Амба: Острый манговый соус с богатой историей

Mango pickle condiment

Amba or anba (عنبة, ) is a tangy mango pickle condiment of Baghdadi Jewish origin. It is typically made of pickled green mangoes, vinegar, salt, turmeric, chilies, and fenugreek. It is somewhat similar to savoury mango chutneys.

Mangoes being native to South Asia, the name "amba" seems to have been borrowed, via Arabic, from the Marathi word āmbā (आंबा), which is in turn derived from the Sanskrit word āmra (आम्र, "mango").

According to the 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. and as an optional topping on falafel, meorav yerushalmi, kebab and salads.

Amba is also mentioned in literary works, mainly memoirs. In his memoir Baghdad Yesterday Sasson Somekh dedicates a whole chapter to amba. He uses amba to tell the story of the Iraqi Jewish community that had satellite communities in India and Southeast Asia. In the same chapter Somekh references another Iraqi, who wrote a short story about amba (Abd al Malik Noori, "It happened on a Friday"). Khalid Qisthini, a columnist at Asharq Al Awsat, wrote a short article on remembering the foods of Baghdad of the past. His article is titled "Talking about the food of amba and samoon, which characterised Baghdad of the past." He remembers that in his youth, school children would rush out of school to get samoon with amba from the street vendor, who, if generous, would add a little more amba.