{"id":18599,"date":"2026-02-07T12:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T10:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/?p=18599"},"modified":"2026-02-14T12:06:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T10:06:03","slug":"sfiha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/sfiha\/","title":{"rendered":"1. Sfiha"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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SFIHA<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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History<\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Sfiha<\/b> holds a special place in the Levant (and in my heart). You\u2019ll commonly hear the terms \u201csfiha\u201d and \u201clahm bi ajeen\u201dused interchangeably, but think of them as two branches of the same tree, differing mainly in appearance. A sfiha is a small, open-faced meat pie, usually bite-sized, with the dough pinched at the four corners to create a square. A <\/span>lahm bi ajeen<\/b>, on the other hand, is larger; think of it as the size of a small pizza.<\/span><\/p>

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The roots of this dish run deep. The oldest surviving Arabic cookbook, the 10th-century <\/span>Kitab al-Tabikh<\/span><\/i> (The Book of Dishes) by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, includes a recipe called <\/span>“Khubz Mushahha.”<\/b> This was a flatbread topped with minced meat, herbs, and tail fat, confirming that the practice of baking meat <\/span>on<\/span><\/i> dough, rather than inside it, is at least a thousand-year-old Levantine tradition.<\/span><\/p>

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As time went by, the dish evolved during the Ottoman period (1516\u20131918). Ottoman tax records and city guild logs in Damascus and Aleppo show the rise of the <\/span>farran<\/i><\/b> (specialized bakers) who focused specifically on meat-topped doughs. Baalbek became a hub for the dish because it sat on a primary trade route between Damascus and the coast. Additionally, the high altitude and sheep-herding culture of the Bekaa Valley provided high-quality <\/span>liyyeh<\/i><\/b> (lamb tail fat), which became a soul-element of the dish. The city became legendary for its version, which gave rise to the famous name <\/span>\u201csfiha baalbakiye.\u201d<\/b><\/p>

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Originally, sfiha relied on verjuice (sour grape juice) or <\/span>dibs el ruman<\/i><\/b> (pomegranate molasses) for its acidity. It wasn’t until the late 1700s and early 1800s that tomatoes were introduced to the region via trade from South America. Once they arrived, tomatoes were integrated into the mixture, and that bright, acidic flavor became the standard we know today.<\/span><\/p>

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Of course, some regions still prefer the original way. In Syria, you\u2019ll often find sfiha made without any tomatoes at all. This history explains why we see so many variations today; it all depends on which tradition a family chose to carry forward. Did they stick to the ancient roots, or did they adapt as new produce entered the land?<\/span><\/p>

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In a beautiful twist of history, sfiha made its way to Brazil via Levantine immigrants (mostly Lebanese and Syrian). They settled in S\u00e3o Paulo, and from there, the dish spread across the entire country, where it is known as <\/span>\u201cesfiha.\u201d<\/b> It has come full circle: in exchange for their tomatoes, we gave them a whole new dish to call their own.<\/span><\/p>

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Like many Levantine staples, sfiha can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even just a snack. My favorite way to eat it? Squeeze on some fresh lemon juice, add a dash of cayenne pepper, with a side of a cold glass of <\/span>laban ayran<\/b>. <\/span>Wow, wow, wow.<\/span><\/i> It is truly one of my favorite things in the world.<\/span><\/p>

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Before finalizing this recipe, I texted my mom to ask for her secrets. If you have an Arab mom, you know the drill: I received five voice notes, each a minute long, listing ingredients with absolutely no measurements. It was more of a philosophy: \u201cjust add enough until it feels right.\u201d Using her “guide,” I experimented until I developed the recipe I\u2019m sharing with you today.<\/span><\/p>

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She also gave me a brilliant tip: adding yogurt to the dough. This results in a softer, fluffier texture and adds a subtle tang similar to a sourdough culture.<\/span><\/p>

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I hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as I did. Cheers!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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RECIPE:<\/b>
<\/span><\/span>
<\/span>Dough:<\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

– 8g Active Dry Yeast<\/span><\/p>

-1\/4 cup room temp water<\/span><\/p>

-1 tsp granulated sugar<\/span><\/p>

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-Vegetable oil<\/span><\/p>

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-4 cups All Purpose (AP) flour<\/span><\/p>

