The word "mfarakeh" (Arabic: مفركة) is derived from the Arabic verb, Arabic: فرك, romanized:farak, meaning "the rubbed".[8] The root is also used to describe the crumbling apart of fully ripe wheat when rubbed in one's hand[9] or even a wooden whisk used to break up food.[10] This renders the meaning closer to "that which is crumbled or broken apart into bits"; descriptive of the way the egg falls in crumbles around the potatoes.
Another name for it is mfaraket baid o batata, meaning "rubbed eggs and potatoes".[11]
History
Two recipes for mufarraka were described in a cookbook by 13th-century Abbasid author Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi.[12] One recipe called for frying eggs and fish in sesame oil, while the other called for chicken liver in place of fish.[12]
Proceedings from 1889-1891 by the International Congress of Orientalists described kūsā mufarrrakah (كوسا مفركة) as a dish of zucchinis that are cooked in water and eaten with finely chopped meat and eggs.[13] The 1885 cookbook Ustadh al-Tabbakhin by Lebanese author Khalil Khattar Sarkis[ar] provided 2 recipes for mufarrakat baṣal (مفركة بصل); a dish made by combining cooked onions and sliced boiled eggs.[14]
Variations
The ingredients can be cooked together in a pan like an omelette,[1] or can be cooked separately and made into a salad.[15][11]
Mfaraket koosa (Arabic: مفركة كوسا, lit.'Zucchini mfarakeh') is a similar dish made with zucchini or courgette, it can be made with eggs,[16] or sometimes meat, or even vegan.[17][18][19] It is sometimes made by sautéing the leftover pulp from coring zucchinis used in making stuffed zucchinis.[20]
The name mfaraket koussa also refers to a Syrian and Lebanese zucchini stew.[21][22][17]
12الجوهرة, مجلة (20 January 2020). "من المطبخ السوري.. «مفركة الكوسا بدون لحمة»"[From Syrian cuisine: "Zucchini Mufrakah without meat"]. Al-Jawhara Magazine (in Arabic). Retrieved 7 September 2025.
