Saltah is a traditional Yemeni recipe for a classic stew of lamb or goat in a spicy stock finished with eggs, rice and fenugrek foam. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Yemeni version of: Saltah.
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Saltah (Arabic: سلتة) is a traditional Yemeni dish and considered thee national dish of Yemen. The base is a brown meat stew called maraq, a dollop of fenugreek froth (hilbeh), and sahawiq (a mixture of chillies, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs ground into a salsa). Rice, potatoes, scrambled eggs, sambal and vegetables are common additions to saltah. It is eaten traditionally with khubz mulawah, a Yemeni flatbread used as a utensil to scoop up the dish.
Ingredients:
500g lamb (or goat) stewing meat, cut into pieces
1 potato or white sweet potato, peeled and chopped (optional)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
½ onion, chopped
½ hog green chilli, chopped
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon turmeric
2 eggs, beaten
6 tablespoons cooked rice
A few tablespoons of hulba (recipe below)
Salt, to taste
Vegetable oil, for frying
For the hilbeh (or hulba)
8 tbsp fenugreek seeds
1l water
1 tomato
4 garlic cloves
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp zhoug
Method:
For the hilbej: Place fenugreek seeds in a deep bowl then cover with the 1l water. Set aside to soak over night to allow the fenugreek to absorb the water and swell. The following day, drain away the bitter soaking water. Transfer the soaked fenugreek seeds to a food processor and grind for about 2 minutes.
Now add all the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Set the hilbeh (fenugreek foam) aside until needed.
Place a pressure cooker pot over medium heat. Once hot add a little oil and use to fry the garlic, onion and hot chilli for about 4 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt and stir to combine. Now add the lamb (or goat) to the onion mixture. Brown the meat for 5 minutes. Add in the potato or sweet potato (if using) then pour in 1.25l of water and secure the pressure cooker lid. Bring the cooker up to pressure, and reduce the heat to low/medium to keep the pressure steady. Cook for about 40 minutes. The meat should be tender and break easily.
Pour the meat stew in a stone pot (haradha) or a cast iron pan. Add the rice and cook until the mixture is bubbling. At that time, add the beaten eggs, followed by a few spoonfuls of whipped hulba.
Ladle into bowls, add a tablespoon of the hulba to each serving as a garnish and accompany with Yemeni flatbread.
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