sfiha

{{Infobox food

| name = Sfiha

| image = Sfiha2.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption =

| alternate_name = lahem bi ajin

| country = Levant{{cite book|title=The World's Best Street Food: Where to Find it & How to Make it|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wat9BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT153|publisher=Lonely Planet|date=1 August 2012|isbn=978-1-74321-664-4|via=Google Books}}{{cite book|first1=Gil|last1=Marks|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&dq=sfiha&pg=PT1081|publisher=HMH|date=17 November 2010|isbn=978-0-544-18631-6|via=Google Books}}

| region = Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan and Brazil

| creator =

| course =

| type = Flatbread

| served =

| main_ingredient = Ground mutton

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

Sfiha or sfeeha ({{langx|ar|صفيحة|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, and is closely related to manakish and lahmacun.

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.{{cite web | title=Gramatica atualizada | website=Dicionario e gramatica. | date=2015-09-27 | url=https://dicionarioegramatica.com.br/ | language=pt | access-date=2021-02-26}}{{cite book|first1=John Tofik|last1=Karam|title=Another Arabesque: Syrian- Brazil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N5n6C_6c4goC&pg=PA127|pages=127–128|publisher=Temple University Press|date=14 March 2008|isbn=978-1-59213-541-7|via=Google Books}}

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.

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

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.{{cite book|first1=Nada|last1=Saleh|title=New Flavours of the Lebanese Table|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=olH8Y4cnGLoC&pg=PT117|publisher=Random House|date=31 March 2012|isbn=978-1-4481-1876-2|via=Google Books}} In Syria,{{cite web|url=https://metrosouth.health.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/community_profile_syria.pdf |title=Community profile |publisher=metrosouth.health.qld.gov.au |date= |accessdate=2021-02-26}} Palestine,{{cite book|first1=Christiane Dabdoub|last1=Nasser|title=Classic Palestinian Cuisine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HT8hBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT117|publisher=Saqi|date=10 July 2013|isbn=978-0-86356-879-4|via=Google Books}}{{cite book|first1=Joudie|last1=Kalla|title=Palestine on a Plate: Memories from my mother's kitchen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YfWxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|page=32|publisher=White Lion Publishing|date=3 September 2019|isbn=978-0-7112-4529-7|via=Google Books}} and Jordan,{{cite book|first1=Insight|last1=Guides|title=Insight Guides Jordan (Travel Guide eBook)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4aCcDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT211|publisher=Apa Publications (UK) Limited|date=1 February 2018|isbn=978-1-78671-396-4|via=Google Books}} sfiha is similarly made with minced meat or lamb, in addition to herbs and spices, with tomatoes, onions, and other ingredients.{{Cn|date=February 2025}}

Esfihas in Brazil are oven-baked and may be open-faced flatbreads about four inches in diameter with meat topping,{{cite book|first1=Yara Castro|last1=Roberts|title=The Brazilian Table|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L75pdLWp0rkC&pg=PA186|page=186|publisher=Gibbs Smith|date=2 May 2009|isbn=978-1-4236-0814-1|via=Google Books}} or folded into a triangular pastry like fatayer. They may have various toppings, including cheese, curd, lamb, beef or vegetables.{{Cn|date=February 2025}}

=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.{{cite web |title=طريقة عمل الصفيحة اليافاوية |url=https://www.elbalad.news/5117048 |access-date=24 March 2025 |language=ar}} Sada El-Balad