A Yemeniyah's Recipes

This is standard Yemeni soup. You will practically be ordering this if you ask for “Maraq” in a Yemeni restaurant, anywhere in the world. It’s served with fresh slices of lemon or lime that’s squeezed in for more flavor. We also make some “hulba” [fenugreek] on the side and then take a spoonful and mix it it as well.

You will need [serves 2]:

1) lamb/goat meat with bone in 1/4 of a pound for 2 [or two pieces of your choice]

2) salt to taste

3) 1/8 tsp of fresh ground pepper

4) 1/8 of tsp of tumeric

5) 1/2 tsp of ground cumin

6) 1/2 tsp of ground coriander

7) 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon

8 ) clove of garlic finely minced

9) 1 small onion finely minced

10) 2 tbslp of finely chopped cilantro

12) 1/8 tsp of ground cardamon [or two pods cracked open]

13) slices of lemon or lime on the side to serve with the soup

14) 2 carrots, washed, peeled and cut into big pieces

Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the meat and remove the foam that collects on the surface. Cover and let boil until the meat is tender. You can also use a pressure cooker if you’re in a hurry, to cut down cooking time.

You should be left with about 4 cups of stock that you can make the soup with–if not then add a little more water and let boil for another 10 minutes. Add  the fresh ground pepper, turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cinnamon, clove of garlic finely, onion,  chopped cilantro,  ground cardamon and salt. Also add the carrots or other vegetables you have on hand. Just make sure you add vegetables that take longer to cook earlier than those that take a few minutes to cook. Let simmer under medium heat, until the vegetables are cooked through, but still retain their shape. Spoon out the meat and vegetables into serving bowls and  pour the soup through as sieve and directly into the bowls and serve immediately. This soup is usually served before a meal in Yemen.