <ref name="Weiss Chirichigno 2007">{{cite book | last1=Weiss | first1=J. | last2=Chirichigno | first2=P. | title=Egyptian Cooking English Edition | publisher=Bonechi | year=2007 | isbn=978-88-476-0706-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1hXmCyYmMaoC&pg=PA30 | page=30}}</ref> <ref name="Kitchen 2010">{{cite book | last=Kitchen | first=M.B.T. | title=World Kitchen Morocco | publisher=Murdoch Books | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-74266-500-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wP1XzeKB8iUC&pg=PT42 | page=pt42}} {{subscription required}}</ref> <ref name="Valenta 2016">{{cite web | last=Valenta | first=Kyle | title=How to eat breakfast like a local around the world - Provided By Advertising Publications | website=The Seattle Times | date=June 23, 2016 | url=http://www.seattletimes.com/nwshowcase/journeys/how-to-eat-breakfast-like-a-local-around-the-world/ | access-date=September 6, 2016}}</ref> <ref name="Independent.ie 2014">{{cite web | title=The spice of life in magical Marrakesh... | website=Independent.ie | date=June 28, 2014 | url=http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/the-spice-of-life-in-magical-marrakesh-30384843.html | access-date=September 6, 2016}}</ref> <ref name="Morse 1998 p. 63">{{cite book | last=Morse | first=K. | title=Cooking at the Kasbah: Recipes from My Morroccan Kitchen | publisher=Chronicle Books | year=1998 | isbn=978-0-8118-1503-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XtSUJVWjR7YC&pg=PA63| page=63}}</ref> <ref name="Staff 2013">{{cite book | title=Good Eating's Global Dining in Chicago: Where to Find the City's Best International, Ethnic, and Exotic Restaurants | publisher=Agate Publishing, Incorporated | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-57284-443-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=546aecEMDuoC&pg=PT71 | access-date=September 6, 2016 | page=71}}</ref> <ref name="Jaffrey 2014">{{cite book | last=Jaffrey | first=M. | title=Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World | publisher=Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony | year=2014 | isbn=978-0-307-81612-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L7zCAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT103 | page=103}}</ref> <ref name="Honnor 2012">{{cite book | last=Honnor | first=J. | title=Morocco Footprint Handbook | publisher=Footprint | series=Footprint Handbooks | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-907263-31-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LtXcAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA24 | access-date=September 6, 2016 | page=24}}</ref> <ref name="Hal Hamon Barbey 2013">{{cite book | last1=Hal | first1=F. | last2=Hamon | first2=J. | last3=Barbey | first3=B. | title=Authentic Recipes from Morocco | publisher=Tuttle Publishing | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-4629-0540-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kADQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 | page=47}}</ref> <ref name="Engineers 2006">{{cite book | last=Engineers | first=N.B.C. | title=The Complete Book on Spices & Condiments (with Cultivation, Processing & Uses) 2nd Revised Edition: With Cultivation, Processing & Uses | publisher=Asia Pacific Business Press | year=2006 | isbn=978-81-7833-038-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=039ZCwAAQBAJ&pg=PR61 | page=61}}</ref> </references>
==External links== * [https://www.peacecorps.gov/educators/resources/recipe-bissara/ Peace Corps Bissara Recipe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512204327/https://www.peacecorps.gov/educators/resources/recipe-bissara/ |date=2023-05-12 }} * [https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12358-moroccan-fava-bean-and-vegetable-soup Moroccan Fava Bean Soup - New York Times Cooking]
{{Cuisine of Egypt|state=exapnded}} {{Cuisine of Morocco}} {{Soups}}
Category:Arab cuisine Category:African soups Category:Bean soups Category:Ancient Egyptian cuisine Category:Egyptian soups Category:Moroccan cuisine Category:Palestinian cuisine Category:Moroccan soups Category:Ancient dishes Category:Jewish cuisine Category:Broad bean dishes Category:Egyptian legume dishes Category:Vegetarian dishes of Egypt