Editor’s Note: This soup is something special. I tasted my first hot and spicy Yemenite chicken soup, featuring homemade z’hug, hilbe, and hawaij, at my friend Anita’s house. She had torn the recipe for us from the pages of a magazine. I lost the recipe a long time ago but still remember the earthy, robust, rustic soup with a kick, filled with fragrant herbs and spices—it’s simply unforgettable. Short of finding myself a Yemenite friend (I’m still looking if you know anyone!), I turned to Joan Nathan, the award-winning author of 10 cookbooks and largely considered the authority on Jewish cooking. She graciously agreed to share her authentic recipe with us. – Jamie Geller
Yemenite Chicken Soup
Servings
6 Servings
Ingredients
- Chicken 3-4 lbs., cut into ttttt8 pieces
- 2 large onions
- 8 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 large tomato quartered but not cut all the way through
- 2 stalks celery
- 3 carrots peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
- 3 potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/4 bunch parsley finely chopped
- 1/4 bunch dill finely chopped
- 1/4 bunch cilantro finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons Jamie Geller Hawaij
- 2 tablespoons z’hug
- 1/3 cup hilbe
Instructions
- 1. At least 2 hours before you begin cooking the soup, start soaking the fenugreek powder to make the hilbe (see step 6).
- Then start making the soup: Put chicken in a large pot and cover with water by three inches. Bring to a boil, skimming off scum, and let it boil for 30 minutes.
- While soup is boiling, make the hawayij: Pound peppercorns, caraway seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds, turmeric, and (optional) saffron using a mortar and pestle, or use a small food processor or buy Jamie Geller Hawaij.
- After soup has been boiling for 30 minutes, add onions, garlic, tomato, celery, salt, and hawayij. Simmer for another hour, until chicken is tender.
- While soup is simmering, make the z’hug: Put peppers, garlic, cilantro, parsley, cumin, cardamom, and salt in a food processor. Begin processing and gradually add 1⁄4 cup olive oil, then puree. Adjust for seasonings, adding pepper seeds if you want more heat. Remove contents to a glass container and cover with olive oil. (This will keep for months in a refrigerator in an airtight jar.)
- Now, make the hilbe: The pre-soaked fenugreek seed mixture should be gelatinous to start. Add z’hug, lemon juice, and salt, then beat until smooth using an electric hand mixer or whisk. Adjust seasonings. It should be very spicy.
- After the soup has been simmering for an hour, add carrots, potatoes, and all but two tablespoons of the parsley, dill, and cilantro. Cook until vegetables are cooked through.
- Stir in z’hug and hilbe, and serve as is, or over rice. Sprinkle remaining herbs on top.
Sorry to hear that. Soups need a lot of technique or ingredients to gain depth of flavor and complexity. Hope you reconsider and try one some day.
Way too many ingredients to most of your soups. Will not make them.
Very interesting, thanks.
The authentic Yemenite soup does not have celery, carrots or dill, which changes the flavor of the soup. I am Yemenite and my mother a”H was born in Yemen, all my family is from Sana, Yemen. The Yemenite Jews of Sana are know for their soup, Hilbe, Zhug, Kubane and Hawayij. Yemenite soup is very basic w/onion, garlic, cilantro and parsley and for chicken soup, zucchini is added
Hi Sandra,
The detailed z’hug recipe can be found here with all the ingredients and measurements.
http://www.joyofkosher.com/recipes/zhug/
Enjoy!
The ingredient list doesn’t include number or kind of peppers for the zhug.
lol!!!! pleasure!!!
LOL Annette you make me laugh! I didn’t know that you worked in the industry. Thanks as always for sharing more about yourself and more from your kitchen.
i have been making authentic yemenite soup for years. i used to make it for a pizza place/milchig restaurant a few years ago (pareve of course) but have made it for customers with meat & chicken. i do it very differently as was taught to me by my yemenite friend (yes i do have one!!) but am more than willing to try this version. after all whom am i to challenge Joan Nathan?? the way i make it has no tomatoes, celery, dill or parsley. I also add sweet potatoes, zucchini & butternut squash, all in chunks. I also add for seasonings garlic powder & either chicken or onion soup mix. i also make my own schug & hilbeh (actually only for rosh hashana) & yes both are quite easy to do. i would also suggest making your own pitot as well for it.