Sabich or sabih ( ) is a sandwich of

pita Pita ( or ; ) or pitta (British English), also known as Arabic bread (, ), as Lebanese bread and as kmaj (from the Persian ''kumaj''), is a family of yeast- leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Levant ...

laffa Laffa, also known as lafa or Iraqi pita, is the Modern Hebrew term for a large, thin flatbread with an Iraqi origin. Laffa is a simple bread that is traditionally vegan and cooked in a ''tannur'' or '' tabun'', both of which are clay ovens. It ...

bread stuffed with fried

eggplant Eggplant (American English, US, Canadian English, CA, Australian English, AU, Philippine English, PH), aubergine (British English, UK, Hiberno English, IE, New Zealand English, NZ), brinjal (Indian English, IN, Singapore English, SG, Malays ...

s, hard-boiled eggs, chopped salad,

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum''), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. It has been introduced and naturalisation (biology), naturalized in Eur ...

amba Amba or AMBA may refer to: Title * Amba Hor, alternative name for Abhor and Mehraela, Christian martyrs * Amba Sada, also known as Psote, Christian bishop and martyr in Upper Egypt Given name * Amba, the traditional first name given to the first ...

and

tahini Tahini () (, or in Iraq: (rashi-راشي)) is a Middle Eastern condiment (a seed butter) made from ground sesame seeds. The most common variety comes from hulled seeds, but unhulled ones can also be used; the latter variety is slightly bitter, ...

sauce. It first appeared in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in the 1960s. Its ingredients are based on a traditional quick breakfast of

Iraqi Jews The history of the Jews in Iraq (, ', ; , ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity . Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities. The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, kn ...

; while in Iraq, the ingredients were served separately, the modern sabich, where all of them are eaten together in a sandwich, was created in

, where it is sold in many businesses.

Etymology

There are several theories on the origin of the name Sabich. Many attribute the name to the sandwich's creator, Sabich Tzvi Halabi, who was born in Baghdad in 1938 and immigrated to Israel in the early 1950s. The name Sabich means "morning" in Arabic, which may be a reference to the fact the ingredients are those of a typical shabbat breakfast among Iraqi Jews. Popular folk legend attributes the name to an acronym of the Hebrew words "Salat, Beitsa, yoter Ḥatsil" , meaning "salad, egg, more eggplant". This is a humorous interpretation and hence a

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

History

Halabi bought a kiosk across the street from the last stop of the Number 63 bus on Uziel Street in

in the early 1960s. Local workers wanted something more substantial than the

bourekas Bourekas or burekas (),() are a popular Baking, baked pastry in Sephardic Jewish cuisine and Israeli cuisine. A variation of the Börek, burek, a popular pastry throughout southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East, Israeli bourekas are ...

the kiosk was currently selling, and Halabi and his wife created a sandwich based on an Iraqi traditional

shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

breakfast of eggs,

tebit Cholent or Schalet () is a traditional slow-simmering Sabbath stew in Jewish cuisine that was developed by Ashkenazi Jews first in France and later Germany, and is first mentioned in the 12th century.Rabbi Yitzahk ben Moishe or "Zaruah" in his ' ...

, chamin, fried eggplant, and salad. Eggplant is a year-round crop in Israel, and eggs were available during the period of

austerity in Israel In economic policy, austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: hig ...

, so both ingredients had long been in common use in the early 1960s. In Israel, the sandwich became a popular street food. Halabi took on a partner, Yaakov Sasson, and in the early 1980s moved the operation to Negba street, where as of 2017 it was still in operation. The dish is served throughout Israel. It is not well-known outside of Israel. In 2020 the mayor of Ramat Gan announced the Nagba Uziel intersection would be named Sabich Square.

Ingredients and description

Sabich typically includes fried

slices, a cucumber-and-tomato salad, amba, and

haminados Haminados, also known as huevos haminados, chaminados, or braised eggs, is a traditional Sephardic Jewish cuisine, Sephardic Jewish dish popular in Israel. These eggs are cooked for a long time, resulting in red-brown whites and darkened yolks. T ...

eggs, which are slow-cooked in

hamin ''Hamin'' or ''dafina'' is a Sabbath stew made from whole grains, cubes of meat, chickpeas or beans, onion and cumin that emerged in Iberia among Sephardic Jews. The dish was developed as Jewish chefs, perhaps first in Iberia, began adding chi ...

until they turn brown. Some versions include potatoes, pickles, a tahini sauce, hummus, or other condiments. It is commonly served in

bread or wrapped in

, an Iraqi flatbread. Daniel Gritzer, writing for ''

Serious Eats Serious Eats is a website and blog focused on food enthusiasts, created by food critic and author Ed Levine. A Serious Eats book was published by Levine in 2011. Serious Eats was acquired by Fexy Media in 2015 and then by Dotdash in late 2020. ...

'', describes the sandwich as "it's drippy, it's messy, it's shamelessly moist and flavorful. There are creamy swaths, and squishy bits, and crunchy chunks, and tart bursts". A version without the bread or pita is called Sabich salad ("סלט סביח" - "Salat Sabich" in Hebrew).

Importance in Israeli cuisine

According to Ronit Vered, writing in Haaretz, the sandwich became "an integral part of the limited canon of

Israeli cuisine Israeli cuisine primarily comprises dishes brought from the Jewish diaspora, and has more recently been defined by the development of a notable fusion cuisine characterized by the mixing of Jewish cuisine and Arab cuisine.Gold, Rozann''A Region's ...

Tami Shem-Tov Tami Shem-Tov (; born October 18, 1969) is an Israeli journalist and writer best known for her books for children.Kinneret Zmora-Bitan in Hebrew, which according to Yahil Zaban of

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

details how the sandwich became "a symbol of the new Israeli culture". According to

Janna Gur Janna Gur (Hebrew: ז'אנה גור) is an Israeli food writer, editor, translator and cook book author and an expert on Israeli and Jewish cuisine. She was the chief editor and the publisher along with her husband Ilan Gur of "Al Hashulchan" cul ...

, the sandwich is "the first street snack that sprang from a Jewish culinary tradition" in Israeli cuisine and was more popular in Israel than falafel.

Gallery

File:Sabich1.jpg File:ClyHell6943.JPG File:Clyhell6948.JPG

References

{{Street food Israeli cuisine Mizrahi Jewish cuisine Eggplant dishes Street food Egg sandwiches Vegetarian sandwiches Shabbat food