Sabich
The Iraqi-Israeli pita: fried aubergine, hard-boiled egg, hummus, tahini, cucumber-tomato salad and pickled-mango amba sauce piled into warm pita.
Overview
Aubergine slices salt, drain 30 min, pat dry, fry crispy in olive oil. Eggs hard-boil (or for the traditional Iraqi-Jewish version, slow-cook overnight in a hamin pot, the brown eggs become beigene). Israeli salad: cucumber, tomato, red onion, parsley, lemon, olive oil. Tahini whisks with lemon juice and water to a pourable sauce. Pita warms briefly. Build: hummus smears inside; aubergine slices layer; egg quarters; salad; tahini drizzle; amba spoon; parsley.
Ingredients
Aubergine
- 2 aubergines (medium, sliced 1 cm thick rounds)
- 1 tablespoon salt (for drawing moisture)
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
Eggs
- 4 eggs (large, hard-boiled, peeled)
Hummus
- 200 g Hummus (homemade or shop-bought)
Tahini sauce
- 80 g tahini
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4-5 tablespoons cold water (as needed)
- 1 garlic clove (very finely minced)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Israeli salad
- 1 cucumber (deseeded, diced 5 mm)
- 2 tomatoes (deseeded, diced 5 mm)
- ½ small red onion (very finely diced)
- 20 g fresh parsley (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Pita
- 4 pitas (large, warmed)
Amba (mango pickle sauce)
- 4 tablespoons jarred amba (Iraqi mango pickle sauce - sold at Middle Eastern grocers)
- (substitute: mix 2 tablespoons mango chutney with ½ teaspoon turmeric, a pinch of fenugreek, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice - close approximation)
To garnish
- Extra parsley
- Crispy fried onions (optional)
- Pickled chillies (optional)
Method
Stage 1 - Aubergine
- Toss the sliced aubergine with 1 tablespoon salt; rest in a colander 30 minutes.
- Press out moisture with paper towels; pat dry.
- Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat.
- Fry aubergine slices 2-3 minutes per side till deep gold and tender.
- Drain on kitchen paper; salt lightly.
Stage 2 - Tahini sauce
- Whisk tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic and salt in a bowl.
- Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking, until you have a pourable consistency (it will seize first, then loosen).
Stage 3 - Israeli salad
- Combine cucumber, tomato, red onion, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
- Toss; rest 5 minutes.
Stage 4 - Pita warming
- Wrap pitas in foil; warm in a 180°C oven 5 minutes.
- Or briefly heat each pita in a dry pan 20 seconds per side.
Stage 5 - Assemble
- Cut a pita open to make a pocket.
- Smear 1-2 tablespoons hummus inside.
- Layer in 3-4 aubergine slices.
- Add 1 hard-boiled egg, quartered.
- Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of Israeli salad.
- Drizzle generously with tahini sauce.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of amba.
- Top with extra parsley and optional crispy onions and pickled chillies.
Stage 6 - Serve
- Eat immediately, ideally standing up (the pita softens fast).
Notes
- Amba is non-negotiable: the Iraqi mango pickle is what makes sabich sabich. If you can't find it, the rough substitute (mango chutney + turmeric + fenugreek + lemon) gets you close.
- Aubergine FRIED, not roasted: roasted aubergine is delicious but the texture is wrong for sabich. The crisp-soft contrast of pan-fried is essential.
- Layer order matters: hummus first as a binder, then aubergine, then egg, then salad, then sauces. The order keeps the pita from going wet too fast.
- Eat fast: sabich falls apart within 10 minutes. Build and consume immediately.
Storage
- Components keep separately: aubergine 1 day refrigerated; salad 4 hours; tahini sauce 1 week.
- Don't pre-assemble - the pita disintegrates.
- Reheat aubergine briefly in a dry pan; the rest goes in cold.
Recipes mentioned here
Mango Chutney
This is the foundational chutney of Indian kitchens. Unripe green mangoes, simmered slowly with sugar and vinegar in a gentle spice base, transformed into a thick, concentrated condiment. The sweet and sour balance allows the mango's subtle character to shine. This is shelf-stable and improves with age; make it in batches and keep jars on hand year-round.
Israeli Salad
Vegetables are diced into uniform 5 mm cubes, knife work matters. Lemon juice, olive oil and salt are the only dressing; sometimes a teaspoon of sumac or a clove of crushed garlic. Eaten freshly made; doesn't keep, the cucumbers weep.
Mango Chutney
A delicate, fruity preserve balanced with warm spice notes and bright acidity. This mango chutney captures the sweetness of ripe fruit while nigella seeds and warm spices provide intricate flavour layers perfect alongside curries, game, and cheese selections.
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