The cuisine of the Jews of Yemen is not one recipe or one region. Sana’a, Aden, Sharab and the villages kept different traditions, and in Israel, too, adaptations arose to suit local ingredients and home ovens. Alongside Yemenite soup with hawaij stands a large family of breads and doughs: jachnun, kubaneh, malawach, lahuh and saluf.
The recipes here are built for an ordinary Israeli kitchen and state explicitly where something is a local adaptation. Clarified butter replaces Yemenite samneh when none is available; a heavy pan and a home oven replace a taboon; ready-made hawaij works only after you check its salt and pepper strength. Margarine in jachnun is a common Israeli version, not a historical claim about all Yemenite Jews.
The ten dishes, with a calorie estimate
| Dish | Type | Calories per recommended serving |
|---|---|---|
| Whipped hilbeh | Fenugreek spread | about 15 per tablespoon |
| Green zhug | Hot spread | about 30 per tablespoon |
| Lahuh | Fermented pan bread | about 195 per piece |
| Yemenite zalabia | Fried dough | about 215 per piece |
| Kubaneh | Sabbath bread | about 320 per roll |
| Saluf | Yemenite flatbread | about 320 per piece |
| Yemenite chicken soup | Chicken and potato soup | about 345 per bowl |
| Asid | Flour and semolina porridge | about 360 per serving |
| Malawach | Layered pan dough | about 470 per piece |
| Jachnun | Long-baked Sabbath pastry | about 520 per piece |
What defines this cuisine
- Hawaij is not a single spice. The soup blend is usually based on turmeric, cumin, coriander and sometimes cardamom and pepper; hawaij for coffee is a different blend.
- The dough is given time. Resting and stretching create the layers in jachnun and malawach; fermentation creates the thousands of holes in lahuh.
- The Sabbath shaped the cooking technique. Jachnun and kubaneh bake at low heat all night, but in Yemen and in different families there were different shapes and ways of serving.
- Heat alongside freshness. Zhug and hilbeh are served as a measured accompaniment; there is no need to make every dish spicy.
- Community food, not a monolith. Asid, zom, saluf and lahuh vary between regions and families; the recipes present one home version, not “the only version”.
An Israeli shopping basket
| Ingredient | What to buy in Israel | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Soup hawaij | A blend from a spice shop | Not coffee hawaij; check the ingredient list for salt |
| Hilbeh | Freshly ground fenugreek seeds | Old powder can be bitter and lack aroma |
| Samneh | Clarified butter or ghee | In meat-meal jachnun, margarine/oil is used according to custom and kashrut |
| Flour for lahuh | White with a little whole wheat | Regular Israeli white flour works well |
| Pepper for zhug | Fresh hot green pepper | Heat varies a lot; start with a small amount |
| Overnight pot | A jachnun pot or a heavy ovenproof pot | Handles and lid must be heat-resistant |
A note on the calories
The values were calculated from the weight of the raw ingredients and divided by the stated yield. Oil left in the soup is counted in full; for zalabia, 120 grams of oil absorbed over the whole frying was counted. The tomato, egg and grated tomato served with jachnun or malawach are not included, because the amount varies. In layered doughs the amount of fat spread on is the biggest variable, so a deviation of 10%–20% is reasonable.
Frequently asked questions
Question: Were all these dishes eaten the same way throughout Yemen? Answer: No. Yemen includes many regional and family traditions. The recipes draw on Yemenite Jewish documentation and flag Israeli adaptations instead of presenting one version as absolute.
Question: Can you replace samneh with butter? Answer: Yes, especially in dairy kubaneh and malawach. Clarified butter or ghee is closer to samneh because it contains almost no water or milk solids.
Question: Is soup hawaij also suitable for coffee? Answer: No. These are different blends. Soup hawaij is yellow, savory and aromatic; coffee hawaij leans toward cardamom, ginger and sweet spices.
Question: Which recipes can you make ahead? Answer: Jachnun and malawach can be shaped and frozen before baking, and baked kubaneh can be frozen after cooling. Zhug keeps 3–4 days in the fridge or up to two months in the freezer; soup improves the next day. Lahuh and zalabia are best on the day they are made.