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Archive for the ‘Yemeni Dishes’ Category

Yemeni Fahsa — فحسة

Posted in Yemeni Dishes on July 1, 2011| 29 Comments »


Step 1: To make Yemeni FAHSA boil 1/4 of a pound of lamb with bones until the meat falls off the bone. Keep aside. Then place the Madra (Yemeni traditional dish made from stone) on high heat. Add 1 tblsp of oil, and 1 diced medium onion.

Step 2: Add 2 cloves minced garlic and some chopped jalapeno peppers and saute

Step 3: Add 2 tblsp of chopped cilantro. Let cook for a minute or two.

Step 4: Add some red chillie sauce [we usually have this on hand in the refrigerator] and let saute for another minutes.

Step 5: Add half a cup of diced green bell peppers.

Step 6: Separate the bone from the meat, and add to the mixture. Break the meat up further, with a wooden spoon.

Step 7: Let cook!

Step 8: Add a cup of water and boil.

Step 9: Add 1 tsp of tomato paste. Mix it in well.

Step 10: All mixed in!

Step 11: Add another cup of water. Let boil.

Step 12: Top it off with Hulba [fenugreek] and let it cook for a minute. Recipe for Hulba:  This is a dip very popular in Yemeni dishes. You will need ground fenugreek for this recipe. Be careful one tblsp of ground fenugreek goes a long way. You will need to soak one tblsp of ground fenugreek in water, preferrably over night. Why do you soak it, well first so that you can get rid of the bitterness of the fenugreek and second that is part of the way it is prepared.Well, after you have left it overnight to soak in water–throw away the water and take the fenugreek paste (yes it has turned into a paste like mixture) and place in a liquidizer. Add one tomato (preferably still a little hard–not ripe and mushy), a clove of garlic, 3 tblsp of cilantro chopped, 1 green chilly (of less if you like), juice of one whole lemon, salt to taste. Usually in Yemen, women mix with a special wooden tool for the purpose–and nowadays they also use a electic hand mixer so it turns out nice and frothy.

Step 13: Serve hot, with bread. Goes well with wheat pita bread.

Enjoy!

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Mandee 2 — مندي دجاج

Posted in Chicken, Rice, Yemeni Dishes on April 5, 2011| 5 Comments »


I made another Mandee today, but this time with chicken. We’re just two people as I mentioned, and since I cook everyday I only make what we eat on a particular day. I don’t like having any leftovers, so my quantities are measured. So, you can double, triple or quadruple according to the number of members in your family. I usually measure 1/2 cup of rice per person, if you are not serving anything else. Otherwise it is 1/4 cup of rice per person.

For two servings you will need the following:

1) Half of a whole chicken–literally cut in half and leave the skin on. Or you can use a whole Cornish hen.
2) One cup of rice, washed
3) 2 dried lemons (available at the Middle Eastern stores)
4) one whole green hot pepper–you can slice it through the middle
5) 2 tsp of ground cumin
6) 2 tsp of ground coriander
7) salt to taste
8) 1/2 tsp of black pepper
9) 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
10) a couple of pepper corns
11) a cinnamon stick
12) a couple of cardamon pods
13) 1/2 tsp of tumeric
14) 4 tblsp of Olive Oil
15) a medium onion finely chopped

Marinate the chicken–it turns out better if you do it the day before–but you can also marinate it on the same day. Use half of the oilive oil, cumin, coriander, black pepper, and cinnamon powder. All of the tumeric. Add salt. Cover every nook and cranny of the chicken with this mixture.

Place a pot on medium heat, and add half of the oil, onions and half of the cumin and enough salt for the rice. When the onions starts to turn a golden brown add the green hot pepper, dried lemons, rice, half of the coriander, black pepper, cinnamon powder, cardoamon,cinnamon stick, and pepper corns. Mix well and let the spice mix with the rice by stirring for about 2 minutes.

Add hot water (2 cups) to the rice. Take a piece of foil and fold once and cover the mouth of the pot tightly. With a fork pierce the foil randomly. Place the spiced chicken on the pierced foil. Then take another piece of foil and cover the chicken. Make sure you cover it well so no steam escapes. Leave on very very very low heat–one you can hardly see– for about 45 min-1 hr.

After half an hour take the foil off and place the chicken under the broiler to brown, and finish cooking if it hasn’t already.

To serve, place the rice on a platter and arrange the chicken on top. Serve hot. Goes well with a green salad.

More pics of the dish: 

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