Sfiha

Sfiha or sfeeha (Arabic: صفيحة, romanized: ṣafīḥa) is a dish consisting of flatbread cooked with a minced meat topping, often lamb flavored with parsley, onion, tomato, pine nuts, and spices. It is traditionally found in the countries of the Levant,^[1] and is closely related to manakish and lahmacun.^[2]

Sfiha

Alternative names	lahem bi ajin
Type	Flatbread
Place of origin	Levant[1][2]
Region or state	Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan and Brazil
Main ingredients	Ground mutton
Media: Sfiha

Sfiha has become popular in parts of South America, where it is known as esfiha or esfirra in Brazil or as empanada árabe (arab empanada), fatay or sfija in Argentina, after being introduced by Middle Eastern immigrants to the former and to the latter from Syria and Armenia.^[3][4]

History

Flatbreads have been present in the Fertile Crescent since prehistoric times. They have been cooked on hot surfaces such as stones, a metal sajj plate, taboon, or tandoor. In the medieval Arab world, with the development of the brick oven or furn, a wide variety of flatbreads baked together with stuffings or toppings emerged, including sfiha, and spread across the Ottoman Empire.^[2]

In Brazil, esfiha gained popularity in the late 20th century, and since has become one of the most popular fast foods.^[4]

Main ingredients

Every family has their own preference on what to add in addition to the meat. In Lebanon, the main ingredients are: meat, onions, tomatoes, pine nuts, salt, pepper, and flavorings such as cinnamon, sumac, or pomegranate molasses. The region of Baalbek is especially known for its sfiha.^[5] In Syria,^[6] Palestine,^[7][8] and Jordan,^[9] sfiha is similarly made with minced meat or lamb, in addition to herbs and spices, with tomatoes, onions, and other ingredients.^{[citation needed]}

Esfihas in Brazil are oven-baked and may be open-faced flatbreads about four inches in diameter with meat topping,^[10] or folded into a triangular pastry like fatayer. They may have various toppings, including cheese, curd, lamb, beef or vegetables.^{[citation needed]}

Sfiha Yafawiyeh

Sfiha Yafawiyeh is a variant named after the city of Jaffa where, instead of topping flatbread with meat, the bread is rolled into a spiral shape with the meat used as a filling.^[11]

See also

• List of lamb dishes
• List of flatbreads
• Lahmajoun
• Taboon bread