Intriguing and mysterious, bold and varied, imaginative and earthy, the cuisine of Yemen has the same qualities as its people. Its appeal lies in its eclecticism. Yemen is the southern most country in the Arabian Gulf, occupying a unique place between Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It enjoys a long coastline with the Red Sea as well as the Arabian Sea. Home to the fabled Queen of Sheba, Yemen was a hub for the spice trade for thousands of years. Its positioning on the ancient spice routes has been instrumental in shaping the country's cuisine over millennia.
The highlight of Yemeni cuisine is that though it was influenced by various cultures, it has remained close to its Arabic roots.
As Chef Vinod Kumar, executive chef, The Country Club Hotel, Dubai and our guide for the culinary expedition into Yemen puts it, "The food of Yemen is different and for me it has been a never-ending journey to explore its various facets."
Chef Kumar has been associated with the country's food for a good decade and a half, from 1989 to 2004.
Having worked in Yemen at the Taj Sheba Hotel in Sana'a, as a sous chef, he developed a special love for the rich and varied cuisine.
According to him, Yemeni food is a rich amalgam of culinary influences from Arabic to Indian, Lebanese and Egyptian and Iranian.
The stellar feature of Yemeni food is its unabashed use of fiery chillies making it quite different from its sister cuisines. Yemenis love their lamb and savour it during all major meals. Red meat and fresh vegetables and fruit are usually eaten every day. The country grows all kinds of fruit and vegetables, like watermelon, sweet melon, banana, apricot, fig, pears, custard apple, all kinds of nuts, almonds, a variety of raisins and pistachios.
Yemeni food is a culinary crucible in which have been born richly flavoured masterpieces such as salta and malawach. While the former is a meat-based dish heavily infused with the flavour of fenugreek, the latter is a typical, pizza-like pancake, made fresh in every household almost daily. In Yemen, the daily sprint to the local grocers for commercially made flatbreads is rare. Most families make their bread at home.
The cuisine also offers a wide range of sauces and dressings used to spice up the main course or salads. While chillies enjoy pride of place, milk, cheese and dairy are also firm favourites at mealtimes. Fresh herbs are a flavourful presence in most meat and vegetable preparations.
Sana’ani Lahma Haneed
Easy and fast, this makes a hearty, warm meal with rice.
Ingredients (Serves 4)
15g olive oil
50g sliced onion
8g salt
5g garlic, chopped
Mix together:
1kg fresh lamb with bone, cut into medium-size pieces
10g back pepper powder
10g cloves powder
5g cardamom powder
10g cumin powder
5g turmeric powder
Method
Heat oil in a pressure cooker pan and add onion, garlic and salt. Sauté until the onion begins to turn pink. Add lamb mixture and sauté for 5-10 minutes. Add a little water and close the pressure cooker. Let it cook for 25 minutes. Take it off the heat and let the pressure cooker cool down. Open the lid. Check if the meat is tender. If done, serve hot with saffron rice.
Salta
A traditional Yemeni main course dish made with mince meat and flavoured with fenugreek.
Ingredients (Serves 2)
15g fenugreek seeds, soaked in water for 4 hours at least
20g oil
50g onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
75g tomato, chopped
10g tomato paste
5g each, turmeric black pepper and cumin powder
200g minced meat
10g salt
Method
Refresh the water in which the fenugreek seeds have been soaked and grind it. Soak the paste in some water for five minutes and then grind again. Repeat the process until the fenugreek paste turns white in colour and creamy in texture. This paste is called hulba.
To prepare minced meat, heat oil in a large saucepan and onion and garlic. Sauté until golden brown. Add tomato, tomato paste, turmeric, black pepper and cumin powder and salt. Cook for another 3 minutes. Add minced meat and let it cook with a cup of water for 15 minutes.
To make salta, heat a large cooking pot until quite hot. Carefully add meat broth and bring it to a boil. Now add minced meat and mix well. Pour hulba over the cooked gravy and take it off the heat immediately. Serve hot.
Bint Al Sahn
A simple yet delicious dessert made
from flour and honey.
