21 Renowned Yemeni Dishes and Foods

Saltah is the national dish of Yemen, consisting of hulbah (fenugreek condiment), maraq (meat broth), and zhug (Yemeni hot sauce), cooked in a haradah (hardened clay pot).

Saltah has been around for centuries, with the original being a charitable dish made with leftover ingredients.

Today, saltah has other ingredients, like vegetables, potatoes, rice, or scrambled eggs. Saltah is mostly popular in the Northern regions as a Yemeni food for lunch, with khubz mulawah (flatbread baked in a clay oven) to scoop the stew.

Fahsa is a famous Yemeni lamb stew containing lamb cutlets and lamb broth. When the cooking process finishes, locals add hulbah and other spices to enhance fahsa’s flavor.

As lamb is a local staple meat, this lamb stew becomes part of the regular meal, especially during lunch.

Haneeth is a popular slow-roasted lamb from Yemen, made by rubbing bone-in lamb chunks with spices. Native people roast these lamb chunks in a tannour oven for hours at low temperatures for a tender texture.

When done, haneeth is served with rice. Today, this roasted lamb is well-known throughout the Arabian Peninsula and other countries worldwide.

Mandi is an iconic dish of meat and rice originating in Yemen. Meat, like chicken, lamb, camel, or goat, is mandi’s primary ingredient. The meat is boiled with different spices, and the stock is later used to cook rice. Both are cooked in a tandoor oven or tannour (primitive clay oven).

Today, mandi has spread to other countries, like India, Egypt, Turkey, and the Levant. In Arabic, mandi means “dew,” referring to its dewy, moist texture.

Samak mofa is a traditional fish dish from the Arabian Gulf, popular in both Yemen and Saudi Arabian cuisine.

This dish features a whole fish, such as red snapper or sea bass, that is marinated in a mixture of spices, including olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, coriander, cumin, paprika, and turmeric.

The fish is then grilled, creating a flavorful dish with a golden char and tender texture. It’s often served with sides like saffron rice or Arabic flatbread and can be accompanied by sauces like tahini sauce or muhammara.

Fattah is a traditional Yemeni breakfast dish consisting of various types of pastries and is often accompanied by Yemeni coffee or tea.

Fattah is part of a warm morning meal that may also feature legumes, eggs, roasted meat, or kebab. These ingredients are usually served with a type of bread, either on the side or as part of a sandwich.

This dish is a staple in Yemeni cuisine and reflects the cultural importance of offering a generous and hearty meal, especially in the mornin.

Maraq is a rich meat broth with roots in Yemen, including lamb, chicken, seafood, and spices. Maraq means “broth” in Arabic, showcasing the essence of this meat broth. Maraq is popular today in Oman, Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Persian Gulf’s Arab countries.

Local chefs boil the meat with onions and spices. When the meat is tender, it’ll be served with rice, while the remaining stock is poured into a bowl as a soup. People usually squeeze lime juice before eating for more flavors.

Zhug is a famous hot sauce from Yemen with several names: bisbas or sahawiq. Zhug is usually made with hot peppers and seasoned with black cumin, coriander, garlic, olive oil, and parsley.

Depending on the color and ingredients, zhug has different names. For example, green sahawiq is called sahawiq akhdar, and red ones are called sahawiq ahmar. With additional Yemeni cheese, it’s called sahawiq bel-jiben.

Several versions include black pepper, cardamom, caraway seeds, lemon juice, and wazif (dried baby sardines). Originally, zhug was made with 2 stones, 1 big and 1 small, to crush all the ingredients. However, the modern method only requires a food processor or mortar and pestle.

Shakshouka is a traditional dish with its origin claimed by various countries like Yemen, Turkey, Egypt, and Morocco. Shakshouka uses eggs and tomato sauce as the main ingredients, along with cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic, olive oil, onion, paprika, and peppers.

Modern shakshouka has evolved into numerous variations with different spices and sweet levels. Several places add meat, chili pepper, cheese, or turmeric to create their own versions. The locals often eat shakshouka, a Yemeni food for breakfast, with bread.

Shafoot, or shafuta, is a well-loved traditional starter in Yemen made with buttermilk, leek, lahoh (pancake-like flatbread) or shredded bread, yogurt, and zhug. You’ll likely see shafuta in Northern Yemeni, particularly during Ramadan months.

Shafoot starts by mixing lahoh with other ingredients and refrigerating the whole mixture until lahoh absorbs all liquid. Due to this cooking technique, shafuta is often served cold.

Malawach, or melawwah, is a flatbread traditionally associated with Yemenite Jews, with its name meaning “board-like bread”. Melawwah includes several thin puff pastry layered brushed with fat or oil, resembling a thick pancake.

This board-like bread is usually fried in a pan and served with hard-boiled eggs, resek (grated tomato condiment), and zhug. Another similar version is called khubz mulawah, baked in a tannur (primitive clay oven).

