kila كيلة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“kila” (كيلة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning measure, dose (in cooking).
Meanings
- measure, dose (in cooking)
- traditional measure for grains
Usage
In cooking, kila refers to a relative unit of measure. You pick a container, a glass or a cup, and count ingredients with it: one kila of water for two kilet of sugar. This method is very common in family recipes for pastries and syrups. The plural is kilet. More traditionally, the word refers to a capacity measure for grains, used in markets. Don't confuse it with kilo, which is a unit of weight.
Example
1 كيلة ما لها 2 كيلات سكر وشطر قارصة
1 kila mei lilha 2 kilet sokir wchtar 9arsa
“One measure of water for two measures of sugar and half a lemon.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kila” but also “kilet” and “kilaa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.