Fatteh

فتّة / Fatteh / Fetté

A Damascene fetté with grilled almonds and clarified sheep butter
Course	Breakfast[1] or Main[2]
Place of origin	Middle East
Serving temperature	Warm
Main ingredients	Flatbread, yogurt, chickpeas, oil
Media: فتّة / Fatteh / Fetté

Fatteh (Arabic: فتّة meaning crushed or crumbs, also romanized as fette, fetté, fatta or fattah)^[3] is a dish eaten in the Levant and Egypt consisting of pieces of fresh, toasted, grilled, or fried flatbread covered with other ingredients that vary according to region. It is also some times referred to as shâmiyât (Arabic: شاميات "Damascene")^[2] in the Levant area.

Geographical distribution

Fatteh is an ancient dish found in the Mashriq region of the Arab world as well as Egypt.

Regional variations

Egyptian fatta

Syrian fetté with grilled lamb cubes and pine nuts, served with sizzling butter

Fetté dishes include a wide variety of regional and local variations, some of which also have their own distinct names.

• Egypt: Egyptians prepare a dish called "fatta" as a feast meal.^[2] It is prepared on special occasions, such as to celebrate a woman's first pregnancy or for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. It is made with a garlic and vinegar flavored meat soup and crispy flatbread served in a bowl with rice and a sauce consisting of garlic tomato sauce.

• 

  Hummus Fatteh with lamb Meat and Spiced Chickpeas.

  Syria: The Levantine "fetté", eaten in breakfasts as well as in the evenings,^[1][2] always starts with a stack of khubz bread, topped by strained yogurt, steamed chickpeas and olive oil that are crushed and mixed together. In the next step, a teaspoon of cumin is almost always poured into the mixture. After that, virtually anything can be added to the bowl. Some fettés are made of eggplants and julienned carrots topped with grilled chicken and pine nuts while some contain lamb shanks, different spices and yogurt.^[2] The fattoush is a salad made with toasted pieces of pita bread that technically also falls into the family of "shâmiyât".^[2].There is Fatteh with oil, Fatteh with ghee, Fatteh with yogurt, and other types of Fatteh that are famous in different regions of Syria. Fatteh with oil is a type of Fatteh known in Syria. It is prepared by cutting toasted or dried bread and placing it in a deep glass bowl. Add previously boiled chickpeas (it must be hot) with a little salt. Stir the mixture a little and add the special Fatteh mixture (made up of khatta, lemon, and oil) and garnish with pine nuts. There are many types of Fatteh in Syria, including: Fatteh with maqadam, Fatteh with Arabic ghee, Fatteh with yogurt, and Fatteh with bananas. Damascus is famous for its many types of Syrian Fatteh, which are rich in ingredients and delicious taste.^[4]
• Palestine: "Fetté gazzewié" from Gaza is served as plain rice cooked in meat or chicken broth and then flavored with mild spices, particularly cinnamon. The rice is then laid over a thin markook bread which is in turn smothered in clarified butter and topped with various meats.^[5] Musakhan is also a fetté dish.

See also

• Arab cuisine
• Middle Eastern cuisine
• List of African dishes

References

1. Salamandra, 2004, p. 97
2. Wright, 2003, p. 117.
3. Patai, 1998, p. 98.
4. "Fatteh | Traditional Breakfast From Lebanon | TasteAtlas". web.archive.org. 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
5. The Foods of Gaza Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine Laila el-Haddad. This Week in Palestine. June 2006.

Bibliography

• Jennings, Anne M. (1995), The Nubians of West Aswan: Village Women in the Midst of Change, Lynne Rienner Publishers, ISBN 1-55587-592-0
• Wright, Clifford A. (2003), Little Foods of the Mediterranean: 500 Fabulous Recipes for Antipasti, Tapas, Harvard Common Press, ISBN 1-55832-227-2
• Salamandra, Christa Anne (2004), A new old Damascus: authenticity and distinction in urban Syria, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-21722-9