truffels

foto Salim Matramkot ; Peninsula Doha

DOHA • One of the most exotic and expensive vegetables in the world is flying fast from the shelves of Doha's traditional Arab market. The vendors at Oman market are doing brisk business of desert truffles, the prized vegetable, that is known for its nutritional and medicinal values.

Though the high quality stuff has ceased coming into the market since last month, the nationals and Arab residents are still queuing up to collect the limited quantities of the second quality truffle that continues to pour into the market.

"Until a few weeks ago, we were selling fagga (local name of desert truffle) for QR2000 per kilo. Those were bigger ones. Now, with the weather getting warmer, we are receiving only second grade stuff and we charge QR450-QR800 for them. The demand is still high", Prem Poudal, a vendor at Oman market told The Peninsula.

Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria and Morocco are some of the countries which export this rare vegetable to Doha. In different colours and flavours, over a dozen varieties of truffles are arriving in Doha. Oman market is the only outlet where customers can buy this rare stuff.

The treasured desert truffle, it is widely believed, is spawned by lightning and a clap of thunder. The number and size of the truffles are influenced by the force of thunderbolts.

"Maybe for want of a thundershower, this time the traditional truffle-hunters were unable to unearth desert truffle in Qatar. The massive construction works in the deserts have also contributed to the poor production of truffles in Qatar,” said a local truffle dealer Yusef Mohammed Ibrahim.

Ibrahim delivers truffle on regular basis to many Qatari families during the season.

Truffles go by different names in different places. In Morocco they are called terfez. In Egypt they are known as terfaz. The Kuwaitis call them fagga, the Saudi's faq, and in Syria they are known by their classical Arabic name, kamaa, and in Oman they are either called faqah or zubaydi.

While chefs go into raptures over its gastronomic value, nutritionists swear by the truffle's nutritive component. Also because of its strong, male steroid-like odour, truffles are credited with aphrodisiac qualities. In fact, in medieval times, Roman monks were forbidden from consuming truffles.

The shelf-life of truffles is very short. They can neither be kept in plastic bags nor in refrigerators. Hence, the local dealers make sure that they land on the dining table within 24 hours of their arrival in Doha