Bint al-sahn

Bint al-Saḥn

Bint al-Saḥn
Place of origin	Yemen
Main ingredients	white flour, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder and cinnamon

Part of a series on
Arab cuisine
Regional cuisines Eastern Arabian Bahraini Emirati Kuwaiti Omani Qatari Saudi Arabian Yemeni Maghrebi Algerian Libyan Mauritanian Moroccan Tunisian Western Saharan Levant/Mashriq Iraqi Jordanian Lebanese Palestinian Syrian Mizrahi Nile Valley Egyptian Sudanese Horn of Africa Djiboutian Somali Indian Ocean Comorian Overseas Arab Brazilian Arab Indonesian
Ingredients Vegetables Bean Bell pepper Cabbage Chickpea Cowpea Eggplant Lentil Pomegranate Spinach Split pea Tomato Herbs & spices Barberry Black pepper Cayenne pepper Chestnut Cinnamon Cumin Garlic Hawaij Hazelnut Leek Mint Nut Onion Oregano Paprika Parsley Pistachio Saffron Sahawiq Walnut
Breads Bataw Bazin Bint al-sahn Eish merahrah Fatoot Khmer Khobz Khubz tannur Lahoh Malooga Markook Mulawah M'semen Pita
Beverages Arabic coffee Arabic tea Arak Araqi Ayran Date honey Hibiscus tea Jallab Naqe'e Al Zabib Qishr Salep Shahi haleeb Sharbat
Salads List of Arab salads Arab Baba ghanoush Blunkett Fattoush Ful medames Hummus Malfouf Masmouta Matbukha Mechouia Palestinian Raheb Rubiyan Sweet potato Tabbouleh Tzatziki Ummak huriyya Wheat salad Zaalouk
Cheeses Akkawi Areesh Caravane Domiati Egyptian Halloumi Jameed Jibneh Arabieh Laban rayeb Labneh Libba Mish Nabulsi Rumi Shanklish Syrian Testouri Yemeni
Dishes Balila Batata harra Kabsa Mahmous Mandi Mansaf Quzi
Appetizers Hilbah Shafoot
Holidays and festivals Islamic New Year Ramadan Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Adha Sham el-Nessim Mawlid Christmas
Food portal
v t e

Bint al-sahn (Arabic: بنت الصحن, romanized: Bint as-Saḥn, lit. 'daughter of the plate'),^[1][2] also known as sabayah, is a Yemeni pastry made from a dough, which is prepared by mixing white flour, eggs,^[3] yeast and clarified butter, known as samn (سمن). It is baked in multiple layers and typically served with honey^[1][3] and sprinkled with habbat as sowda (Nigella sativa, black cumin).

Bint al-sahn is one of the most popular Yemeni dishes (along with shai haleeb). It is often translated as honey cake into English, but in reality falls more under the category of a rich, flaky pastry with is served with honey and melted ghee. Like most breads, its best when it is fresh and warm. This recipe seems very simple in terms of the ingredients; however, it is not the easiest dish to make. For this reason, it is rarely found in Yemeni restaurants and it is something which is most often made at home. The most important thing is that the layers need to be paper-thin. In order to achieve this, the dough needs to be the right consistency and the dough balls must be allowed to relax so that it becomes easy to toss them out.^[4]