riǧl al-ḥamām

Ingredients

riǧl al-ḥamām, Anchusa tinctoria L.

Evidence

"the Andalusian al-Qalalūsī also introduces the dialectal name of a plant to obtain a red pigment: the riǧl al-ḥamām, (‘leg of the dove’), to indicate the Anchusa tinctoria L., the use of which is not mentioned in other treatises."

Remarks

The Andalusian scholar al-Qalalūsī (m. 707/1307) provides the unique dialectal term 'riǧl al-ḥamām' (leg of the dove) to describe a red pigment derived from Anchusa tinctoria L. This term is considered a regional identifier for recipes originating in the Andalusian or Maghribi milieu. (p. 117)