You know, Tal was not our first Israeli CS guest. As a matter of fact, when we first discovered CS (almost 2 years ago), we were originally thinking of traveling to Tel Aviv - I think it was around the time that Israel abolished visas for us Macedonians...We even sent out a couple of CS requests...And even though that trip never materialized, about a year later, our first CS guests turned out to in fact be Miriam and Tamar from Jerusalem.
 
On her second day of staying with us, Tal went downtown to meet a girl from Israel who is married to a Macedonian man and lives in Skopje. Our day was hectic with work and errands, but thankfully Tal easily found her way downtown and back in the evening. I was a bit tired (and coming down a sinus infection that's been my constant companion for the past 5 days) so Ivica cooked for us.

Tal is vegan (we've had many vegetarian CS guests but I think she's our first vegan guest) which is a great reason for us to cook something even healthier than what we typically eat. Ivica roasts potatoes and carrots (they're delicious) while I hastily assemble a salad.  As I was chopping scallions in the kitchen, I was trying to think about what typical Israeli food I have heard of...the only thing coming to mind was falafel which, although we're its faithful worshipers, is a Middle Eastern dish (or rather non-dish) and not really Israeli...so I ask Tal the question I often dread being asked myself: "What is your national dish?"*

Israeli cuisine has obviously been influenced by the the cuisines of the countries immigrants arrived from. For example, Tal's family originates from Tunisia so she grew up eating couscous (even when it wasn't as popular as it is today). Other kids probably were fed with other stuff, from burek to schnitzel and from borscht to dolma and beyond. As we talk about this melting pot cuisine, Tal wonders why a typical fast food popular in Israel hasn't become so popular outside of Israel...and then she reveals more about it.

It's called Sabich (that "ch" to me sounds like "kh") and it actually originates from the Iraqi Jews. Confusion abounds about the origin of the food's name, ranging from the theory that "Sabah" means "morning' in Arabic (the dish was typically eaten on Shabbat morning) and up to, wait...what? Supposedly Sabikh is a Hebrew acronym for "salad, egg, more eggplant". Tal tells me it could make sense but it would also sound a bit incorrect. So what's Sabich? It's basically a pita bread stuffed with fried eggpant (yum), hard boiled egg, hummus (yum again), tahini (ditto), sliced tomato+cucumber (also knows as "Israeli Salad"), steamed potatoes and Amba. Yes. Amba.

Amba, it turns out, is the thing (or rather the absence of) that will stop me from making this drool-worthy Sabich. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll try making it with everything else except the Amba but I'm sensing that the Amba will make all the difference. How can it not? It is a mango chutney! I even found a recipe for it but to make 1 cup of Amba I'll need to buy 3 mangoes! Yeah, 3! As if 1 isn't expensive enough:) Anyway, I've decided: next time someone from the Middle East visits us (it's bound to happen sooner or later), they're bringing us a jar (or 2) of Amba. Future guest, you've been warned.

*Why do I hate this question...hm...because I'm always afraid that I'll make a mistake. I most often say that tavche gravhce (loosely translated as baked beans) is the national Macedonian dish...immediately proceeding to say that I never make it at home (honestly, I never do, as much as I love the stuff, I really don't usually have the time to make it from scratch)...other times, I remember that our national products are tomatoes and peppers so I think of pindzur and ajvar...I don't know...I'm confused...Local Macedonians, any advice? Is tavche gravche the thing?