Amba or anba ( ar, عنبة, but also mis-spelled عمبة, أمبة, همبة, he, עמבה) is a tangy

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

pickle condiment of Indian- Jewish origin. It is typically made of pickled green mangoes, vinegar, salt, turmeric,

chili Chili or chilli may refer to: Food * Chili pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus ''Capsicum''; sometimes spelled "chilli" in the UK and "chile" in the southwestern US * Chili powder, the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties ...

and

fenugreek Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Its seeds and leaves are common ingredients ...

. It is somewhat similar to savoury mango chutneys.

Etymology

Mangoes being native to South Asia, the name "amba" seems to have been borrowed, via Arabic, from the Marathi word ''āmbā'' (अंबा), which is in turn derived from the Sanskrit word ''āmra'' ( आम्र, "mango").

History

According to the legend, amba was developed in the 19th century by members of the Sassoon family of Bombay, India, who were Baghdadi Jews. Iraqi Jewish immigrants brought it to Israel in the 1950s as an accompaniment to their

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

morning meal.

Variants

Iraqi cuisine

Amba is frequently used in Iraqi cuisine, especially as a spicy sauce to be added to fish dishes, falafel, kubbah,

kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...

s, and eggs.

Saudi Arabian cuisine

Amba is popular in the western part of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

, sold in sealed jars or by kilo. Eaten with bread as part of ''nawashef'' (a mixed platter of small plates containing different types of

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

, egg dishes, pickles, ful mudammas, falafel, mutabbag and offal) type meals at breakfast or dinner in the

Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...

Indian cuisine

Amba is similar to the South Asian pickle ''achar''.

Jewish cuisine

The dish is found in Sephardi cuisine and

Mizrahi cuisine Mizrahi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Jews of the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, and Arab countries. Mizrahi Jews have also been known as Oriental Jews (''Mizrahi'' is Hebrew: Eastern or Orienta ...

. Amba has become very popular in Israel since its introduction to the country by Iraqi Jews in the 1950s and 1960s. Now one of the most common condiments in Israel, it is used as a condiment in sandwiches, as well as a topping for

hummus Hummus (, ; ar, حُمُّص, 'chickpeas'; full Arabic name: ''ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna'' ar, حمص بالطحينة, 'chickpeas with tahini'), also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made fr ...

and other mezzes. One difference with Israeli amba is that it is always made with unripe, green

es, which contribute to its more savory flavor as unripe mangoes taste less sweet. It is often served as a dressing on shawarma sandwiches,

falafels Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served in a ...

, and usually on

sabikh Sabich or sabih ( he, סביח ) is a sandwich of pita or laffa bread stuffed with fried eggplants, hard boiled eggs, chopped salad, parsley, amba and tahini sauce. It is an Iraqi Jewish dish that has become a staple of Israeli cuisine, as a ...

. and as an optional topping on falafel, meorav yerushalmi,

and salads.

In literature

Amba is also mentioned in literary works, mainly memoirs. In his memoir ''Baghdad Yesterday''

Sasson Somekh Sasson Somekh ( ar, ساسون سوميخ; he, ששון סומך) (1933 – 18 August 2019) was an Israeli academic, writer and translator. He was professor emeritus of Modern Arab Literature at Tel Aviv University. Biography Sasson Somekh ...

dedicates a whole chapter to amba.Somekh, Sasson. ''Baghdad, Yesterday: The Making of an Arab Jew''. Jerusalem: Ibis Editions, 2007. Print He uses amba to tell the story of the Iraqi Jewish community that had satellite communities in India and Southeast Asia. In the same chapter Somekh references another Iraqi, who wrote a short story about amba (Abd al-Malik Noori, "It happened on a Friday"). Khalid Qisthini, a columnist at '' Asharq Al-Awsat'', wrote a short article on remembering the foods of Baghdad of the past. His article is titled "Talking about the food of amba and samoon, which characterised Baghdad of the past." He remembers that in his youth, school children would rush out of school to get samoon with amba from the street vendor, who, if generous, would add a little more amba.

References

{{portal bar, Food Arab cuisine Assyrian cuisine Condiments Kurdish cuisine Iraqi cuisine Jewish cuisine Israeli cuisine Mizrahi Jewish cuisine Pickles Saudi Arabian cuisine