machwi مشوي
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“machwi” (مشوي) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning grilled, cooked over embers.
Meanings
- grilled, cooked over embers
Usage
Machwi is the adjective derived from the verb chwa (to grill). It describes above all meat, fish and vegetables cooked over embers or on a grill. The feminine is machwiya, hence the famous slata machwiya, a salad of peppers and tomatoes that are grilled and then crushed. The plural is machwiyin. In everyday speech, l7am machwi means grilled meat and 7out machwi means grilled fish. The word contrasts with ma9li (fried) and mtayeb (cooked in sauce).
Example
نحب الحوت مشوي موش مقلي
n7eb el7out machwi mouch ma9li
“I like grilled fish, not fried.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “machwi” but also “mechwi”, “mashwi”, “machoui” and “mechoui”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “machwi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “grilled, roasted”; “méchoui (whole roast lamb)”: mechwi in Moroccan.