A Yemeniyah's Recipes

This is one of my favorite recipes for Ramadan. I actually got it from a Yemeni acquaintance. She made the best Shafoot ever, and I followed her instructions to a T and it turned out great. She gave me the two thumbs up, and that was an honor.

You will need: 

1) 3 cloves garlic

2) 1 green chilly pepper

3) 1 whole bunch of cilantro

4) 1 whole bunch of green onions [cut of the while onion part, we just need the green part]

5) 1 whole bunch of mint [just the leaves]

6) 4 red radishes

7) 1 roma tomato

8) juice of one lemon

9) salt to taste

10) 1 tblsp of ground cumin

11) 1 tub of whole yogurt

12) whole milk for thinning

In bender place all of the vegetable with the cumin. Blend well and keep aside. Then using a hand cake mixer, mix the yogurt until smooth. It will be thick, so you need to thin it with the milk. So gradually add a quarter of a cup of milk at a time and keep on mixing until it buttermilk thick and nice and frothy. Add the blended vegetables and keep on mixing with the cake mix. Add the lemon and keep on mixing for a minute or two, while adding salt to taste. Keep on tasting until the salt is to your taste.

Now it is time to make the Lahoh [bread that you will be soaking with the above yogurt mixture]. Use 1 cup of Aunt Jemima pancake mix, and 1/2 cup of white flour, 1tsp of baking powder and water in a blender. Consistency should be like pancake batter. Heat a skillet and make 2-3 thick pancake looking lahoh.

In a serving dish–usually big and flat–spoon some of the yogurt mixture and arrange the pancakes around it [it’s okay to cut the pancakes up to make them fit and cover the whole dish]. Spoon most if not all of the mixture slowly as the pancake soaks it up. You can use it all or most of it [depending on how runny you like it], and store the rest for future use. It stores well for up to one week.

Decorate with pomegranate seeds or green grapes. Enjoy!

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This is related to the well known Falafel or Ta’miyyah, yet different and unique in its own way . We usually have these as appetizers during Ramadan Iftar [meal at the break of ones fast at sunset]. It’s usually served with a favorite spicy dip made with red chilly pepper sauce, tamarind concentrate [paste], lemon, and salt. It’s very easy to make, and freezes well so you can make a large amount and freeze it for later use.

You will need:

1)  2 cups of black eyed peas. Washed and soaked in water overnight.

2) 2 onions quartered

3) 1 green chilly pepper halved

4) half a bunch of cilantro, washed, and roughly chopped

5) 2 cloves of garlic

6) 4 stalks of green onions, roughly chopped

7) salt to taste

8 ) 1 tbslp of ground cumin

9) 1 tblsp of ground coriander

10) 1/2 tsp of tumeric

11) ground red chilly pepper

12) oil for frying–you will be deep frying.

Drain the black eyes peas and place in food processor. Grind in processor, but be careful not into a paste. Refer to picture below, so you just want to coarsely grind the peas. Add all the vegetables to the processor as well and grind well. Empty into a bowl, and add all the spices and mix well. Be generous with the spices, the less you put the less aromatic and tasty the little bagya’s turn out.

Place oil under medium heat. You know it is at the right temperature when bubbles form when you insert a wooden spoon. You can shape the mixture into small patties, or use the mold for Falafel sold in Middle Eastern stores. Fry until golden brown. Enjoy with your favorite dip.

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