Ingredients
Meat
- 1.5 kglamb or beef on the bone
- 1onion
- 2bay leaves
- 4cardamom pods
- 1cinnamon stick
- salt
Rice
- 500 gEgyptian or short grain rice
- 2 tbspghee
- salt
Bread
- 4rounds of aish baladi or pita, torn
- ghee or oil, for frying
Tomato sauce
- 500 mlpassata
- 2 tbsptomato paste
- 2 tbspghee
- salt
Taqliya
- 1whole head of garlic, crushed
- 4 tbspwhite vinegar
- 3 tbspghee
- 1 tspground coriander
To serve
- at Eid al-Adha, or to celebrate a birth
Directions
- Crush a whole head of garlic and fry it in ghee over a medium heat until just golden. Do not let the garlic brown deeply, since burnt garlic turns bitter and it happens quickly. Let it bubble for thirty seconds only. Simmer the lamb on the bone with onion and whole spices for two to two and a half hours.
- Keep it at a bare simmer rather than a boil, which keeps the meat tender and the broth clear. Skim the surface as scum rises in the first half hour. Strain the broth and keep every drop.
- Tear the flatbread into rough pieces rather than cutting it. Fry the pieces in ghee until deep golden and crisp all the way through. Make sure they are genuinely crisp rather than merely coloured, since anything soft collapses immediately under the sauce.
- Drain them on a wire rack to cool. Fry the rice briefly in ghee, then cook it in the meat broth rather than water. Fry the tomato paste in ghee until it darkens, then add the passata and simmer for fifteen minutes.
- Stir a good portion of the taqliya into the tomato sauce. Spread the fried bread in the bottom of a wide dish. Moisten it with a few ladlefuls of hot broth.
- Use enough to soften the bread slightly without soaking it. Some pieces should stay crisp and some should soften, which is the texture people expect. Spread the hot rice over the bread in an even layer. Arrange the meat over the rice, pulled from the bone or left in pieces.
- Pour the tomato and taqliya sauce over everything. Spoon the remaining plain taqliya over the top just before serving. Serve it immediately, before the bread softens entirely. Assemble it at the last possible moment, since the whole thing is a race against the bread going soft. Everything can be prepared ahead and put together in the last five minutes.
Technique
- Taqliya, garlic fried in ghee and hit with vinegar, is the signature of the dish.
- It is layered rather than stirred, and assembled at the last moment.
- The rice is cooked in the meat broth rather than in water.
Substitutions
- Beef in place of lamb.
- Toasted bread in place of fried, which is lighter.
Variations
- Made with chicken, which is lighter.
- Levantine fatteh, with chickpeas and yoghurt.
- Made without meat, as a lean version.
History
Eaten at Eid al-Adha with the meat of the sacrificed animal, and to celebrate a birth; garlic-vinegar sauce over crisped bread defines the dish.
Frequently asked questions
What is Fattah?
Fattah is a main from Egypt: layers of crisp bread, rice and meat in garlic-vinegar tomato sauce; feast dish. Eaten at Eid al-Adha with the meat of the sacrificed animal, and to celebrate a birth; garlic-vinegar sauce over crisped bread defines the dish.
How long does Fattah take to make?
Fattah takes 40 min of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Fattah?
Yes, within limits. Beef in place of lamb. Toasted bread in place of fried, which is lighter.
What is the most important thing to get right in Fattah?
Crush a whole head of garlic and fry it in ghee over a medium heat until just golden. Do not let the garlic brown deeply, since burnt garlic turns bitter and it happens quickly. Let it bubble for thirty seconds only. Simmer the lamb on the bone with onion and whole spices for two to two and a half hours.
