Sabich (sabij or sabih) is a meal popularized in Israel by Iraqi-Jewish immigrants, and consists of a pita bread stuffed with fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, salad, tahini or hummus, and a mango sauce called “amba”. It is usually eaten for breakfast and it is precisely believed that its name derives from the Arabic “sabah” (morning).
Ingredients:
2 small eggplants
4 hard-boiled eggs
Pita bread
Extra virgin olive oil
For the “Israeli salad”:
1 large tomato
1/2 cucumber
A small bunch of parsley
For the mango sauce (“amba”):
1 large mango
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon each of the following spices: sumac, cumin, mustard seeds, fenugreek, chili, garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
For the hummus:
A cup (or can) of cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons of tahini
The juice of half a lemon
Salt and extra virgin olive oil
To prepare an express amba, peel and cut the mango into small pieces. Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan, sauté a clove of garlic and the mustard seeds, without letting them burn. Add the mango and the rest of the ingredients; Reduce over low heat for about 15 minutes, until you have obtained the consistency of a sauce. Transfer to a clean jar and store in the fridge. Use ideally when it has cooled down.
To prepare the hummus, process the ingredients together with a little cooking water from the chickpeas (or preserving liquid instead, when using canned beans), until you get a homogeneous paste without lumps.
Boil the eggs for at least 10 minutes. Let cool and peel. Reserve.
Prepare the “Israeli salad” by chopping together the tomato, cucumber and parsley. It is possible to add a red onion if desired. Reserve.
Cut the aubergines into slices. Ideally, they should be salted beforehand and left to rest for at least half an hour, so that they release the liquid that makes them bitter. Dry them with kitchen paper and fry them in olive oil according to preference.
Once these steps are completed, all the ingredients are ready for a tasty sabich. Heat a pita bread for 30 seconds on each side, spread with hummus (or tahini sauce), add eggplant, quartered hard-boiled egg, and salad. Sprinkle everything with amba on top, roll up and enjoy.
Tips and tricks:
- Amba is originally an immature mango ferment, similar to Indian mango chutney. The recipe indicated here is just a tasty “shortcut” that allows us to enjoy sabich without major complications. Adapt seasonings and spices according to preference and availability.
- Instead of hummus, you can simply spread a little tahini on the bread before serving, or make a sauce by mixing tahini, lemon juice, water, and salt. The consistency should be relatively runny.
- Follow this link for more details and secrets on the preparation of hummus.
- Eggplants absorb a large amount of oil, so I suggest frying them in a non-stick pan over moderate heat with very little olive oil, salting them to help them lose water and covering the pan so that the steam can condense. We can also go for the less healthy version: in this case, coat the slices with flour, fry them in abundant oil and arrange them on a plate with absorbent kitchen paper, to get rid of excess oil.
- I suggest trying this recipe using the so-called Japanese eggplants. This variety is thin and elongated in shape, presenting an intense violet color. Thanks to the fact that they have a small number of seeds, they offer a delicate and slightly sweet taste, without the typical bitter touch of eggplant. Its texture is pleasant and creamy, both when sautéed and roasted.