Khubz Tawa
Yemen's griddle bread: a soft lightly leavened flatbread cooked on a hot dry pan or iron tawa. Pliable enough to fold around grilled meat.
Overview
Plain flour, yeast, salt, sugar and warm water knead into a soft elastic dough. It rests for 1 hour, doubles, and is divided into balls. Each ball is rolled or pressed into a 20 cm disc and cooked for 60-90 seconds per side on a dry pan, puffing slightly across the surface. Stacked under a tea towel to stay soft.
Ingredients
- 500 g plain flour
- 1 sachet (7 g) fast-action yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 300 ml warm water
Method
Stage 1 - Dough
- Whisk flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl.
- Add olive oil and warm water; mix to a soft dough.
- Knead 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic (or 5 minutes in a stand mixer with dough hook).
- Cover; rise 1 hour until doubled.
Stage 2 - Divide and shape
- Knock back; divide into 6 equal pieces; roll each into a tight ball.
- Cover; rest 10 minutes.
- Press or roll each ball into a 20 cm disc, about 3 mm thick. Cover the discs with a tea towel as you work to stop them drying.
Stage 3 - Cook
- Heat a wide dry pan over medium-high heat 2 minutes.
- Lay one disc onto the dry pan; cook 60-90 seconds - small bubbles will rise.
- Flip; cook another 60-90 seconds, pressing gently with a spatula to encourage a few darker spots.
- Stack under a clean tea towel as they come off; the steam keeps them soft.
Stage 4 - Serve
- Eat warm, torn or folded around meat, scooping saltah or any stew.
Notes
- Pan heat: Medium-high. Too hot and the outside burns before the inside cooks; too low and the bread dries.
- Don't roll thin: 3 mm is right. Thinner and you've made a tortilla; thicker and the middle stays raw.
- Soft stack: A tea towel over the stack is non-negotiable. The steam from each fresh bread softens the stack below.
Storage
- Best fresh, eaten warm. Will keep wrapped in foil at room temperature for 24 hours; reheat briefly on a dry pan.
- Freeze 1 month; thaw at room temperature, refresh on a hot pan.
More like this
Lahoh
Plain flour, semolina, yeast, water and salt are whisked to a loose pancake batter; left to ferment 8 hours (or overnight). The batter goes onto a hot, lightly oiled pan; bubbles burst across the surface within 90 seconds; it's cooked one side only, no flipping. The top stays creamy white; the bottom turns pale gold. Pulled off the pan with a spatula, stacked, kept warm.
Yemeni Sambusa
Lamb mince fries with onion, garlic, cumin, coriander and chilli to a dry savoury filling. Spring-roll pastry sheets are cut into long strips; a teaspoon of cooled filling goes on a corner; the strip folds into a small triangular packet via the flag-fold method. Sealed with flour-water paste; deep-fried 170°C until shatteringly golden. Eaten with a wedge of lemon and sahawiq.
Atchara
Green papaya is peeled, seeded and shredded on a coarse grater. Carrot, ginger, garlic, red pepper, onion and raisins are all prepared in matching shreds. The vegetables are salted and rested for 1 hour to draw water; rinsed and squeezed dry. A syrup of cane vinegar, sugar and whole peppercorns simmers for 5 minutes. Hot syrup is poured over the vegetables in a sterilised jar. The jar is sealed, cooled and refrigerated overnight before eating. Improves over the following week.
Aysh Baladi
A simple dough of half plain flour and half wholemeal, yeast, salt and warm water. Rises for 1 hour. Divides into 6 portions; rolls into thin 18 cm discs; rests for 20 minutes. Baked at maximum heat on a hot baking stone for 3-4 minutes, they puff dramatically and fall flat as they cool, leaving a hollow pocket.