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Probably the most famous of Middle Eastern sandwiches is the falafel sandwich–several fried falafel balls served inside a pita pocket, topped with Israeli salad and drizzled with tahini. But equally popular in the region (although somewhat less known outside of it) is the sabich sandwich. It's an Iraqi-Israeli creation that features fried eggplant and hard-boiled eggs stuffed into a pita pocket along with Israeli salad, hummus, tahini, and an amba (mango) sauce.
To the uninitiated, it may sound a bit odd but the flavor combination is a real winner. The word sabich comes from the Arabic word for morning and it's thought the sandwich got its name because it was a typical Iraqi Jewish breakfast item. Because no cooking is allowed on the Sabbath, the Iraqi Jews ate this sandwich made of cold, pre-cooked items. These days, it's eaten all day and is commonly sold by street vendors as fast food in open-air markets.
Ingredients
- 4 small eggplants (with soft, edible skins)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 eggs (hard-boiled and sliced)
- 1/4 cup hummus (store-bought or homemade)
- 1/4 cup tahini sauce (recipe follows)
- Israeli salad (recipe follows)
- 2 tablespoons amba sauce (or more to taste)
- Salt (to taste)
- Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- 2 pita rounds (cut in half)
- For the Tahini Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons sesame paste
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt (to taste)
- Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- For the Israel Salad:
- 1 tomato (diced)
- 1/2 English (seedless) cucumber (diced)
- 1/4 red onion (diced)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt (to taste)
- Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Steps to Make It
-
Gather the ingredients.
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Slice the eggplant into rounds and fry in the oil for about 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
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Assemble the Israeli salad and stir together the tahini ingredients.
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To assemble the sandwiches, spread the hummus evenly into the pita pockets and then stuff with the fried eggplant rounds and the sliced hard-boiled eggs. Spoon in the Israeli salad and drizzle with the tahini sauce and amba sauce.
Tip
- Amba is a spicy mango sauce that can be found in specialty or Middle Eastern markets. However, mango chutney is similar enough and available at most big grocery chains.
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