Jaz maz

One of the most cooked home dishes on the Syrian coast, and the recipe fits in a sentence. Tomatoes are chopped and cooked in oil or clarified butter; once they have given up their water and thickened, eggs are broken over them with salt and black pepper. Garlic is optional and goes in at most houses. The pan is either stirred through or the yolks are left whole; both count as right.

Where the name comes from

The name is not Arabic. Its origin is Turkish and is traced to the Sanjak of Alexandretta; on the coast it was Arabised into this form and spread from there to the rest of the country. In Jordan and Palestine the same dish is called qalayet bandora, meaning a fry-up of tomatoes with egg. One dish, three names.

When and with what

It comes out as a side and as a main. On the coast this is the standard breakfast egg, with bread, olives and raw onion beside it. A household that wants a light supper puts the same pan on, because it takes a few minutes.

Bread stands in for a fork here: the pan goes to the middle and everyone dips with their own piece. At the end of summer, in tomato season, the taste changes noticeably.

Where to find it

In Latakia and Tartus at restaurants serving breakfast and at guesthouses. If it is not on the menu, asking is enough, since the ingredients are in every kitchen. The breakfast page in this section covers the coastal morning as a whole.