Fatteh is an ancient dish commonly served in the Middle Eastern areas of Egypt, Beirut, Jordan, Damascus and Palestinian territories. There are regional variations to the dish, but the common ingredients are pieces of stale, toasted bread, flat or pita bread as a foundation upon which various ingredients are added such as layers of chickpeas, yogurt, and pine nuts. Arabic flat bread, works the best as it refrains from getting too soggy the best.
In Syria, fatteh consists of three layers or four layers of flat bread soaked in stock, a middle layer of the main ingredient and finally a yogurt and tahini sauce topping. Middle layers can consist of chickpeas, chicken, stuffed aubergines or kidneys.
This recipe is a Lebanese breakfast fatteh:
Ingredients:
1 kg plain yogurt
6 cups of canned chickpeas
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
2 pita or flat bread loaves or packages
1/2 cup of pine nuts
3 tablespoons olive oil for frying flat bread
salt to taste
Preparation:
Cut flat bread into cubes and fry in a pan until crisp. Set aside
In a cooking pot, heat the chickpeas with a small amount of water
Drain the chickpeas and put them in a serving bowl
Sprinkle with cumin, salt and the fried bread cubes
Add the crushed garlic to the yogurt, mix well and pour it over the bread and chickpeas
Sprinkle with fried pine nuts and serve immediately
***Tip***
To save on calories, you can also bake the bread and not use the oil