Yemenite Food

When we think about Arab cuisine, most people have in mind dishes that come from Mediterranean countries, dishes like kebabs, Kebbeh, Falafel, Hummus and the famous Pita Bread.

The truth is that the Arab cuisine is composed of many regional cuisines, very different one from the others and they usually are many centuries old.

In Toronto, thanks to some posts from a friend, I had the opportunity to taste the food from a place that is not well known in our countries. This place is Yemen, a country located in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, very far from the Mediterranean sea. The restaurant I visited: Hadhramaut Restaurant.

Hadhramaut Restaurant (  مطعم حضرموت  ) is a popular place to taste the Yemenite food. You can find more on their website. The place is very small but the food is excellent, service is outstanding and prices are not high. They suggest that Mandy is like their signature dish.

During my first visit, I had a Lamb Mandy ( لحم مندي ). Mandy is a traditional dish that consists of Lamb, rice and a blend of spices. It is cooked in an underground oven. The juices of the lamb and spices are used to cook the basmati rice. As a result of hours cooking, the lamb is so tender that the meat can be easily pulled from the bones. I must add that the lamb leg was wrapped in Aluminum foil. Over the rice, you can see pieces of caramelized onion and raisins. 

In a second visit, I had Lamb Haneeth ( حنيذ لحم ). [As I note, bear in mind that the Arabic word “Lahm” “  لحم” means “Meat”]. This dish has also rice and spices. But the main difference with Mandy dishes is that the Haneeth lamb is cooked under airtight pressure.  

In my most recent visit, I tasted chicken Maqluba (  مقلوبة دجاج ). This dish is actually Palestinian, something I learned after my visit. The term “Maqluba” “مقلوبة  “ means “upside down, inverted”. The chicken is cooked with rice and fried vegetables in a pot which is flipped upside down when served.  In this case, they used potatoes with the chicken and rice.

And here is a cup of coffee to finish my visit. Turkish coffee.