Yemeni Soups

One of the most important dishes in Yemen is a soup: the saltah is associated with the chewing of the qat, which stimulates the body and after eating the saltah, the flavors are much better perceived by the qat chewer. This soup seems to be original from Sana, but its roots are unclear. The soup contains fenugreek, which is dissolved in water and then kept like this for 1 hour. The soup is cooked in the bowl called madr, which is resistant to high heats. The oil and the onions are placed in the soup, together with some potatoes and minced meat. There are different kinds of saltah: fahsah is a kind of this soup that uses fresh meat instead of minced one. The soup is served at lunch, while it is hot. Besides this traditional soup, there are the chicken soups with chuwayidg spice (ground cumin, pepper, cardamom and turmeric) and the Yemenite soup ala Maida.