What it means
ملاقه (malâqe) is the ladle, the large deep-bowled spoon used to scoop and serve soups, stews, and broth. The word comes from Arabic مِلْعَقَة (mil’aqa), which shares the root ل-ع-ق related to licking or spooning. In everyday kitchen talk, Iranians use malâqe without thinking about its Arabic origin. A close related tool is قاشق (qâshoq), the ordinary spoon, but malâqe specifically means the larger, handled ladle used at the stove or serving pot.
How to use it
- ملاقه رو بده بهم. (malâqe ro bede beham.) “Hand me the ladle.”
- با ملاقه سوپ رو هم بزن. (bâ malâqe sup ro ham bezan.) “Stir the soup with the ladle.”
- ملاقه کجاست؟ (malâqe kojâst?) “Where is the ladle?”
- یه ملاقه آش بریز توی کاسهام. (ye malâqe âsh beriz tuye kâse-am.) “Pour one ladle of âsh into my bowl.”
Cultural note
The ملاقه is inseparable from Iranian cooking, where soups and stews like âsh-e reshteh and ghormeh sabzi are household staples. At sofreh spreads, whether for a weekday dinner or a nazri communal meal, the ladle moves constantly from pot to bowl. In many families the person holding the malâqe at the pot is effectively in charge of portion control, a small but real point of kitchen authority.