Fatteh (from the Arabic root f-t-t, "to crumble") is a Levantine breakfast technique dating to at least the medieval Mamluk period, when stale bread was repurposed with broth and yogurt — economy food. The chickpea version is Syrian, especially Damascene, and traditionally eaten Friday morning after dawn prayer. Variants with lamb shank or chicken exist; the chickpea one is the everyday default.
Fatteh comes from the Arabic root f-t-t (to crumble) — a Mamluk-era technique for repurposing stale bread with broth and yogurt. The chickpea version is Damascene and traditionally eaten Friday morning after dawn prayer.
A wide bowl built in layers: torn fried pita on the bottom, warm chickpeas and their cooking liquid in the middle, garlicky tahini-yogurt on top, finished with toasted pine nuts, parsley, and a spoon of hot ghee. Eat within five minutes — the pita is meant to soften unevenly, some pieces still crunchy, some sponge-like with broth. Wait too long and it's mush.
The chickpeas matter more than the toppings: dried chickpeas soaked overnight with a pinch of baking soda, then simmered with cumin until the skin slips. The cooking liquid is the binder — it's ladled over the bread alongside the chickpeas, and skipping it for water gives a flat dish. The final ghee pour is purely thermal: it crisps the pine nuts at the table and warms the cold yogurt without curdling it.
Variations
Damascene fattet hummus is the everyday version; fattet lahmeh swaps in lamb shank and broth; fattet makdous adds stuffed eggplant; Egyptian fatta variant uses rice instead of bread underneath and is wedding food.
On the Palate
Where Fattet Hummus sits in the Syrian flavor cloud
Ingredients
How it's made
5 steps · 1 hour
- 113 min
Cook chickpeas until tender.
Watch outSimmer the chickpeas until the skins slip and they crush easily against the pot — and save that cloudy cooking liquid, it's the binder poured over the bread.
- 28 min
Mix yogurt, tahini, and minced garlic in a bowl.
- 321 min
Fry pita bread pieces in olive oil until crispy.
Watch outFry the pita until it snaps crisp and deep golden — soft or pale, it'll turn to mush the moment the yogurt and liquid hit it.
- 413 min
Layer a serving dish with pita, chickpeas, and yogurt mixture.
- 55 min
Garnish with toasted pine nuts, sumac, and fresh mint.
Watch outPour the ghee sizzling hot over the top — it should crisp the pine nuts on contact and just warm the yogurt through without curdling it.
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