My dad is waiting for me to visit Yemen again so I can make these for him. When I was a kid we would enjoy them together. I seem to share my dad’s taste in food. Now that I am married and have my own home, all those dishes we used to have together bring back memories and Jabeez is one of those dishes. I’ve only seen this eaten in Aden, and no where else in Yemen. So I am going to call this Adeni Jabeez. I was reminded of it by some Adeni friends on Facebook . I looked up the recipe and tried it a couple of times. Turned out great. These ingredients are for 4 thick Jabeez or 6 thin ones-I prefer them thick. you will need:
1) Soak 1 cup of washed black eyed peas for an hour. Then place peas in a blender and just add enough water to help the blender along. Then place in a sieve and let the water drain. You don’t want it too dry, but not soupy either. So like a wet paste. Here is what it looks like:
2) 1/2cup of white flour
3) 1/2 cup of chopped green onions
4) 1 egg
5) 1 medium onion finely chopped
6) 1 tablespoon yeast
7) 1/2 tsp of salt or to taste
8) 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
9) 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
10) 1 teaspoon ground cumin
11) 1/4 cup of finely minced cilantro
12) 2 cups of water
13) Olive oil for frying or vegetable oil works just as well. You won’t need a lot, about a tablespoon or two for each so that it doesn’t stick to the skillet.
Place all the ingredients in a bowl:
Add the water and then mix all the ingredients together. I use my hands. It’ll look like this:
Cover and let sit for an hour before you start frying it. Once an hour passes, heat a skillet and add a tablespoon or two of oil to it and then take a cup full of the mixture and form a circle. Usually in Aden they scoop up the mixture in a small metal bowl and then pour it onto the skillet and then use the bottom part of the bowl to spread it out on the skillet to form a patty.
Let it brown on one side and then carefully flip for the other side to brown using a flat utensil. Be careful while flipping it as it can break easily. Here is a pic of one side browned :
Plate and enjoy with your favorite dip. I made two dips. One was of tamarind with red chilly pepper, lemon and salt to taste. The other was yogurt, lemon, dried mint and salt.
A Yemeniyah's Recipes 