About this Dish
Yemen's national dish — a bubbling meat stew topped with fenugreek foam.
History & Origin
Saltah is widely regarded as Yemen's national dish, served still bubbling in its stone pot, topped with a frothy whipped fenugreek foam called hilbeh.
IngredientsServes 3
🥩Lamb or beef on the bone, 600g
🧅Brown onion, 1 large, roughly chopped
🍅Ripe tomatoes, 3 medium, chopped
🌿Hulba (dried fenugreek seeds, ground), 3 tablespoons
🫙Zhug (Yemeni chilli paste), 2 tablespoons
🧄Garlic cloves, 4, minced
🌶️Hawayij spice blend (cumin, coriander, black pepper, turmeric), 2 teaspoons
🍋Lemon juice, 2 tablespoons
🫒Vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons
🧂Salt, 1.5 teaspoons
Method
1
Place the lamb or beef in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam, then add half the onion, 1 teaspoon of salt, and simmer on medium-low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours until the meat is very tender and you have a rich broth.2
While the meat cooks, prepare the hulba foam by soaking 3 tablespoons of ground fenugreek in 4 tablespoons of cold water for 20 minutes. Then vigorously whisk or beat the mixture with a fork for 5–8 minutes until it becomes pale, thick, and foamy — this takes some elbow grease but is worth it.3
In a separate pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and fry the remaining onion until golden. Add the garlic, tomatoes, hawayij, and zhug, and cook everything down for 10–12 minutes until you have a thick, fragrant sauce.4
Ladle about 1–2 cups of the meat broth into the tomato sauce and stir well. Add the cooked meat pieces directly into this sauce and let everything simmer together for another 10 minutes so the flavours meld. Season with salt and lemon juice to taste.5
Stir the zhug and a squeeze of lemon into your hulba foam and taste — it should be bold, bitter, and spicy. This is the signature topping that makes saltah unique.6
Transfer the hot stew into individual stone or clay bowls if you have them. Spoon a generous dollop of the fenugreek foam on top of each bowl so it sits like a cloud over the bubbling stew. Serve immediately while still sizzling, alongside flatbread (lahoh or khubz) for scooping.User Reviews
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