Sumakiyyah Recipe (Palestinian Sumac Stew, aka Sumaghiyyeh)
Sumakiyyah, or Sumaghiyyeh recipe. This is an old, traditional, rustic Palestinian sumac stew synonymous with Gaza. Find out how to make it.
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Servings:
Calories: 513kcal
Ingredients
- 500 g stewing beef or lamb
- 5 Tbsp EV olive oil
- 750 ml water or chicken stock I find beef stock adds too much flavour, see Notes below
- 2 bay leaves optional
- 500 g chard
- 1 large onion about 250 g (8.8 oz) pre peeled weight
- 400 g chickpeas in water from a can this is a large can in the UK
- salt as needed
- freshly ground black pepper
For Sumac & Tahini Mix
- 6 Tbsp sumac
- 250 ml very hot water doesn't want to be boiling, just off the boil, see Notes below
- 250 ml room temperature water
- 4 Tbsp AP flour
- 100 g tahini homemade recipe in article above
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Tempering
- 3 Tbsp dill seeds or 1 handful fresh, or 1 Tbsp fennel or caraway seeds
- 1-2 Tbsp chilli flakes depends on how hot you'd like it
- 6 medium garlic cloves
- 2 Tbsp EV olive oil
Garnish
- EV olive oil as desired
- sumac as desired
- chilli flakes as desired
- a few chickpeas (from the can)
Instructions
Let's Cook the Meat
- Cut up your beef or lamb into bite-sized pieces if not bought ready cut.
- Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a pan and brown the meat for 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat. If your saucepan isn't big enough, do it in 2 batches.
- Pour the water (or stock) in and bring to a boil. If using a stockpot or stockcube, just drop it in with the water. See Notes below.Add the bay leaves, if using.
- Skim off excess foam/scum that rises to the top. Then stir, cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour until the meat is soft and fully cooked.This will depend on the cut and size of your meat. You may need 1½ hours.
Soak the Sumac
- Put the kettle on and tip the sumac into a large jug or bowl (you'll be adding 1 more cup of water and tahini to it later).
- When the water's boiled, count to 10 slowly, then pour 250ml (1 cup) of the very hot water on the sumac. Stir, and set aside.
Other Prep Work
- Cut off and discard the tough white stems of the chard, see video on how I do this.Pile the leaves on each other, then roll into a chiffonade. Slice the chard rolls into thin strips. You'll want to do this in 2 batches (2 rolls of leaves) for easier cutting.
- Peel the onion and chop it up finely. You can do this by hand or in a food chopper.
- Peel and finely chop the garlic too. We'll be pounding it later with the dill.
- Rinse and drain the chickpeas well.
- Since I always make fresh tahini when needed, this is when I get it done. You can do that, if you'd like to, or do it days/weeks earlier or use shopbought.
Sumac & Tahini Mix
- When the sumac has been soaking for 30 minutes, top it up with 250 ml (1 cup) of room temperature water and stir to mix.
- Tip in the flour, in 3 additions, and whisk well between each addition. Then continue whisking for a minute or so until it's lump free. Shouldn't take too long.
- Pour in the tahini and sesame oil and mix well. Set aside.
Let's Cook Sumakiyyah
- When the beef is done cooking, it's time to cook the whole dish.Heat 3 Tbsp of olive oil on medium heat and fry the onions for 2 minutes.
- Add the chard, stir well, cover and leave to steam for 1 minute.
- Tip in the cooked beef, along with any liquid and stir to mix.
- Add most of the chickpeas, saving a few for garnishing. Stir.
- Pour in the sumac and tahini mix, stirring well to mix. If you've only used water, add ⅛ tsp of salt. If you've used stock, leave it out for now.Even if your sumac has salt, you'll need this tiny amount.Bring everything to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and leave to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, while you get the tempering ingredients done.
Let's Finish our Sumakiyyah
- Pound the dill seeds and chilli flakes until semi-fine. Don't worry to much here on how fine it needs to be. You are pounding them more to release the aroma and oils.You could also use a spice mill or food chopper here.
- Add the garlic and pound for another minute or so.
- Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a small frying pan on medium-low and fry this pounded spice mix for 30 seconds.
- Tip the spiced oil into the sumakiyyah and stir well. Finish with some freshly ground black pepper.Taste the stew and add a little more salt if necessary.
Serving Sumakiyyah
- Divide into individual bowls and drizzle a little olive oil all over.
- Sprinkle a little more sumac and chilli flakes and top with a few chickpeas. Canned chickpeas are fine eaten straight from the can.Enjoy it with some bread, as described in the article above.
Notes
Water or Stock?
Water is traditionally used to cook this Palestinian recipe. But many cooks also use stock for a more well rounded flavour, which I definitely prefer. In the video, you'll see me using only water. But when I make this for Eid, I tend to throw in a chicken stockpot or cube. 1 stockpot or cube is usually for 500 ml (2 cups) of water. Water for sumac
I use 250 ml hot water, 250 ml room temperature (1 cup + 1 cup). This is so the sumac isn't too hot when I'm adding the flour, which will result in clumps.
Hot water = put the kettle on and let the water boil as you're getting the sumac ready in a jug. Once the water has boiled, count to 10, thenm pour it over the sumac. I prefer to do this, just like making coffee, as I don't want to scorch that beautiful sumac. Tahini
I don't use shop bought tahini, as I much prefer the flavour of freshly homemade tahini. It only takes 10 minutes, and you only need sesame seeds. I'll have a YouTube short on it in a couple of days.
Water is traditionally used to cook this Palestinian recipe. But many cooks also use stock for a more well rounded flavour, which I definitely prefer. In the video, you'll see me using only water. But when I make this for Eid, I tend to throw in a chicken stockpot or cube. 1 stockpot or cube is usually for 500 ml (2 cups) of water. Water for sumac
I use 250 ml hot water, 250 ml room temperature (1 cup + 1 cup). This is so the sumac isn't too hot when I'm adding the flour, which will result in clumps.
Hot water = put the kettle on and let the water boil as you're getting the sumac ready in a jug. Once the water has boiled, count to 10, thenm pour it over the sumac. I prefer to do this, just like making coffee, as I don't want to scorch that beautiful sumac. Tahini
I don't use shop bought tahini, as I much prefer the flavour of freshly homemade tahini. It only takes 10 minutes, and you only need sesame seeds. I'll have a YouTube short on it in a couple of days.
Nutrition
Calories: 513kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 262mg | Potassium: 991mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 5531IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 183mg | Iron: 7mg
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