AI-generated image
Sabich
Sabich: Israeli pita with fried aubergine, egg, tahini and amba
IsraeliSabich came to Israel with Iraqi Jews, who ate fried aubergine and hard-boiled eggs on Saturday mornings when no cooking was allowed. In Ramat Gan in the 1950s someone stuffed it all into a pita, and today it is street food all over Tel Aviv: crisp-edged aubergine, sliced egg, hummus, tahini, chopped salad and a spoonful of tangy amba mango pickle, with zhug for heat. It is messy, rich and best eaten standing up with a paper napkin. Chef's tip: salt the aubergine and dry it well before frying; it soaks up far less oil and comes out creamy instead of greasy.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the filling
For the salad
To assemble
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (7)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Sprinkle the aubergine rounds with ⅔ tsp salt, lay them on kitchen paper for 15 minutes, then pat them very dry.
15 minStep 2: Meanwhile, lower 4 eggs into a pan of boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes for firm yolks. Cool in cold water, peel and slice.
10 minStep 3: Heat ½ cup vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry 2 aubergines in batches for 3–4 minutes a side, until deep golden brown outside and completely soft inside when pressed. Drain on kitchen paper. Common mistake: taking them out while still pale and firm; underdone aubergine is spongy and bitter.
15 minStep 4: Mix 1 cucumber, 2 tomatoes, 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, 1 tbsp lemon juice and the rest of ⅓ tsp salt for the salad.
Step 5: Whisk 4 tbsp tahini with 4 tbsp cold water and 1 clove garlic until smooth and pourable; it will seize up at first, then loosen as you whisk.
Step 6: Warm 4 pita breads in a dry pan for 30 seconds a side and open the pockets. Spread the inside with 4 oz hummus, then layer in aubergine, egg slices and salad. Drizzle in tahini and 4 tbsp amba (mango pickle sauce), add 2 tsp zhug (green chilli sauce) if you like heat, and eat at once.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
- Fat
- 33 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sabich take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
- What can I use instead of cucumber?
- Courgette, same weight (in salads, use young ones).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Mazorca desgranada
Food trucks and street corners in Bogotá and Medellín sell mazorca desgranada in plastic tubs, late into the evening: sweet corn kernels cut off the cob, fried in butter and layered with shredded chicken, melted cheese, crunchy potato sticks, pineapple sauce and salsa rosada. Some stands add bacon, beef or quail eggs; this version keeps to chicken. It is sweet, salty and gooey, and a hit with teenagers. Using tinned corn without draining it well is a common error: the water dilutes the sauces and the tub gets soggy. Chef's tip: fry the corn until a few kernels brown and pop; that caramelised edge stands up to all the sweet sauces. For a vegetarian tub, skip the chicken and use a cheese made with microbial rennet.
Colombian
Doubles
Doubles are Trinidad's favourite street food, sold from carts at dawn on corners from Curepe to San Fernando and said to have started in Princes Town in the 1930s. Two pieces of bara, a soft, puffy fried flatbread coloured with turmeric, are piled with soft curried chickpeas (channa), then spooned with sweet tamarind sauce, cool cucumber chutney, shado beni sauce and as much pepper sauce as you dare ('slight' or 'heavy'). They're messy, cheap and wonderful, eaten standing up from a square of paper. These are different from Indian chole bhature: the bara is light and yeasty, the channa is cooked very soft in Caribbean curry, and the toppings are sweet, sour and fiery all at once. Chef's tip: keep the bara dough very soft and wet, and handle it only with oiled hands. Stretch each ball thin over your fingers and slide it straight into the hot oil, so it puffs light and stays soft instead of turning into a crisp puri.
Trinidadian
Thai bean burger
A Thai-flavoured veggie burger: butter beans are blended with fresh coconut, spring onions, coriander, roasted peanuts and red curry paste into coarse patties, shallow-fried until crisp and stacked in toasted buns with lettuce, onion and a little sweet chilli sauce. Filling, crunchy and full of flavour. Serve with a salad or chips.
Thai