Hummus Fatteh with Meat and Yogurt
Fatteh fails when it is assembled too early. The toasted bread goes on the bottom, the hot chickpeas over it, and the yogurt sauce at the very last moment before serving — any delay and the bread turns to paste.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Calories
- 520
Hummus fatteh is a rich Levantine breakfast served in restaurants and homes across Jordan, Palestine and Syria. Layers of toasted bread, chickpeas and garlicky tahini yogurt, topped with meat, pine nuts and ghee. It comes together in 20 minutes if your chickpeas are already cooked.
Method
-
1
Toast the bread
Toss the bread squares in the oil and bake at 200°C for 8 minutes until crisp and golden. (Or fry them.)
⏱ 10 min -
2
Yogurt sauce
Mix the yogurt, tahini, salted crushed garlic and lemon juice. If it is thick, loosen it with some chickpea liquid. Warm it over very low heat with constant stirring until just warm, never boiling.
⏱ 6 min -
3
The meat
Brown the meat in the ghee with the spices and salt for 8 minutes until well coloured.
⏱ 9 min -
4
Heat the chickpeas
Warm the chickpeas in their own liquid with a pinch of cumin and salt.
⏱ 4 min -
5
Assemble — order matters
Toasted bread on the bottom → hot chickpeas with a little of their liquid → warm yogurt sauce → meat.
⏱ 3 min -
6
Finish
Heat the ghee with the paprika and pour it over, then scatter the nuts and parsley. Serve immediately.
⏱ 3 min
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Tips that actually matter
- Assemble it as you sit down to eat. Every minute of delay costs you crispness.
- The yogurt sauce should warm, never boil — boiling splits it.
- Chickpea liquid (aquafaba) is the best thinner for the sauce — it adds body and flavour.
- Oven-toasted bread is lighter than fried and stays crisp longer.
People also ask
Why did my yogurt split?
It got too hot. The sauce only needs to warm through over very low heat with stirring — and the tahini in it helps stabilise it.
Can I make it without meat?
Yes — vegetarian hummus fatteh is very common, finished with just pine nuts, parsley and paprika.
How is it different from musabbaha?
Musabbaha is coarsely mashed chickpeas with tahini and no bread underneath. Fatteh is built on a base layer of toasted bread.
Cook mode
Hummus Fatteh with Meat and Yogurt
-
1
Toast the bread
Toss the bread squares in the oil and bake at 200°C for 8 minutes until crisp and golden. (Or fry them.)
-
2
Yogurt sauce
Mix the yogurt, tahini, salted crushed garlic and lemon juice. If it is thick, loosen it with some chickpea liquid. Warm it over very low heat with constant stirring until just warm, never boiling.
-
3
The meat
Brown the meat in the ghee with the spices and salt for 8 minutes until well coloured.
-
4
Heat the chickpeas
Warm the chickpeas in their own liquid with a pinch of cumin and salt.
-
5
Assemble — order matters
Toasted bread on the bottom → hot chickpeas with a little of their liquid → warm yogurt sauce → meat.
-
6
Finish
Heat the ghee with the paprika and pour it over, then scatter the nuts and parsley. Serve immediately.
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