We had a delicious lunch at the Arab Israeli restaurant where I first tasted Amba.
Amba is a tangy mango sauce of Baghdadi Indian Jewish origin. It is made of pickled green mangoes, vinegar, salt, turmeric, chilies, and fenugreek.
Now one of the most common condiments in Israel, it is used as a condiment in sandwiches, as well as a topping for hummus and other mezzes.
Israeli amba is made with unripe, green mangoes, which contribute to its more savory flavor as unripe mangoes taste less sweet.
It is often served as a dressing on shawarma sandwiches, falafels, and usually on sabikh and on falafel, meorav yerushalmi, kebab and salads.
According to legend, Amba was developed in the 19th century by members of the Sassoon family of Bombay, India, who were Baghdadi Jews. Iraqi Jewish immigrants brought it to Israel in the 1950s as an accompaniment to their Shabbat morning meal.
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