Fatta (Arabic: فتة‎) (meaning "crumbs", in Arabic)^[1] is an Arab dish that uses pieces of stale, toasted or fresh flatbread as a foundation upon which various ingredients are added overtop. It emerged as a way of making use of stale bread, as flatbreads tend to get stiff when exposed to air rather quickly. Fattit, the plural form, refers to the entire class of Syro-Palestinian dishes that use crumbled flatbreads in their preparation.^[2]

[edit] Variations

Fatta dishes include a wide variety of regional and local variations, some of which also have their own distinct names. Fatta can be made with eggplant or chickpeas (in Arabic, hummus). Fattat maqadim al-ghanem is a special dish made with lamb shanks, chickpeas, spices and yogurt spread over the bread.^[2] Fatta gazzawiah from Gaza, is served as plain rice cooked in meat or chicken broth and then flavored with mild spices, particularly cinnamon. The rice is laid over a thin, markook bread known as farasheeh then is smothered in ghee and topped with various meats.^[3]

Fattoush is a salad made with toasted pieces of pita bread that falls into the family of fatta dishes, and musakhan, the national dish of Palestine is also considered a fatta dish. A bread soup dish called fattat is popularly consumed by workers for breakfast in Syria.^[2]

Egyptians prepare and consume a dish called fatta as a feast meal.^[2] Considered a traditional Nubian dish, it is prepared on special occasions, such as to celebrate a woman's first pregnancy. It is made with meat with soup and bread served with rice and molokhia in a bowl.^[4] Typically, Egyptian fatta is made by layering crispy pita, cooked white rice and chunks of beef or lamb topped off with a tomato sauce flavored heavily with garlic and vinegar.

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