Vegetables and their names....

[*Mahzala*]

DZJ, I add it to my Qaabili palau - a stick, ground with other spices. And a few other dishes. I don't mind it.

[tor_khan]

^DZJ - they drop dhal cheene into biryani, alongside other stick-like things, that I couldn't name at all.

Off topic a bit, but Bombay/Sindhi/Hyderabadi Biryani - man you're talking. Funnily though, I had one of best ever Biryanis in that most exotic of cities called Chicago.

One my best friends (he's a Memon and speaks near perfect Pashto as it happens) served me a Memoni Biryani that they "watered down" for our less eclectic palettes last year. All, I can say, is ... hose pipe. Phew ... guaranteed to cure all known illnesses in one sitting.

[Feroza_Banu]

Mint: welanay,
tamato: sra banjan.
potato: pataata

[Lemar]

My list is similar to Yusufzai's/Mahzala.

Just a couple of additions/queries. To be honest, when it comes to foodstuffs, I'm probably the lamest person to ask. I eat what my wife serves and thank her very nicely for her efforts.

Tomato ... tamatar ... that's what we call them ... though Mother says that when they were little they used the word Kashmirai ... (as in 'female from Kashmiri'). Is this a Swati thing, or just something used in a particular household at a particular time?

I've also heard Tor Banjan for aubergine.

Mint we call podeena or elaney (dried mint?). That last one, tends to be used by my mother/mother-in-law's generation.

Turnip - both tepar and shalgham. Tepar is more common.

And tamarind is imlee. Tamarind, interestingly is Arabic. Tamar (Date), Hind (India). Tamarind = Indian date.

Oh ... and what's cinnamon? In Urdu it's dhal cheene, right?

dhal chini isnt Urdu, its either Tamil or Telugu and thats where it was first originated.
I believe in in modern Indo Aryan languages it's called Dar chini not Dhal chini

[*Mahzala*]

^ Haven't heard of danyaal, but it sounds similar to dhanhia. I assume you're referring to coriander? Maybe a picture would help =)

[*Mahzala*]

gashneez

Gashneez is more commonly used in Dari, less in Pakhto I think. Dhanhia (دڼيا) is Pakhto for coriander.

[afghan]

@ Tor Khan: My grandmother sued to use "kashmiri" for tamatar (tomato). I don't know if she still does, and I'm not sure how common it is. But most everyone else used tamatar.

Mine's pretty much the same as Yusufzai's, except for Beans: Lobia - We say shoparr.

Oh, and what is danyaal in English, folks?

Danyal= leaves are called Cilantro, the seeds are corriander

Lobia (beans) may not be a pashto word, its used in Georgian, armenian and ascetian langauges as well.

[Yousafzai Pakhtun]

for Beans: Lobia - We say shoparr.

You are right Swatis say "Shoparr" while peshawaris use two names for Lobia i.e "Kurkhey" and "Kalool".....

[afghan]

welaney=elaney= wild mint
mint

[afghan]

kashmali=basil

[Yousafzai Pakhtun]

Mint: welanay,
tamato: sra banjan.
potato: pataata

Mint is podeena. Welaney is another form of mint we call it "Zangalee Podeena" .....the difference between the two is that the latter grows itself like primrose(jungali gulab)....

Welaney have been used since long in our house....My mother still have it in dry powder form....it is used in green tea when someone experience nausea, it is very effective and source of relief in situation like food poisoning and other stomach disorders..

[Wrayun]

Few additions:

Potato: Aloo
Taro corms: Kachalu
Cilantro: Darain - Dhania is Urdu/Hindi
Cilantro/Coriander fruits/seeds: Wach Darain
General chilis: Mrach/Mrachan
Red pepper: Sur Mrach, powder form is known as Kurkaman
Black pepper: Tor Mrach
Spinach: Saboo and on a hot day goes really well with Paysa (corn bread) and Tarway (shomblay)
Corn: Vegay/Veggi


Most spices and vegetables have Indic/Sanskrit names, and are probably original to Pukhto dialects because of the relationship between the languages. Later adopted by Urdu/Arabic and Parsi.

[*Mahzala*]

Wrayun, a few of those are new to me. You mention 'korkaman'. That is the word we use for turmeric - 'korkamand'. For corn, we say: jwaar. A question: what is capsicum in Pakhto. It is a type of 'mrech' so I guess it is called 'mrech'. Dari is dolma, and we've used that word too.

Yousafzai, I think you should start a 'Spices in Pakhto' thread. The ladies might like that.

[Wrayun]

*Mahzala*,

To my limited knowledge capsicum, the none spicy large ones are known as Khog Mrach (sweet chilis). Turmeric is known as Zer Kurkaman. Kurkaman is Cayenne/red pepper, especially the powdered form.

Jwaar is Arabic term (I think), in our dialect corn is known as Veggi/Vegay.

Cilantro: Is known as "DA-RAIN"
Coriander fruits/seeds are known as Wach (dry) DA-RAIN.

Kachalu is Taro Corms:

Taro - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[*Mahzala*]

Wrayun, come to think of it, I have called them 'khwaage mrech' all my life though 'dolma' does slip in once in a while. I, personally, have never heard of 'veggi/vegay', rather I've referred to them as 'jwaar' all the time. For chilli powder, we just say 'woch sre/tor mrech', not kurkman. We refer to taro's as 'aalu lashmak' as I pointed out earlier in the thread.

I've looked out for your dialect across the forum, I am interested to learn more.