Sumaghiyyeh (Arabic: السماقية) is a Palestinian dish native to Gaza City, prepared traditionally on holidays. It receives its name from the spice sumac.[1][3] It is a traditional Arab dish, already mentioned in the 11th century, among other dishes by Abū al-Muṭahhar al-Azdī [it] in the story Ḥikāyat Abū al-Qāsim.[4]
The ground sumac is first soaked in water and then mixed with Tahini (sesame seed paste), additional water, and flour for thickness. The mixture is then added to sautéed chopped chard, pieces of slow-stewed beef, and garbanzo beans. It is seasoned with dill seeds and chili peppers, fried with garlic in olive oil, then poured into bowls to cool. Pita bread is used to scoop it.[3] In Gaza, the tahini used is usually "red tahini", which is made from toasted sesame seeds.[5][6]
History
Sumacheria, from page 77 of Tacuinum sanitatis, written in 1533
According to historian Nawal Nasrallah, the 10th-Century cookbook by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq titled Kitāb al-Ṭabīkh contained an entire section called في عمل السماقيات و الهارونيات (making summaqiyyat and haruniyyat), haruniyya referred to a variation of sumaqiyya that was attributed to CaliphHarun al-Rashid.[7] The dish was said to be a favorite of the Caliph.[8][9]
Later, the dish was mentioned again in a 13th-Century Syrian recipe,[9][8] and in the 15th-Century, Ibn al-Mubarrad [ar] gives instructions for its preparation in Kitāb al-Ṭibāḫa [fr].[10]
Sumāqiyya appeared alongside rummaniyya [la; tr] in some European cookbooks between the 13th and 15th Centuries, and its name was Romanized as somacchia.[7] One of the translated works it appeared in is the Tacuinum Sanitatis, which itself is a translation of the writings of 11th-Century Abbasid physician Ibn Butlan.[11]
21st Century
During the blockade on the Gaza strip which intensified in 2023, the chard traditionally used in the stew was replaced with foraged wild plants,[12] like purslane and malva.[13]
Modern Day Popularity
In Gaza, the dish is popular during Eid al-Fitr, where batches of it are handed out to family, friends and neighbors.[6][14][15]
Laila el-Haddad describes sumagiyyeh as "quite unknown" outside of Gaza, she writes that the amount of meat in the dish acts as a measure of generosity.[6]
^ abcEl-Haddad, Laila M.; Schmitt, Maggie (2016). The Gaza kitchen: a Palestinian culinary journey (Second ed.). Charlottesville, Virginia: Just World Books. ISBN978-1-68257-008-1.
^Shāh, Ibn Mubārak (2020). The sultan's feast: a fifteenth-century Egyptian cookbook. Translated by Newman, Daniel. London: SAQI Books. ISBN9780863561566.
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