Sabich is a traditional Israeli recipe for a classic street food dish of a sandwich of fried aubergines, eggs, serbs, hummus and tahini sauce served in a pita flatbread. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Israeli dish of: Sabich.
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Sabich is an undeniably delicious vegetarian sandwich I was introduced to as a kid and have loved since. It's commonly served for breakfast or lunch on the go, but be warned: It's messy in the best way a tasty, filled pita should be, so pack extra napkins. This recipe is for a classic version of sabich. Sabich is a pita or laffa (flatbread) sandwich made with fried eggplant, boiled eggs, tahini sauce, hummus, and a tangy Israeli salad—a classic chopped salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and lemon juice commonly served across Israel. This sandwich is a popular street food in Tel-Aviv thought to have been introduced to Israeli cuisine by immigrant Iraqi Jews. During Sabbath (also called Shabbat), Jewish people cannot participate in any cooking, so pre-boiled eggs and fried aubergine prepared ahead and kept in the fridge are the perfect ingredients to assemble in a sandwich—the pita isn’t heated—without breaking the no-work laws of Sabbath.
Sabich originated in the Iraqui Jewish community but has become a staple of Israeli street food.
Amba is a tangy pickled mango sauce that has roots in India, and is very popular in Israel. While you can make it at home, it’s often store-bought. Check out your local Mediterranean or Indian grocery store for brands like Shemesh or Galil. If you can’t find it, don’t worry, I've linked through to a recipe on this site.
Ingredients:
For the aubergine:
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 medium Globe aubergine or 2 medium Italian aubergines, cut into 12mm thick rounds
Sea salt, for the fried aubergines
For the Israeli salad:
1 plum tomato, diced
1/2 English cucumber, diced
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
For the tahini sauce:
4 tbsp tahini
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
Pinch of ground cumin
Pinch of freshly-ground black pepper
3 tbsp water, plus more as needed
For assembling the sabich:
4 pita flatbreads (each 20cm in diameter) [eg Israeli-style pita bread]
4 tbsp store-bought or home-made hummus
4 medium eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
4 tbsp store-bought or homemade sliced Israeli pickles Amba sauce, for serving (optional)
Method:
Begin by frying the aubegines: Line a baking tray with paper towels and set it aside.
Fill a large, deep, frying pan with oil until it comes 6mm up the sides. Set it over medium heat and heat to 180°C. Now, working in batches, fry the aubergine slices until tender in the centre and golden brown on both sides, (6 to 8 minutes total), turn them over once halfway through.
Make sure the oil returns to 180°C before frying the next batch... you may need to top up the oil level between batches.
Transfer the fried aubergine slices onto the prepared baking tray and sprinkle them with sea salt. Set aside.
Now prepare the salad: In a medium bowl, mix together the tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Set aside.
In a small bowl or measuring jug, whisk together the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt, cumin, and black pepper. Now whisk in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is smooth and runny. Set aside.
To assemble the sabich: Arrange a pita flatbread on a serving plate. In the centre of the pita, spread 1 tablespoon of hummus. Top with 2 to 3 slices of fried aubergine, 1 egg sliced lengthwise or crosswise, 3 to 4 tablespoons of the Israeli salad, and a few pickles. Drizzle over the tahini sauce and amba.
Assemble the remaining sabich the same way.
Fold the pita in half and enjoy. Part of the delight of this sandwich is that it's messy to eat...
Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, where they will keep for up to 4 days so you can use them to prepare meals throughout the following week.
