Sabich

Sabich

Course	Breakfast and Street food (entire country), Sandwich
Place of origin	Israel
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
Media: Sabich

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 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. Sabich is sold in many businesses throughout Israel.

Etymology

Sabich as served in a pita

There are several theories on the origin of the name sabich. Many credit the name to the first name of Sabih Tsvi Halabi, 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. 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 original Sabich Buffet in its current location

The idea of the sabich sandwich was most likely brought to 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 Halbi and Yaakov Sasson, the restaurant was very successful, and still operates only 500 meters from where it was originally to this day.

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 consumer's preference it can be served topped with green or red zhug as a condiment and sprinkled with minced onion.

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See also

• Culture of Israel
• Cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews
• Israeli cuisine
• Jewish cuisine
• Middle Eastern cuisine
• Palestinian cuisine