Mashahmiyeh

The name comes from the fat of the sheep’s tail: shahmeh means fat. Coarsely chopped lamb, that fat and onion are worked into the dough, with salt, safflower and curry powder on top. The dough rests, then goes into the tannour or the oven. It comes out hot. It is eaten hot.

Not a lahm bi ajin

Aleppo sfiha and lahm bi ajin spread meat over thin dough. In mashahmiyeh the meat sits inside the dough. Safflower leaves a yellowish tint and curry a smell you will not meet on a Damascus or Aleppo table. This is one of the points where Euphrates cooking comes closest to Iraq; the same dish is baked under the same name in Iraqi towns.

Where to eat it

It is bakery work in Deir ez-Zor and the towns along the Euphrates. You look for it in front of the oven rather than on a restaurant menu. It is cut from the tray and handed over. Outside the region few people know the name, and you may ask for it in Damascus or Aleppo without finding it.

How to order it

Ask for a piece straight from the oven. Once it cools the fat sets, the dough turns heavy and the plate becomes something else. One piece can be too much for one person, so share it the first time.