Ingredients (Serves 10)
Warm water, as required
15g each, yeast and sugar
60ml each, oil and warm water
5g salt
60g melted ghee
3 eggs, at room temperature
750g flour
10g black sesame seeds
200g honey
Method
Mix sugar and warm water together, sprinkle yeast over it, cover and keep aside to rise. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs, add in the ghee, risen yeast, flour and salt. Add water and begin to knead well. If dough is hard, add a little more water and continue to knead, for approximately 10-15 minutes. Once the dough is soft and pliable, divide the dough into 7-8 balls and place them on a lightly floured tray. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 15-20 minutes. Then working with one ball at a time on a lightly floured board or counter top begin flattening it with your base of your palm using circular motions and working mostly on the edges. Now pick up the flattened dough and flip it quickly from one hand to the other for it to evenly thin out into a large circle. Place the pancake on a well-oiled surface and smooth a layer of ghee over it. When all the pancakes are made, stack them on top of each other, brushing ghee over each. Sprinkle black sesame seeds on the topmost layer, cover and keep aside for 25-50 minutes. Place in a preheated oven and cook at 165C for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, drizzle honey on top and serve immediately.
Shafout
Large pancake slathered with yoghurt flavoured with garlic and onion.
Ingredients (Serves 2)
30ml vegetable oil
For lahuh, blend to a smooth batter:
250g flour
10g baking powder
300ml milk
10g salt
1 egg
For the filling, purée together:
300g yoghurt
Salt, to taste
50g baya (a kind of an onion. Available in Arabic supermarkets)
1/2 tsp cumin
3 cloves garlic
25g mint leaves
Chopped tomato, green chillies and baya, for garnish
Method
To make lahuh, heat a non-stick pan until very hot. Drizzle a little oil and then pour a ladleful of batter to make a thick pancake. Reduce the heat and cook the flatbread in the pan until the surface begins to bubble then cook until it’s fully done. Do not turn the bread over. If the bread looks uncooked, cover the pan and let it cook some more on low heat. Repeat until all the batter is used up.
Now in a deep heavy-bottomed pan, layer lahuh and yoghurt mixture alternately until all of it is used up. Cover. Place the pan on low heat and let it simmer for two minutes. Garnish with chopped tomato, green chillies and baya. Let it stand for 2 hours then serve.
Samak sanuna
A deeply flavoured fish curry made with one of the numerous local white fish varieties
Ingredients (Serves 2)
15g olive oil
75g onion, chopped
5g garlic, chopped
5g ginger, chopped
100g tomato paste
10g turmeric powder
5g cumin powder
10g black pepper powder
5g cloves powder
5g cardamom powder
400ml water
10g salt
10g coriander leaves
500g white-fleshed fish fillets, cut into 4-inch pieces
Method
Heat oil in a large pot, add onion and sauté until golden brown. Now add garlic, ginger and tomato paste. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add turmeric, cumin, black pepper, cloves and cardamom powder. Stir for a minute. Add water and salt, bring to boil and then add the fish pieces. Cover and simmer for about 8 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Add coriander leaves and remove from heat. Serve hot with rice.
Dijaj sanuna
A traditional chicken preparation which uses standard dry spices as well as tomatoes in large quantities. The dish attains a lovely colour and is rich with the tartness of tomatoes.
Ingredients (Serves 2)
25g olive oil
100g onion, chopped
10g garlic, chopped
10g ginger, chopped
100g tomato paste
10g turmeric powder
5g cumin powder
15g black pepper powder
5g cloves powder
5g cardamom powder
400ml water
10g salt
10g coriander leaves
500g chicken, cut into pieces
Method
Heat oil in a large pot, add onion and sauté until golden brown. Now add garlic, ginger and tomato pastes. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add turmeric, cumin, black pepper, cloves and cardamom powder. Stir for a minute. Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Add chicken pieces and cover. Let it simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Garnish with coriander and remove from heat. Serve hot with rice.
Adani Lahma Mendi
Yemeni equivalent of succulent kebabs.
Ingredients (Serves 4)
3 banana leaves
Aluminium foil to wrap
Mix together:
1kg fresh lamb meat with bone, cut into
medium-size pieces
10g each, cumin and black pepper powder
8g salt
5g each, turmeric powder and chopped garlic
Method
Wrap the seasoned meat in banana leaves and then in aluminium foil. Cook slowly in a charcoal tandoor until the meat is tender. Serve on a bed of rice.
