Sabich facts for kids
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| Course | Breakfast (among Iraqi Jews) and Street food (entire country), Sandwich |
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| Place of origin | Iraq |
| Main ingredients | Traditionally laffa, although pita is often used, eggplant, hard boiled eggs, salad, amba, parsley, tahini sauce, and hummus |
| Ingredients generally used | Potato, onion, and zhug |
Sabich or sabih (Hebrew: סביח [saˈbiχ]) is a sandwich of pita or laffa bread stuffed with fried eggplants, hard boiled eggs, chopped salad, parsley, amba and tahini sauce. It is an Iraqi Jewish dish that has become a staple of Israeli cuisine, as a result of Iraqi Jewish immigration to Israel. Its ingredients are based on a traditional quick breakfast of Iraqi Jews and is traditionally made with laffa, which is nicknamed Iraqi pita. Sabich is sold in many businesses throughout Israel.
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Etymology
There are several theories on the origin of the name sabich. Many credit the name to the first name of Sabich Tsvi Halabi, a Jewish man born in Iraq who operated a small restaurant in Ramat Gan, and who is credited for originally serving the sandwich. Another theory is that sabich is an acronym of the Hebrew words "Salat, Beitsa, Yoter Ḥatsil" סלט ביצה יותר חציל, meaning "salad, egg, more eggplant". This is probably a humorous interpretation and hence a backronym.
History
The idea of the sabich sandwich was most likely brought to Israel by Iraqi Jews, who immigrated in the 1940s and 1950s. On mornings when there was little time for a cooked breakfast, Iraqi Jews ate a cold meal of pre-cooked fried eggplant and hard-boiled eggs, either stuffed into a pita bread or with boiled potatoes. The eggplants would be cooked the night before.
In Israel, these ingredients eventually became popular as fast food. The dish is said to have been first sold in Israel in 1961 at a small stall on Uziel Street in Ramat Gan.
A version without the bread or pita is called sabich salad ("סלט סביח" - "Salat Sabich" in Hebrew).
Ingredients
Sabich, served in pita bread, traditionally contains fried eggplant slices, hard-cooked eggs, a thin tahini sauce (tahini, lemon juice, and garlic), Israeli Salad, chopped parsley, and amba. Some versions use boiled potatoes. Traditionally it is made with haminados eggs, slow-cooked in hamin until they turn brown. According to the diner's preference it can be served topped with green or red zhug as a condiment and sprinkled with minced onion.
Gallery
See also
In Spanish: Sabich para niños
