Fattah — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A magnificent layered dish of crispy toasted bread, seasoned rice, tender braised beef, and a tangy vinegar-garlic tomato sauce. This celebratory Egyptian dish is the centerpiece of Eid al-Adha feasts.

Ingredients

1kg beef shank or chuck, cubed
4 cups Egyptian rice, rinsed
4 rounds baladi bread, toasted and broken
8 cloves garlic, minced
400g crushed tomatoes
3 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp salt
Beef broth from cooking

Instructions

1 Simmer beef cubes in water with bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and salt for ninety minutes until very tender. Reserve the rich broth and set the meat aside.
2 Cook the rinsed rice in beef broth with a tablespoon of ghee until fluffy and each grain is separate. The broth infuses the rice with deep savory flavor.
3 Toast or bake the baladi bread pieces until completely crispy and golden. Briefly dip the toasted bread in warm broth to soften slightly without making soggy.
4 Make the sauce by sauteing garlic in ghee until golden, adding crushed tomatoes, vinegar, and cumin. Simmer for ten minutes until thick and tangy.
5 Layer the soaked bread on the bottom of a deep serving dish, then cover with the seasoned rice, and arrange the tender braised beef pieces on top.
6 Pour the hot tangy garlic-tomato-vinegar sauce generously over the entire assembled dish. Serve immediately while all the layers are hot and aromatic.

Did You Know?

Fattah dates back to the Fatimid Caliphate, when it was distributed to the public during Eid celebrations as a symbol of generosity and communal joy.