-1 \u00bd cup room temp water<\/span><\/p>

-3tbsp yogurt<\/span>

<\/span><\/p>

Filling<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

-625g beef or lamb<\/span>
<\/span>-50gs liyyeh<\/span><\/p>

-3 tomatoes<\/span><\/p>

-1 onion<\/span><\/p>

-2 tbsp seven spice<\/span><\/p>

-Pinch of cinnamon<\/span><\/p>

-Salt T.T (<\/span>to taste<\/span><\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGLOSSARY<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Method of Preparation<\/strong><\/p>

For the dough:<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

-To start, grab a bowl and add \u00bc cup of room temperature water. (<\/span>Having water that is cold will not allow the yeast to activate, and if your water is too warm or hot it will kill the yeast.)<\/span><\/i><\/p>

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-Add in 8g of dry yeast and 1tsp of granulated sugar<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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-Give it a stir and set aside for about 10 minutes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Note: To ensure that your yeast is alive and activated, the mixture should look like it doubled in size, and you\u2019ll be able to smell and see the yeast growing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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-While you allow the yeast to activate, measure out 4 cups of AP flour on a clean counter and create a well-like structure. The flour on the sides will act as a wall so your liquid doesn\u2019t fall out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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-Add the 1 1\/2 cup of water and yeast mixture into your well. Using a fork, begin to incorporate some of the flour into the liquid until it starts turning into a solid form. Add in the yogurt. Using your hands, begin to fully knead the dough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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-Add in a few pinches of flour and stop when all the ingredients are fully incorporated together. Pinch the dough. If the dough sticks to your finger when you pull away, then add another pinch of flour and knead.<\/span><\/p>

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-Grab a clean bowl and add a tbsp of vegetable oil. Using your hands, rub the oil all over the bowl.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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-Place the dough into the bowl. Move the dough around the bowl so the oil gets rubbed on the dough as well.<\/span><\/p>

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-Using saran wrap, tightly seal the top of the bowl.<\/span><\/p>

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-Wrap the bowl in two or three warm cloths to create a warm environment for the dough to proof.<\/span><\/p>

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-Let it sit for at least an hour, and up to two hours; it should double in size.<\/span><\/p>

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-While the dough is proofing, create the filling.<\/span><\/p>

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-In a bowl, place the 625g of beef or lamb and liyyeh.<\/span><\/p>

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-In a food processor (on chopping setting), add in the tomatoes and onions. Blitz it to a point where the mixture looks like a combination of chopped pieces and juices from the tomatoes and onions. The juices will add flavor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Note: if you over blitz your ingredients, and there\u2019s too much juice, strain out some of the liquid using a sieve. If it\u2019s too liquidy, it will result in a very wet dough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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-Add the onions and tomatoes to the beef or lamb along with the spices.<\/span><\/p>

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-Set aside into the fridge as you wait for the dough to fully proof.<\/span><\/p>

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-Preheat the oven to 350F.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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-Once the dough is ready, place it on a clean counter and place a damp cloth over it so it doesn\u2019t dry up as you work with it.<\/span><\/p>

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-Have a plate on the side with some vegetable oil so you can dip your hands in the oil as you keep working with the dough. (<\/span>The oil will help prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and the counter. It also improves its capacity to stretch out when being rolled.)<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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-Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough.<\/span><\/p>

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-Create your sfiha by either forming the traditional square shape, or a mini circle.<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

-Spread the meat mixture onto each piece of dough.<\/span><\/p>

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-Bake in the oven for about 10-13 minutes or until the dough is nice and golden brown.<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

-Best enjoyed with lemon and a dash of cayenne pepper.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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SAHTEIN!\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SFIHA History \u00a0 Sfiha holds a special place in the Levant (and in my heart). You\u2019ll commonly hear the terms \u201csfiha\u201d and \u201clahm bi ajeen\u201dused interchangeably, but think of them as two branches of the same tree, differing mainly in appearance. A sfiha is a small, open-faced meat pie, usually bite-sized, with the dough pinched […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[376],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-table-tales-with-nadia"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-07-at-12.23.20.png?fit=2894%2C1578&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18599"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18680,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18599\/revisions\/18680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}