Sudanese Gibna Baida Sandwich is all about the cheese! What’s in a cheese? Everything! The earliest invention of cheese now dates to 5000 BCE, per the pottery found in Poland. Cheese making developed as soon as cows and sheep were used for farming. The pictorial description of cheese formation process is well described in tablets in Egypt and Sumeria. Gibna Baida is how the white cheese in Sudan is known as. It is a part of the cheese categorized as salad cheese, and resembles its texture to Feta cheese, as commonly known. The difference is Greek Feta cheese is made from sheep’s milk and combination of sheep and goat sudanese Gibbna(popular name for Gibna Baida) was originally made only from cow’s milk and without any additions of rennet. To know more about discovery of cheese, do read this Smithsonian article on History of cheese Like feta cheese, it is also stored in the whey or brine, but it is less salty than feta. It is more like the Indian Paneer cheese, only most crumbly and softer.
So as this is a part of the category of salad cheese, the way to eat this in sandwich, which was shown to be my sister in law, whose family is originally from Sudan, is that you mix the salad vegetables , like cucumber and tomatoes with the cheese. Since Gibna Baida is not so easily available over here, my sister in law decided to use feta cheese, and she was happy with the overall taste of the sandwich.
I enjoy eating this sandwich in the hot summer days, as often on hot days, I prefer eating salad that cools your body, and this definitely has a cooling feel to it. Its a new taste to have a flavored salad with indian spices in your sandwich, but you got to try to it appreciate it!
My daughter gave two thumbs up for this, and I liked it to, specially as I used the creme fraiche ( similar to indian white butter) as the base. My sister in law used this to take it on a long journey,and everyone seemed to enjoy this. So thinking of hiking, long drives? Think of Sudanese Gibna Sandwich as an option! I have still retained the Gibna name, even though I have used Feta and Paneer, as the inspiration is from Sudan! For my personal consumption I used crumbled paneer, as I wanted to go low on salt as well as avoid any rennet based cheese, as rennet is animal based product.
So say cheese, take lovely pictures and enjoy the summer with this cooling salad based Sudanese Gibna Baida Sandwich for all!
Sudanese Gibna Baida Sandwich
Recipe makes 5 sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cup chopped cucumbers
- 1/3 cup chopped avocados (optional)
- 1 1/2 cup of gibna baida cheese or feta cheese or crumbled paneer
- 3 1/2 tbsp oil
- 1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 1/2 tsp corainder powder
- salt to taste
- 10 bread slices with the crust removed
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Method
- Mix everything in a bowl, except the bread slices. The one on the right has avocados and paneer.
- Butter the bread slices.
- Layer the bread with the salad and cheese mix.
- And top it with another slice and cut into pieces as you desire. I have a liking for triangle, as somewhere I read recently that triangle, is the most stable shape in geometry! Display in a pinwheel form or listen to your creative voice and enjoy!
Tips
Mix all the ingredients, just when you are about to make sandwiches. Add olives if you prefer, as they will go well with this combination.
Instinct Factor
You can try leaving a block of paneer in the whey to create the original feta/gibna baida cheese texture and taste
Feel Factor
I can survive on sandwiches, seven days a week, and am always looking to vary my sandwich of the day! This is an excellent, quick way to eat salad flavored with oil and spices, and specially tastes great with white indian butter or creme fraiche by Vermont bakery, available at Whole Foods. THE creme fraiche is made very similar to the way Indian white butter is made. The crust removed bread tastes great with the salad and cheese and Sudanese Gibna Baida Sandwich is a great summer sandwich to enjoy!
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