| Sabich | |
| Country: | Israel |
| Course: | Breakfast and Street food (entire country), Sandwich |
| Main Ingredient: | Traditionally laffa, although pita is often used, eggplant, hard boiled eggs, salad, amba, parsley, tahini sauce, and hummus |
| Minor Ingredient: | Potato, onion, and zhug |
Sabich or sabih (Hebrew: סביח pronounced as /he/; Judeo-Iraqi Arabic: صبيح) is a sandwich of pita or laffa bread stuffed with fried eggplants, hard boiled eggs, chopped salad, parsley, amba and tahini sauce.[1] It is a staple of Israeli cuisine.Its ingredients are based on a traditional quick breakfast of Sephardic Jews. Sabich is sold in many businesses throughout Israel.
There are several theories on the origin of the name sabich. Many credit the name to the first name of Sabih Tzvi Halabi,[2] a Jewish man born in Iraq and made aliyah to Israel who operated a small restaurant in Ramat Gan. He is credited for originally serving the sandwich.[3] [4] Another theory is that sabich is an acronym of the Hebrew words "Salat, Beitsa, Yoter Ḥatsil" Hebrew: סלט ביצה יותר חציל, meaning "salad, egg, more eggplant". This is probably a humorous interpretation and hence a backronym.[5]
The idea of the sabich sandwich was most likely created in Israel by Iraqi Jews, who emigrated 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. The restaurant was operated by "Sabich" Tzvi Halabi and Yaakov Sasson. The restaurant enjoyed great success and is still in operation today, just 500 meters from its original location, on Negba street. [6] [4]
A version without the bread or pita is called sabich salad ("סלט סביח" - "Salat Sabich" in Hebrew).
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 consumer's preference it can be served topped with green or red zhug as a condiment and sprinkled with minced onion.