«سَنَةِ الْغَلَا نِسِينَا الْخَمِيرَهْ»

The speaker accounts for a forgotten leaven by pointing to a year of high prices, not famine as such. Because costs had risen so far, the household gave up kneading dough, and with no kneading taking place, the leaven that goes with that task slipped from mind.

Beyond the kitchen, the line works as an explanation for a lapse: something was neglected because the activity it depended on had been halted by costliness. It is not praise of thrift, and whether it carries a wider moral is unsettled, so it is best read as a statement of cause.

Fits a moment when someone explains why a thing was overlooked: the work it served had stopped because prices were too high. It can answer a question about why something was not kept or remembered, pointing to costly times as the cause.