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Saltah
Serves 4 Prep 30 min Cook 2 hr 30 min Total 3 hr Type Meal Origin Yemen

Saltah

Yemen's national dish: a deeply savoury stew of slow-cooked lamb, tomato and fenugreek, served in a bubbling clay pot under a snowy whipped hulba froth.

Serves 4 Prep 30 minutes (plus overnight for fenugreek) Cook 2 hours 30 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Lamb (or beef) is slow-cooked in a Yemeni tomato-onion-spice stew (called maraq) for two hours. Just before serving, the stew is transferred to a flameproof clay or stone pot, brought to a violent boil on direct heat. Whipped hulba (overnight-soaked fenugreek seeds, blended with lemon and a little water into a snowy froth) is spooned on top. The pot is brought to the table boiling. Sahawiq adds heat.

Ingredients

Maraq (meat stew)

  • 800 g lamb shoulder, neck (or beef shin, cut into 3 cm chunks)
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 onions (chopped)
  • 6 garlic cloves (crushed)
  • 1 thumb fresh ginger (grated)
  • 2 (400 g) tins chopped tomatoes (or 6 fresh, grated)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1.2 litres hot water

Hulba (whipped fenugreek)

  • 3 tablespoons fenugreek seeds (the smaller, more bitter Yemeni variety if available)
  • 250 ml cold water (for overnight soaking)
  • 1 lemon (juice)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons cold water (for whipping)

To finish

  • 4 tablespoons Sahawiq (Yemeni green chilli sauce, recipe in the sides)
  • Lahoh (or hot flatbread, to scoop)

Method

Stage 1 - Soak the fenugreek (the night before)

  1. Place fenugreek seeds in a bowl; cover with cold water by 5 cm; soak overnight.
  2. Drain; rinse twice to remove the bitter outer slime.

Stage 2 - Brown the meat

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot. Pat the meat dry; brown hard on all sides in batches. Set aside.

Stage 3 - Build the stew

  1. In the same pot, soften the onions 10 minutes.
  2. Add garlic and ginger; cook 1 minute.
  3. Stir in cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, pepper; cook 1 minute.
  4. Add tomatoes and tomato puree; reduce 8 minutes until thick.
  5. Return the meat with juices; add bay, salt and hot water.
  6. Cover; simmer on low 2 hours, until the meat falls apart at a fork.

Stage 4 - Make hulba

  1. Place soaked fenugreek seeds, lemon juice, garlic, salt and 2 tablespoons cold water in a blender.
  2. Blend on high until foamy, white and triple in volume (3-4 minutes). It should look like meringue.
  3. Refrigerate until serving.

Stage 5 - Final boil and serve

  1. Transfer the hot stew to a flameproof stone pot or cast-iron skillet (or keep in the same pot if no clay).
  2. Place over high heat; bring to a violent boil.
  3. Spoon dollops of hulba over the surface.
  4. Spoon a tablespoon of sahawiq into the centre.
  5. Bring the pot, still boiling, to the table.

Stage 6 - Eat

  1. Tear lahoh or flatbread; scoop directly from the pot. The first bites are eaten in the still-bubbling stew.

Notes

  • Fenugreek bitter at first: Hulba is an acquired taste - intensely savoury, slightly bitter. Yemenis eat it from childhood. Soaking overnight and rinsing twice keeps the bitterness in check.
  • Stone pot (madra): Traditional. A cast-iron skillet or any flameproof clay pot works to keep the boiling-at-the-table effect.
  • Heat options: Add more sahawiq for heat. The hulba itself is not spicy.

Storage

  • Stew refrigerates 3 days; reheats well, though the hulba doesn't keep - make fresh before serving.
  • Soaked seeds keep 2 days refrigerated.

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