That Translator Can Cook: Sumagiyya
Cubed or bone-in lamb stewed with cubed eggplant and whole sumac berries in a tomato-and-tahini-based broth.
Image Source: Pintrest
I’ve never had this delicious stew because I’ve never been to Gaza and because of the spiciness and my sesame allergy, but I would make the more general version that lacks both chile peppers and tahini.
While sumagiyya is made throughout the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine), it is a Gazan staple. According to The Gaza Kitchen, people make this stew for Eid al Fitr and distribute it to their family, friends, and neighbors. Their generosity is judged by how much meat in the stew and the quality of said meat. Nowadays though, the availability of meat isn’t great because of the Israeli blockade and sieges, COVID-19 quarantines, and power cuts/outages.
Sumagiyya is typically made with whole sumac berries rather than the ground sumac, and fun fact: sumac is harvested (in the US) from late July through mid-September. I recently watched a talk about Syrian cuisine by Antonio Tahhan, and he advocated for only eating foods that are in season, which is a concept that I found very interesting.
I always say that the one of things I miss the most about Palestine is the fresh food. It feels like everything in the United States is so processed (not that I don’t enjoy eating said processed food haha), and I find the quality of the fresh produce lacking, unless of course you buy directly from the people who grow the fruits and vegetables. I love the fact that when you walk down the street in Palestine, people are selling vegetables and fruits so fresh that you can smell them as you walk by, sometimes from several feet away.
I like the idea of eating seasonally because:
You eat a better-quality vegetable/fruit because it’s fresh off the vine, out of the ground, etc….
It helps the environment because you don’t have import vegetables and fruits from other places that produce them when your region can’t.
It makes you savor and appreciate these fruits and vegetables more when you can only enjoy them for a limited amount of time.
Tahhan gave a great example: when tomatoes are out of season, you have to pick tomatoes (way) before they’re ripe so that when you ship them to another place, they haven’t gone bad. Now think about eating a tomato during the summer, one that’s just been plucked off the vine. He says that he dares people who say they don’t like tomatoes to try a summer tomato. Of course, you can preserve fresh ingredients to be consumed during times when produce isn’t readily available, like winter, which is where frozen and canned goods come in. Even though I still think that fresh is best, we can’t always afford or locate fresh produce.
Here is how to make this delicious and interesting stew (recipe belongs to Besan Omar [بيسان العمر]).
Ingredients
2 kg of goat meat, cut into medium pieces
1 kg of onions, finely minced
6 bunches of chard, finely minced and washed well
250 g of chickpeas, soaked
250 g of sumac berries
2 chicken bouillon cubes (Maggi)
1 cup of sunflower oil
¼ cup of tahini
1 cup of white flour
10 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 green chile peppers, crushed
2 tbsp. of dill, dried
1 tbsp. of salt
Instructions
In a big pot on the stove, pour in the sunflower oil and add the onions. Stir until they soften, then add the chunks of meat and continue to stir until the meat turns white. Next, add the soaked chickpeas, stir well, and add salt to taste.
Cover the pot for ten minutes, then add enough water to cover the meat. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Next, gradually add the minced chard, and let it all simmer for 15 minutes, keeping in mind to stir continuously and add water as needed until the lamb and chickpeas are completely cooked.
Put the sumac berries in another pot, cover them with water, and bring it to a boil. After letting it simmer, let it cool and blend it using an electric mixer or blender. Strain the seeds in a sieve and set the sumac mixture aside. Return to the meat: stir and add the chicken broth, crushed garlic, dill, and crushed chile peppers; mix them all together.
Add the sumac to a cup of flour and whisk with a metal whisk. Add it to the meat gradually and stir until the sumac is evenly distributed and the consistency becomes thick. Stir until it becomes even thicker, then add the tahini to give the stew the delicious and desired taste. Stir well until it boils, then pour the sumagiyya into wide dishes and serve. Bon appetit!
Translators’ Discussion
The recipe calls for 6 باقة سلق (6 bunches of chard), that seems a little excessive to me, but باقة is “bunch.” Am I missing something?
The recipe literally says “until the meat turns white” and I know that poultry and pork turns white, but I didn’t think lamb turned white. It also sounds unappetizing, or is that just me? Any cooks or culinary translators chime in?