Modern accompaniments are more diverse: baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant dip), muhammara (Aleppo spicy dip), etc. Several places even offer sweet malawach sets with honey or jam.

Bint al-sahn, shortened as sabayah, is one of the most popular Yemeni desserts. While its name means “honey cake”, sabayah is like a flaky pastry with multiple paper-thin layers of clarified butter, eggs, flour, and yeast.

Sabbath is usually served with honey, melted ghee, and a sprinkle of black cumin when it’s warm and freshly baked. Bint al-sahn is mostly homemade so you won’t find many local restaurants selling this “honey cake”.

Aseedah is a common dish known in Yemen under several names, such as aseed. Aseedah involves mixing wholemeal wheat with boiling water and salt until thickened. Then, native people coat their bare hands with oil to shape the dough and place it in a wooden bowl.

The locals sometimes add hot chili tomato paste or hulbah to shaped aseedah dough before pouring beef, chicken, or lamb stock over it. Aseed is often served hot as a Yemeni food for dinner, lunch, and breakfast.

Besides wholemeal wheat, bleached wheat is also used nowadays. And sweet aseedah replaces hulbah and tomato paste for honey.

Kubaneh is a Yemenite Jewish bread made with cornmeal, sorghum flour, or wheat flour. The first 2 choices are for regular kubaneh, and the last is for Sabbath and holiday versions. Black cumin, honey, or sugar is sometimes added to the bread dough for extra flavor.

Then, kubaneh is baked in a sealed, greased pot overnight. The locals will serve kubaneh hot the next morning with haminados (braised eggs) and resek. Another version includes sheep tail or other meat cuts in the dough before baking, usually served for women after childbirth.

Still, the best part of kubaneh is qa’eh, the hard lower crust, because of its delicate flavor. So, make sure to request it when you order kubaneh in this West Asian country.

Murtabak, or motabbaq, is a famous Yemeni street food, with many describing it as a pan-fried bread or stuffed pancake. Murtabak is basically a pan-fried crepe with different stuffings.

In this West Asian country, murtabak is often stuffed with chicken, goat, or mutton. Vegetarian motabbaq is also available. The pancakes are then folded and cut into square portions.

Zalabiyeh is a special treat for winter among Yemenite Jews. Local zalabiyeh is made with a batter of soft yeast and deep-fried in a soapstone pot with oil and optional honey. Several people even add black cumin to the batter for extra aroma and flavor.

Zalabiyeh is fried until both sides turn golden, and it tastes best when served hot with honey or sugar.

Masoob is a traditional banana-based pudding from Yemen. Today, this banana pudding is well-loved in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Masoob’s main ingredients include overripe bananas, ground flatbread, cheese, cream, dates, and honey.

Kabsa is a mixed rice dish with roots in Yemen, often consisting of 4 main components: basmati rice, meat, spices, and vegetables. As kabsa is greatly versatile, any ingredient is suitable.

For example, the meat option ranges from standard beef, chicken, fish, and shrimp to unique camel, goat, or lamb. As for spices, bay leaves, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and saffron often appear.

The locals have 3 regular cooking methods for kabsa’s meat. The first is cooking the meat in a deep hole in the ground, which is usually practiced in ancient times. Other techniques are grilling the meat on flat stones over burning embers or cooking the meat in a pressure cooker.

Harees is a traditional Yemeni food consisting of bulgur or cracked wheat and meat as the main ingredients. Harees’ texture is like a combination of a gruel and a porridge.

The wheat is often coarsely ground or boiled before simmering with meat and butter or sheep tail fat in water. After straining the broth, the harees is seasoned to your liking and served with cinnamon, clarified butter, and sugar as garnishes.

Harees is traditionally a dish for Eid, Easter, Ramadan, and weddings made by the wealthy and shared with neighbors.

Jachnun is a Yemenite Jewish pastry for Shabbat morning, using thinly rolled dough. The dough is traditionally brushed with Samneh, a clarified butter seasoned with hulbah. However, today, any regular clarified butter or shortening works.

Jachnun’s cooking process usually starts on Friday morning, so it’ll be done on Shabbat (Saturday) morning. The rolled dough pieces are baked or steamed in a covered pot at low temperatures until they turn dark-colored and taste caramelized.

As jachnun’s dough is similar to malawach (board-like bread), hard-boiled eggs, resek, and zhug are also regular partners.

Lahoh, or canjeero and lahuh, is a spongy pancake-like flatbread commonly eaten in Yemen. Thanks to the Yemenite Jewish immigrants, this flatbread is also available in Israel. Lahoh is a homemade treat and a street food sold by peddlers for breakfast.

Lahoh mainly includes sorghum flour, yeast, white cornmeal, warm water, and salt. Sweeter canjeero adds eggs.

When all these ingredients are mixed until creamy and soft, the mixture is commonly fermented overnight and baked on a taawa (metallic round stove) or regular pan.