Saltahwater Wells In My Eyes

NATIONAL DISH OF YEMEN -Saltah

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Welcome to The Global Gastronomic Journey 2011, we've been waiting for you. Hope everyone had a festive holiday season. I did with the ol' family, and certainly did for NYE with some of The Molefaces. We in Australia are one of the first in the World to see in the new year, so to others around the world, if you ever wanna know what's going on in the future send me a message and I'll describe best I can for those still living in the past!

Well it's summer at the moment in Australia, and I know what you all must think: beautiful weather that allows you to do so much. Well in Melbourne this could not be further from the truth. Nearly halfway through summer and we've only had a handful of days above 26°C. Also with the amount of rain we've had, it feels like winter. Mother Nature rectify this now please!

So cooking-wise we're back to one of my favourite culinary areas: The Middle East. And it's Yemen's turn to show it's thang! And Saltah be the dish it plans to do so by. A dish normally served at lunch, Saltah is generally lamb based with various vegetables, then topped with hulba and then a salsa on top of that. The recipe called for many processes, and thinking that it was one of the elaborate recipes I've attempted so far I thought I might need an assistant. So I invited Lady Lara over, and if you listen closely you can hear her in the background being random.

So enjoy, or as they say in Yemen,  بالهنا والشفا! (bil-hanā' wa ash-shifā')




The place to start your Yemeni culinary trek: http://www.yasalamcooking.com/2010/02/salta.html

Difficulty:       2 

Appearance:  4 

Taste:             4 

TOTAL:         10

Even though there was a few more processes than most recipes I've attempted so far, I was pretty organised and the cooking process went smoothly. Lady Lara always comments how calm I can be in the kitchen, even when making a feast for 10 people. This is due to my time learning under the "tutelage" of the great Julia Child. Her recipes can seem complex and stress-inducing to a novice, but cook enough of them (especially whilst sampling some French wine) and you learn to take on whatever comes your way.

The aroma of the hawaij permeated the household and certainly flavoured the saltah. And the end result had a myriad of colours and flavours, from the green-red vegetable shitney to the white lemony hulba and the brown lamb saltah.

The shitney was a great topping, and I reckon would be a great substitution for a salsa in the future. Fenugreek is a new spice to me and it's foamy texture when blended was great. The lemon flavour was a good cut to the spicy taste of the saltah, but next time I will not use as much lemon juice, for it was a bit overpowering. Any lamb based curry to me is gonna be awesome (provided that it doesn't incite MOFS (Mouth On Fire Syndrome)), but this Yemeni curry brings beautiful flavour to the lamb with the spices and vegetables used. And also the surprising use of egg at the end to thicken adds a new and pleasant dimension to the dish. In the words of Lady Lara: Mmmm YUM YUM!!!