Bsisa (,

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

''aḍemmin'', ) is a typical Mediterranean food, based on flour of roasted barley, which dates back to

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times. This kind of food is known throughout

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. Its history goes back a long way, and travellers and nomads used to take bsisa with them on their journeys since it was both full of nutritional value and easy to carry in its ground powder form.

Ingredients

Bsisa is a variety of mixtures of roasted cereals ground with fenugreek and aniseed and cumin and sugar. The herbs and spices that are added to the mixture can vary, and the mixtures can also be used as a liquid when added to milk or water, creating a strongly floured drink called ''rowina''.

Customs

It is eaten by

n and

n Muslims and Jews on various occasions. Jews consume it especially on the first day of the Hebrew month of

Nisan Nisan (or Nissan; from ) in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is an Akkadian language borrowing, although it ultimately originates in Sumerian ''nisag' ...

as this is the day the

Mishkan According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

(

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

) was erected (in this case, the food is named ''bsiset el-marquma'' or simply Bsisa). The food is powder that consists of wheat and barley, which represents the mortar used to build the Mishkan. Additionally, the mother of the household puts her gold ring into the Bsisa, recalling the gold that was also used in the building of the Mishkan. Before eating the bsisa, the father of the household blesses in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

while he mixes the Bsisa using the key to his house with oil, recalling the oil used in the Mishkan This symbolizes the "opening" of the 'new year' The father and family recite in turn: Ya fetach,
Bla Neftach,
Arzekna warzek menna
Ya atai,
Bla mena!

Ingredients

Customs

Notes

See also