Aseed is a traditional Yemeni recipe for a classic dish of aa flour paste that's formed with a hollow in the centre into which a chicken soup is poured. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Yemeni version of: Aseed.
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This is a classic Yemeni dish of a dough with a hollow in the centre that's typically filled with soup before serving. If you can, prepare the chicken soup in parallel with the aseed so that you can serve them together.
Ingredients:
For the Aseed (the dough) will need:
3 tbsp of yoghurt [optional]
350g of plain flour
250g wholemeal flour
salt, to taste
3 tbsp of vegetable oil
boiling water, as needed
For the soup filling:
6 pieces of chicken thigh
2 medium onions
1 hot green chilli
2 garlic cloves
1/2 bunch of coriander
1 1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of ground coriander seeds
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
salt, to taste
1 tsp of concentrated tamarind paste
1 tsp of tomato purée
Method:
For the Aseed: Place 1.25l water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and salt well (this is the only place salt is added, so you will need it saltier than you think).
At the same time add 250ml water to another medium-sized saucepan then bring to a boil. Add the yoghurt and, whilst beating with a wooden rod (a traditional Mu’sod) mix in all the flour. If you do not have one you can use a sturdy wide but thick wooden spoon. Keep on mixing with a circular and vertical motion. It will be easier for you if you bring the pot down to the floor, get on your knees, and lean it against a corner of your kitchen and steady it by pushing your knees against the pot. Hold it firmly in place, but make sure to place a pot holder between your knees and the pot and make sure you put a pot holder underneath so you don’t burn your kitchen floor. Mix for a good 5 minutes.
Keep on adding a little water from the salty boiling water (4 tbsp at a time) from the other pot and continue to mix. You want it to be a thick dough, but manageable in the sense that you can mix it with the wooden spoon. It should not be soupy, or too soft.
After five minutes of mixing add a little more water to it (4 tbsp at a time), mix it in and then place it back on the stove over medium heat and let it cook. It will start to bubble. Keep on mixing and mixing and mixing for about half an hour–either on the stove or take it down to the floor. Add a little water as you go, and mix again. Then stop adding any water, and let it cook for another 15 minutes until it bubbles with difficulty (think hot mud), because it remember it is nice and thick but silky smooth.
When it is done the dough will start to pull away from the side of the pot, which means that it's ready.
Grease a big serving plate and arrange the dough as shown in the picture. Make sure to grease your hands with oil as you arrange it on the plate, otherwise it will stick to your fingers. Form a hole in the centre in which to pour in the soup.
For the soup: Place a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add 3 tbsp oil and use to fry the chicken. Whilst the chicken is frying, combine the vegetables in a blender with 120ml water. Process to a purée then scrape into a pot with the chicken and 500ml water. Add the tamarind and spices and cook for 5 minutes.
Pour in 500ml more water, bring back to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Now stir in thee tomato purée, return to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes more. Season to taste with salt then remove the chicken, shred the meat, return to the stock and ladle into the hollow in the aseed. Garnish with a tablespoon of hulba (see the saltah recipe for how to prepare).
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