The 1,0001 Faces of Fatteh—and The best way to Make This Iconic Arab Dish at House

Fatteh is among the many Arab world’s biggest culinary strokes of genius: It isn’t a single fastened recipe, however a flexible blueprint for the way to construct one. This layered dish begins with a base of crispy bread, adopted by heat cooked substances, resembling chickpeas, fried eggplant, braised meats, or stewed greens. A cooling sauce, typically yogurt, is added earlier than the dish is topped with a closing layer of crunch, whether or not nuts, pomegranate seeds, or extra toasted bread. It is meant to be adaptable to what’s obtainable, forgiving of shortcuts, and endlessly customizable. It is as a lot a mirrored image of resourcefulness as it’s of abundance.

The Origins of Fatteh

The origins of this sensible dish are doubtless rooted in shortage as a lot as in hospitality—utilizing bread was a strategy to stretch extra valuable substances like meat to feed giant households or surprising company, who’re at all times welcome in Arab tradition. However what was born of frugality is now simply as prone to seem on lavish spreads at dinner events and celebratory meals throughout Ramadan. Right this moment, fatteh is a dish prized not just for its practicality but in addition for its layers of texture and taste. Fatteh is creamy, crunchy, tangy, and savory: It is the place comfortable meets crisp, heat yields to chill, and tart yogurt offsets the depth of spiced proteins and fried nuts.

The identify itself comes from the Arabic verb “fatta,” that means to tear or break aside, which historically referred to ripping stale bread into items earlier than soaking or topping it with a meal to provide it new life. These meals may have been so simple as a lentil soup or vegetable stew bulked up with bread and revived with a cooling yogurt sauce and nuts. 

The lineage of fatteh reportedly stretches again to tharid, a dish of bread soaked in broth that was supposedly the Prophet Muhammad’s favourite. This technique of consuming emerged naturally in a area the place wheat is native, and bread has been a cornerstone of the delicacies for hundreds of years.

Over time, this straightforward idea has developed throughout the Arab world. Mansaf—a meal that is thought of a nationwide dish in each Jordan and Palestine—is a variation of fatteh by which bread is topped with lamb cooked in a yogurt sauce. Within the Arabian Gulf, fatteh remains to be referred to as tharid, and the variations there sometimes characteristic tanur flatbread topped with a stew that is sometimes made with lamb or goat. North Africa presents variations like Moroccan rfissa (trid or msemmen bread with rooster, lentils, and fenugreek) and Algerian chakhchoukha (semolina bread with tomato sauce topped with meat and eggs). In Egypt, fatteh generally contains bread topped with rice, stewed meat, and garlicky tomato sauce.

Fatteh Right this moment

Right this moment, I like to consider fatteh additionally as a dish that tears down the concept frugal meals can’t be festive. Some model of fatteh is on the menu of just about each dinner I host—however the dish can be my reply to busy weeknights. I can assemble dinner in minutes with just a few ready elements, resembling leftover roasted greens or braised meats. (I typically discover my daughters pulling out their favourite elements of fatteh, with one scouring for fried eggplant, one other chasing down pomegranate seeds, and the youngest simply indulging within the creamy yogurt sauce and placing the whole lot else apart). Whether or not it’s for my household on a random Tuesday or for a desk of company, fatteh at all times feels beneficiant and festive.

The Anatomy of Fatteh

There are 4 important layers in fatteh, regardless of the variation:

1. The Bread: The bottom of any good fatteh is crisp bread—often pita—reduce or torn into bite-size items and toasted or fried till golden. I reduce mine into neat little squares (as a result of why not let my internal perfectionist have a second?) and deep-fry them. It’s quicker than it sounds, and the outcomes are reliably crunchy and wealthy, which I really like. However baking works simply as effectively: Toss torn pita (and even naan or a flour tortilla) with olive oil and a little bit of salt, then bake at 350°F (175°C) till crisp. As soon as cooled, the bread retains effectively in an hermetic container for every week or two, which makes weeknight fatteh really feel way more doable. In a pinch, store-bought pita chips will do.
2. The Heat Layer: That is the center of the dish. In the commonest Levantine variations, it’s both heat chickpeas simmered in a barely spiced broth or deep-fried eggplant. However it may well simply as simply be roasted butternut squash, shredded rooster or lamb, or a leftover inexperienced bean or okra stew. You need one thing sizzling and savory to melt the bread ever so barely and provides the dish depth. It is value mentioning that when the nice and cozy layer is meat, the dish nearly at all times features a layer of rice so as to add some pillowy softness.
3. The Cool Sauce: That is often a garlicky yogurt sauce with a touch of tahini that gives a nice distinction to the nice and cozy parts of the dish. I stir crushed garlic into full-fat plain or strained (Greek-style) yogurt, add a tablespoon or two of tahini, and loosen the combination with a little bit of water and lemon juice, then season with salt. In some variations, particularly Egyptian fatteh, the sauce is tomato-based and cooked with vinegar and plenty of garlic. In others, you’ll discover a easy chile, garlic, and lemon sauce by itself or mixed with a yogurt one.
4. The Crunchy Garnish: This actually brings the dish collectively. The commonest toppings are fried pine nuts or slivered almonds, further toasted bread, or pomegranate seeds.

When you perceive these elements, fatteh turns into a canvas. It may be vegan or meat-heavy, easy or elaborate.

