Potato and Sumac Appetizer

posted on: Jun 11, 2025

By: Habeeb Salloum/Arab America Contributing Writer

The first time I had a taste of sumac was when my father had ordered it along with some other Syrian food ingredients from an Arab wholesaler in Montreal. This was in the late 1930s on our farm in southwestern Saskatchewan.  Dad always praised my mother’s cooking but would say at times, there was something missing from the original.  Her tangy spinach pies were probably his favourite and despite my mother replacing the old country ingredient of sumac with lemon juice, they both agreed that the day they would make a trip to Syria, they would bring some back to Canada.  Well, as things worked out, it was the sumac that came to them, thanks to the wholesale-retail catalogue of Abusamra al-Khoury in Montreal.  

Tart, then tangy was my first reaction.  My parents were right.  Lemon juice was good, but sumac was much much better.  That twist of flavour, citrus-type and tart, perked up salads, soups, and main dishes or any other dishes my mother made.

         Although traditionally an appetizer, I recommend it as breakfast dish – a fine and zesty replacement for hash browns.

Serves 4 to 6

oil for frying

4 large potatoes, peeled, the diced into 1/2-inch cubes

2 tablespoons sumac 

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup warm water

1 large onion, very thinly sliced

         Place oil in a frying pan up to 2-inches deep then heat.  Deep fry the potato cubes over medium-high heat until they begin to brown.  Remove with a slotted spoon then set aside to drain on paper towels.   Also, reserve about 4 tablespoons of the oil in frying pan then set aside.

         Combine the remaining ingredients, except onion then set aside.

         Heat remaining oil in frying pan then sauté onion over medium-high heat until golden.  Set aside.

         Place potato cubes on a platter, then spoon sumac mixture evenly over potato cubes.  Spread onions evenly over top, then allow to stand for 30 minutes before serving.

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