Palestinian
1Preparation
- Soak the sumac in the warm water for 1 hour.
- Strain the sumac water through a cloth or fine sieve, squeezing well, and discard the solids.
- Whisk the flour into the sumac water until completely smooth.
- Wash the chard, remove the thick stems and finely chop the leaves.
- Pound the garlic with the green chilies, dill and a little salt into a coarse paste.
2Cooking
- Put the lamb in a pot with the water, onion, cardamom and salt, bring to the boil and skim off the foam.
- Cover and simmer until the lamb is tender, then remove the onion and cardamom pods.
- Add the chopped chard to the lamb and broth and stir until it wilts down.
- Pour in the sumac and flour mixture gradually, stirring constantly, and cook until it thickens to a light custard-like consistency.
- Add the chickpeas and tahini and stir until the tahini has melted in completely.
- Heat the olive oil in a small pan and stir the garlic-dill paste with the chili flakes until fragrant, without letting the garlic colour.
- Stir the garlic oil into the sumagiyya and cook on very low heat, stirring, until the flavours come together.
3Serving
- Pour the sumagiyya into deep dishes and leave to cool and set for at least 2 hours.
- Drizzle the top with olive oil and a pinch of chili flakes.
- Serve at room temperature with pita or taboon bread and fresh green chilies.
💡 Tips & common mistakes
- Common mistake: tipping in the sumac and flour mixture all at once without stirring — it turns lumpy. Pour slowly and keep stirring.
- Sumagiyya sets much firmer as it cools, so don't add more flour if it looks thin while hot.
- It tastes even richer the next day and keeps in the fridge for 3 days.
🔁 Substitutions
- Cubed veal can be used instead of lamb.
- No chard? Use spinach and wilt it for less time.