Make-Forward and Meeting

The great thing about fatteh is that the majority of its elements will be ready forward of time. The bread will be toasted or fried as much as every week upfront and, as soon as cooled, will be saved in an hermetic container at room temperature. The nice and cozy topping—whether or not chickpeas, greens, or meat—will be made as much as three days forward and easily reheated whenever you’re able to eat. The yogurt sauce takes simply two minutes to stir collectively, but it surely additionally retains effectively for 2 to 3 days within the fridge. As for garnishes, toasted nuts maintain up effectively at room temperature, although you do miss out on the satisfying splatter of spooning freshly fried pine nuts and their sizzling butter over the completed dish. And pomegranate seeds, considerably surprisingly, freeze superbly and can be utilized straight from the freezer as a garnish.

At residence, I could roast a tray of butternut squash with onions firstly of the week, or sauté a beneficiant quantity of seasonal mushrooms with garlic and a splash of pomegranate molasses. If we’ve had a Sunday roast—rooster, beef, or lamb—I’ll shred no matter’s left and retailer it within the fridge. Then on weeknights after I don’t wish to cook dinner, I reheat no matter I’ve, seize the toasted bread, and layer: bread first, then the nice and cozy topping, adopted by yogurt or chile sauce, or a mixture of each.

Sure combos work particularly effectively. Roasted butternut squash is gorgeous with za’atar stirred by way of and sprinkled once more on prime; crisp mushrooms are wonderful tossed with some chopped recent dill and topped with toasted walnuts. Fatteh with meat advantages from a layer of rice, which provides softness to the dish. (Bonus factors if you can also make that rice with broth or pan juices.)

When you perceive the components, the remaining turns into intuitive. Prep what you may when you may, and when dinnertime comes, all that is left is heating and assembling.

Frequent (and Not-So-Frequent) Fatteh Variations

Whereas fatteh is frequent throughout the Arab world, every area, even every family, has its personal interpretation. Listed here are just a few standard variations, plus a number of novel takes on this traditional dish:

• Chickpea Fatteh: That is an iconic model of fatteh that consists of heat chickpeas poured over crispy pita, topped with a yogurt–tahini sauce, and non-obligatory fried bite-size cubes of meat. 

Hummus

Chickpea Fatteh

Rework humble substances like chickpeas and pita right into a satisfying meal by combining them with tahini, toasted pine nuts, and tender items of fried meat.

cook dinner time:


9 hrs 55 minutes

serves:


4
to six

• Msakhan Fatteh: This dish is a riff on msakhan, the Palestinian dish of roasted rooster with sumac and onions. Right here, crisp pita replaces the taboon bread. Onions are sautéed till candy and tender, blended with shredded rooster and a beneficiant quantity of sumac, then positioned atop the pita and unfold with a tahini-yogurt sauce and pine nuts. Different garnishes, resembling parsley, pomegranate seeds, and much more sumac, are additionally frequent. 
• Eggplant Fatteh: Roast or fry 2-inch cubes of eggplant till golden, place them on prime of toasted or fried pita, then layer with yogurt sauce. One standard model of this features a meaty tomato sauce that’s seasoned with allspice and cinnamon, although totally different households have their very own methods of creating the sauce. Some cooks add garlic, Lebanese seven spice (sometimes a mix of black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cumin, and coriander), or dried herbs resembling za’atar or oregano. 

Eggplant
Eggplant Fatteh
Layer silky easy fried eggplant with creamy, tangy yogurt, crunchy pita, and toasted pine nuts for a deliciously satisfying meal.

cook dinner time:


2 hrs 10 minutes

serves:


4
to six

• Egyptian Fatta: In Egypt, the place fatteh is commonly transliterated as fatta, the dish is a vital a part of celebrations. Toasted bread is layered with rice spiced with cardamom and bay leaves, sautéed beef or lamb, and a vinegar-and-garlic tomato sauce. 

Egyptian
Egyptian Fatta
Egyptian celebrations aren’t full with out this crowd-pleasing dish of toasted pita, aromatic rice, and slow-cooked beef drizzled in a garlic-vinegar sauce.

cook dinner time:


4 hrs

serves:


8
to 10

• Gazan Fatteh: Related in idea to Egyptian fatteh, this model options both lamb or rooster and a inexperienced chile, garlic, and lemon sauce with out tomato or vinegar.
• Inexperienced Beans: On this model, inexperienced beans are sautéed with loads of minced garlic and/or finely diced onions, then layered with toasted pita and a yogurt–tahini sauce. (Some cooks simmer the sautéed inexperienced beans in a tomato sauce.)
• Artichoke Fatteh: This can be a riff on mahshi ardishawki, the normal meat- and pine nut–stuffed artichoke dish that is typically served with rice. Artichokes are seared till calmly browned, then simmered with garlic, water, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The sauce is thickened with a cornstarch slurry so it clings to the artichokes, that are positioned atop toasted bread, unfold with yogurt sauce, and topped with a mix of sautéed floor beef and pine nuts.
• Up to date Takes on Fatteh: Lately, folks have taken fatteh in all types of instructions, constructing on dishes resembling shawarma, dawood basha (meatballs), stuffed grape leaves, varied sautéed greens, totally different stews, and extra. I received’t get into the specifics of every one, however all of them comply with the identical basic format: the bottom dish, layered over crisped bread, topped with a sauce and a few form of garnish. I haven’t tried all of them (some really feel a bit excessive to me), however loads of folks take pleasure in them, and in case you’re seeking to stretch a meal or reinvent leftovers, it is value exploring a few of these choices.

No matter you select to make, simply understand that as soon as assembled, fatteh waits for nobody. The bread will begin to soften, and also you’ll lose that crunch that makes the dish so good within the first place. It is best to construct it proper earlier than serving—after which dig proper in!