List of Maltese dishes explained

The following is a list of dishes in Maltese cuisine:

Appetizers

• Żebbuġ Mimli (pitted green olives stuffed with tuna mixture)
• Fażola bajda bit-tewm u t-tursin (White beans with parsley, garlic and olive oil)
• Ful bit-tewm
• Bigilla (mashed "Tic beans "known in Malta as "Ful Ta' Ġirba" (Djerba beans))
• Galletti (Maltese biscuit)
• Bebbux (escargot)

Soups

• Brodu (beef or chicken broth)
• Minestra (Maltese version of minestrone, a thick soup of Italian origin made with vegetables)
• Kusksu (vegetable soup with small pasta beads called kusksu and fresh broad beans in season)
• Soppa tal-armla Widow's Soup (vegetable soup with fresh cheeselets and beaten eggs)
• Aljotta (fish soup with plenty of garlic, herbs, and tomatoes)
• Kawlata (cabbage and pork soup)

Pasta and rice

• Imqarrun (macaroni, Bolognese-style meat sauce, and egg casserole)
• Timpana (macaroni and tomato sauce casserole)
• Ravjul (ravioli and tomato sauce)
• Ross il-forn (baked rice)
• Għaġin grieg (small pasta beads with minced pork and cheese)
• Froġa tat-tarja (fried omelette with vermicelli pasta)

Meat

• Stuffat tal-fenek (rabbit stew)
• Fenek moqli (fried rabbit)
• Braġjoli (thin slices of meat that are stuffed and rolled as a roulade)
• Laħam fuq il-fwar (steamed slices of beef)
• Falda Mimlija (stuffed flank of pork)
• Laħam taż-żiemel (stallion meat, usually fried or baked in a white wine sauce)
• Zalzett tal-Malti (a short, thick sausage made of pork, sea salt, black peppercorns, coriander seeds and parsley)
• Mazzit (Maltese blood sausage)

Fish

• Lampuka
• Stuffat tal-qarnit (octopus stew)
• Qarnit bit-tewm (octopus with garlic)
• Klamari mimlija (stuffed calamari)
• Pixxispad (fried swordfish)

Eggs and cheeses

• Ġbejna (a small round cheese)
• Froġa (omelette with ġbejna, broad beans or meat)
• Balbuljata (scrambled eggs cooked with tomatoes and onions)

Vegetables and sauces

• Qarabagħli mimli (stuffed courgette)
• Brunġiel mimli (stuffed aubergine)
• Bżar mimli (stuffed peppers)
• Patata l-forn (baked sliced potatoes)
• Kapunata
• Aljoli (arjoli) (Maltese aioli which contains no egg)
• Qaqoċċ Mimli (stuffed artichokes)

Savoury pastries

• Torta tal-irkotta (ricotta pie)
• Sfineġ (vegetable, fish or cheese fritters);
• Pastizzi
• Qassatat (qassata)
• Torti tar-ross u l-qargħa ħamra (rice and pumpkin pie)

Bread

See main article: Maltese bread.

• Ħobża tal-Malti
• Ftira (a Maltese flatbread)
• Ħobż biż-żejt u t-tadam (bread with olive oil and tomato)
• Ftira Għawdxija
• Qagħaq tal-Appostli

Sweets

• Qagħaq tal-ħmira (soft sweet bagel shape cake with a hint of aniseed, topped with sesame seeds)
• Imqaret (deep fried diamond-shaped pastry)^{[1] [2]}
• Kannoli tal-irkotta (ricotta filled fried crisp pastry tubes)
• Ravjul moqli (sweet toasted ravioli)
• Torti tat-tamal (date and cocoa tart)
• Torti tal-marmorat (almond and chocolate pie)
• Ħelwa tat-Tork (nut studded sesame seed and sugar halva)
• Pudina tal-ħobż (baked bread pudding with raisins and cocoa powder)
• Prinjolata (Carnival sweet, made of biscuit and sponge cake covered with frosting and decorated with glacè cherries and melted chocolate)
• Kwareżimal (Lenten almond biscuit scented with the zest of orange, lemon and Maltese mixed spice, cinnamon and orange blossom)
• Ftira tar-Randan (Lenten honey drizzled squares of crisp deep fried pastry)
• Karamelli tal-ħarrub (Lenten hard candy flavoured with carob)
• Figolla (Easter icing-coated biscuit stuffed with a mixture of sweet ground almonds called intrita)
• Ħobża ta' San Martin (sweet bread roll, sweetened with mastic associated with Saint Martin's Day)
• Qagħaq tal-għasel or tal-Qastanija (Christmas sweet rings made from a light pastry with a filling made of treacle, honey, semolina, citrus zest, cinnamon and cloves)
• Għadam tal-mejtin (Pastry shaped in the form of a bone filled with almond paste)
• Zeppoli
• Qubbajt (Traditional Maltese Nougat)

Beverages

• Ġulepp tal-ħarrub (carob syrup)
• Imbuljuta (chestnut, tangerine zest and cocoa drink)
• Kafè (coffee boiled with aniseed, cinnamon sticks and/or rosewater)
• Ruġġata (a drink made from cinnamon, vanilla, bitter almonds, sugar, water and milk similar to Italian 'orzata')
• Te fit-tazza (a local variety of builder's tea, traditionally served with condensed milk and sweetened in a glass)
• Kinnie (a bittersweet soft drink)
• Bajtra (a prickly pear-based liqueur)

Notes and References

1. Sweet Delights from a Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Traditional Arab Sweets, Habeeb Salloum, Muna Salloum, I.B.Tauris, Λονδίνο 2013, σελ. 132,
2. Proceedings of the First Congress on Mediterranean Studies of Arbo-Berber Influence, Micheline Galley, David R. Marshall, Société nationale d'édition et de diffusion, 1973