Fettah
Fettah
Fettah is one of the signature dishes of Egypt.
So, what is Fettah?
Fettah is a rice dish that has bread at its base which is soaked in a really good, tasty stock. The rice is piled high over the bread and then drizzled with a wonderful rich garlicky tomato sauce.
The dish is then usually crowned with a really good stewed lamb, that has been cooked to perfection.
Lamb Fettah is a favourite dish in Egypt, especially for Eid.
It’s also reported that the Lamb Fettah, cooked by his mother, was the favourite food of Omar Sharif (the original ‘Doctor Zhivago’ & also starred in ‘Laurence of Arabia’) .
Even without the meat topping, this is an incredibly tasty dish.
If you use vegetable stock cubes it is a great option for vegetarian.
The quantities used for this recipe are enough for 4 people.
Ingredients
- 4 slices of pitta bread
- ½ pint of good rich stock (if you’re making Lamb Fettah then the stock from the stew would be perfect. If you use stock cubes, then adding a couple of knobs of butter will enrich the flavour.
For the Egyptian Rice
- 2 cups Egyptian rice
- 3 tbsp oil
- 3 stock cubes grated
- 3 cups boiling water
For the tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp oil
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 4 tomatoes – peeled seeded and chopped or 1 can chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 stock cube grated
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- juice of a lemon
- 1 tbsp butter
- a handful of fresh coriander – chopped
The bread used for this needs to be very dry so break the pita bread into pieces and put them on a baking tray, place this in an oven on its lowest setting temperature for about 20 – 30 minutes to allow it to crisp up.
Meanwhile make the tomato sauce for the fettah
First heat the oil in a medium size pan over a medium heat.
Add the garlic, tomatoes, cumin, grated stock cube, salt and pepper.
Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat down to a gentle simmer.
Cook for about 10- 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
The sauce will become a rich red colour and reduce slightly. Add the lemon juice and butter and cook for 2 more minutes.
Stir in the chopped coriander just before serving.
Whilst your sauce is cooking, cook the rice for your fettah
Boil a kettle of water ready to use later.
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the rice to the oil in the pan and keep stirring until the grains of rice turn first white and then begin to turn slightly golden.
Add the grated stock cube.
Warning – it’s best to wear an oven glove !
Then CAREFULLY add the boiling water – WARNING when the water hits the hot oil it will send up clouds of very hot steam so wear an oven glove.
Once the water is added give the rice a quick stir and then put the lid on the pan and reduce the heat down to the lowest setting it can go to and cook for 12 minutes. Then turn the heat off and allow the rice to cook in its own steam for about another 6 minutes.
Time to start building
Now all the components of your fettah are ready, so now it’s time to bring them all together on a large serving dish or tray.
First spread the broken pieces of crispy pitta bread over the bottom of your serving dish and pour the hot stock over it. Drench it thoroughly. Allow a few minutes for the stock to soak into the bread.
Next spoon the steaming hot rice over the pita bread and smooth it over to form a level surface.
Now drizzle the rich garlicy tomato sauce over the rice.
If you are making Lamb Fettah, then now is the time to crown your fettah with the fabulous stewed Lamb.
This dish has so many wonderful flavours and aromas to savour I’m sure you’ll love it.