10 Most Popular
Yemen Dishes
10. Saltah
Saltah is the national dish of Yemen, a hearty stew usually eaten for lunch. It can be prepared with or without meat. The key ingredients in saltah are hilbeh, a condiment based on fenugreek, and zhug, a condiment consisting of chillies, oil, cumin, garlic and coriander.
Hilbeh and zhug are added to the brown stew that often contains lamb or chicken meat, if used at all. It is quite likely that the dish is of Turkish origin when it was made from leftover ingredients. Common accompaniments to saltah include rice, tomato, potatoes, vegetables and scrambled eggs, and saltah is traditionally served piping hot in a metal or stone bowl and eaten with Yemeni flatbread that can serve as a utensil to scoop up the food.
09. Malawach
Malawach is a traditional layered and folded bread that is especially popular in Israel and Yemen. Visually reminiscent of a pancake, the bread is made with flour, water, salt, and ghee. Once baked, it is often sprinkled with black sesame seeds.
Traditionally, malawach is served with hard-boiled eggs, chopped and crushed tomatoes, and z’hug, a spicy condiment.
08. Shakshouka
Shakshouka is a delicious combination of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. Although it has an unusual name, the dish is straightforward and easy to make. It is usually made in a skillet in which onions, tomatoes, and spices are cooked until they form a delicious tomato sauce.
Eggs are then added directly to the tomato sauce and poached until done. Merguez sausage can also be added to the dish. It is believed that shakshouka originated in Tunisia, but the dish is well-known and commonly eaten throughout North Africa and the Middle East as well.
07. Masoub
Masoub is a Yemeni dessert that is popular throughout the Arabian peninsula. In its basic form, the dish consists of mashed bananas and bread that are usually enriched with butter, cream, spices, honey, and dates. Masoub is traditionally served on large plates, and it is meant to be enjoyed as a communal meal.
It is often served as a breakfast dish, and usually comes garnished with cream, condensed milk, nuts, or honey.
06. Zhoug
Zhoug is a traditional Middle Eastern sauce and condiment that’s believed to originate from Yemen, but it’s also very popular in Israel. The sauce is usually made from green or red hot peppers, garlic, coriander, cumin, cardamom, salt, and various spices.
There are many versions of the sauce, so people often add other ingredients into it, such as mint or lemon juice. What is important is that zhoug should always be spicy or pack some heat. Once prepared, zhoug is often used as an accompaniment to grilled meat, as a topping or a dip for vegetables, and sometimes as a sauce in sandwiches.
05. Aseeda
Aseeda or asida is a moist, pasty dough consisting of flour, water, yogurt, salt and sunflower oil that is then filled with a rich chicken broth on top, consisting of cooked chicken, onions, water, salt, pepper, garlic, cardamoms, cumin and cilantro.
Both the wheat dough and the broth are served piping hot, and the dish is traditionally eaten without any utensils. Using only one’s fingers, aseeda is eaten from one bowl and shared communally. When preparing the dish, one must be careful and stir it continually, so it doesn’t develop any lumps.
04. Maraq
Maraq is a delicate and aromatic Yemeni lamb (or chicken) broth soup that is traditionally served at the beginning of the meal. Each family and restaurant makes a different maraq stock, so it may be simmered with garlic, turmeric, onions, coriander, pepper, or cinnamon, depending on personal preferences.
The stock can also act as a base for numerous other dishes, such as salta, a stew that is also the national dish of Yemen. Maraq is also a natural remedy for sick people, and it is often served to women who just gave birth, in order to strengthen them.
03. Madfoon
Madfoon is one of numerous Arabian meals made with a combination of meat and rice. This signature dish is differentiated by a cooking technique in which the marinated meat is cooked in an underground hole where it is placed on the sand and surrounded by charcoal.
The smoke and heat slowly cook the meat, keeping it succulent and tender while providing it with a slightly smoky flavor and aroma. It is believed that this cooking method was inherited from the nomadic period, when traditional ovens did not exist and cooking meat underground was a convenient way to utilize nature and keep the meat protected from hungry predators.
02. Martabak
Martabak is a roti-like stuffed and fried pancake which is often served as a popular street food item in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Although the fillings may vary, some of the most popular ones include ground meat, eggs, garlic, onions, peppers, curry, and ghee.
Fresh herbs such as coriander and mint are often used for additional flavoring. The flatbread dough is supposed to be extremely thin and requires a lot of expertise. Another name for the dish is mutabbaq, an Arabic word meaning folded, referring to the way in which the stretchy dough is folded around the filling during cooking.
01. Mandi
Mandi is Yemen’s national dish, native to Hadhramaut province, consisting of lamb or chicken meat, fragrant basmati rice and a mixture of various spices. If lamb is used in the dish, it should be small-sized and as young as possible, to further enhance the flavors.
To make Mandi, the meat should be cooked in the tandoor, a specially designed hole in the ground covered with clay and charcoal, acting as an oven for the suspended meat above it. It is then closed and no smoke is allowed to go outside as it flavors the meat instead.
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