Sumaghiyyeh

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Sumaghiyyeh
Alternative namesSumaqiyya,[1] Sumagiyya[2]
TypeStew
Place of originArab World
Region or stateGaza Strip, Palestine, Arab World
Main ingredientsSumac, sautéed chopped chard, pieces of slow-stewed beef, and garbanzo beans
  •   Media: Sumaghiyyeh

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

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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 Caliph Harun 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

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During the blockade on the 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

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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]

See Also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "TRT World - Gaza cuisine". TRT World. 10 Mar 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  2. ^ Khan, Yasmin. "Sumagiyya: Gazan Beef, Chickpeas and Swiss Chard". TASTE. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b The Foods of Gaza al-Haddad, Laila, This week in Palestine. Turbo Computers & Software Co. Ltd. June 2006, Accessed on 2008-01-07.
  4. ^ Geert Jan van Gelder, God's Banquet (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000) p. 76
  5. ^ Tamimi, Sami; Wigley, Tara (2 July 2020). "Sumaqqiyeh (oxtail stew with chard, sumac and tahini)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b c El-Haddad, Laila M.; Schmitt, Maggie (2016). The Gaza kitchen: a Palestinian culinary journey (Second ed.). Charlottesville, Virginia: Just World Books. ISBN 978-1-68257-008-1.
  7. ^ a b Nasrallah, Nawal (31 December 2007). "CHAPTER 68". Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens: Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq's Tenth-Century Baghdadi Cookbook. BRILL. pp. 28, 29, 299, 300. ISBN 978-90-474-2305-8. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  8. ^ a b Newman, Daniel (10 October 2021). "Sumac stew (summaqiyya, سمّاقية)". Eat Like A Sultan. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  9. ^ a b Newman, Daniel (6 December 2020). "Spotlight on: sumac (سُمّاق), the forgotten spice". Eat Like A Sultan. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  10. ^ Shāh, Ibn Mubārak (2020). The sultan's feast: a fifteenth-century Egyptian cookbook. Translated by Newman, Daniel. London: SAQI Books. ISBN 9780863561566.
  11. ^ Mendelsohn, Loren (1 November 2013). "The Tacuinum Sanitatis: A Medieval Health Manual". Publications and Research. City University of New York. pp. 80, 86. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Opinion | Our northern Gaza family will feed our neighbors — until we can't". The Washington Post. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  13. ^ El-Haddad, Laila (25 March 2025). "'This Is the War Version': How Gazans Are Observing Ramadan This Year". Eater. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  14. ^ "طبق السماقية الاجتماعي في غزة" [Sumaghiyyeh, the social dish in Gaza]. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed (in Arabic). 16 Apr 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Gaza cuisine: A combination of healthy and festive food". TRT World. 3 Apr 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
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