YEMEN: Lamb Chops in Red Sauce with Saffron Carrot Rice

August 18, 2024

YEMEN: Lamb Chops in Red Sauce with Saffron Carrot Rice

Famed for being the first country in the World to commercially grown and sell coffee, Yemen has a long history as a trading nation. In ancient times Yemen controlled the production and sale of Frankincense and Myrrh (two of the most highly prized commodities in antiquity), and was also a significant producer of gold (a third highly valued resource). Indeed, it is said that ancient Yemen was so wealthy that the walls, ceilings and floors of Yemeni temples and palaces were decorated with gold, silver and precious gemstones.

In ancient times Yemen (which is located at the mouth of the Red Sea on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula), was considered the crossroad point dividing eastern and western civilization. This made Yemen a pivotal location for trade of spices and luxury goods between Asia the Middle East and Europe. Living at the crossroads for 7000 years led to a rich and diverse Yemeni food culture that is distinctive within Middle Eastern culinary traditions due to the influence of Indian spices and food practices. Key ingredients include cumin, coriander, turmeric, lamb, rice and unleavened flat breads similar to roti.

Although it was considered to be rich beyond measure in antiquity, modern day Yemen is now rated in the 10 poorest countries in the World. War and food insecurity issues mean that two-thirds of Yemen’s population don't know where their next meal is coming from and their children are starving. I didn’t just want to cook a meal and post it on my blog without paying it forward so I made a donation to UNICEF to help feed Yemeni children; here is the link if you would like to buy a meal for a child in Yemen https://www.unicef.org.au/donate/help-children-in-yemen

our

YEMENI

Menu included

LAMB CHOPS IN RED SAUCE

and

SAFFRON CARROT RICE

served with sides of

Lemon Wedges, Yoghurt, Fresh Dates & Flat Bread

NOTE: If you want to serve this meal Yemini style tip the cooked rice onto a large plate and pour the chops in red sauce over the top, place the dish in the middle of the table with all the sides close by for everyone to share together.

LAMB CHOP WITH RED SAUCE

Ingredients:

· 1.5 kg lamb chops with bone in (or 2 per person)

· ½ tsp cayenne powder ( or smoked paprika if you don’t like it hot)

· 1 tsp cumin powder

· ½ tsp turmeric powder

· ½ tsp ground coriander seeds

· 1 tsp salt – or more to taste

· 4 pinch of ground black pepper

· 4 cloves

· 1 large onion, peeled and diced

· 4 medium size ripe tomatoes, washed and chopped

· 1 tbs tomato paste

· 1 tsp grated fresh ginger

· 3 tbs olive oil and 2 tbs extra oil for onions

· 1 cup chicken stock

· 4 bay leaves

· 3 tbs chopped fresh coriander or mint for garnish

· 2 lemons sliced in wedges for side dish

Method:

1. Marinate the lamb chops in the spices, salt and pepper for 2 hours

2. Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius

3. Take a large/medium Dutch oven or similar oven-proof dish

4. Put 3 tbs oil in the dish, add a little salt and heat it up on the stove top

5. Sear the marinated chops in the hot oil until brown on all sides – you may need to do this in a few batches to make sure the meat is all browned – then set the browned meat aside in a dish to be returned to the pot later

6. Now sauté the diced onion in the oil left in the pan from the lamb untilled caramelised (add more oil if needed), about 10 mins

7. Add tomatoes and ginger and cook 2-3 mins

8. Then add in the tomato paste and stir well followed by the chicken stock

9. Pop in the bay leaf and bring the pot back to a slow boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to make a smooth sauce and adding more salt if needed

10. once the sauce is ready put the seared chops and any juice that they may have released back into the pot – the chops should be completely covered by liquid at this point - and bring the pot back to the boil

11. cover the pot with a lid or aluminium foil and put in the heated oven. Turn the oven heat back to 180 degrees c and bake for 1 hour

12. After 1 hour take the pot out of the oven, carefully remove the lid away from yourself so you don’t get a steam burn, and spoon off any excess liquid fat on top of the pot

13. give the pot a stir and put the dish back in the oven for another ½ hour without a lid as this will help the sauce to thicken. If needed turn the heat up to 220 degrees C to help the sauce thicken

14. Serve sprinkled with fresh chopped coriander and lemon wedges on side

SAFFRON CARROT RICE

Ingredients:

· 2 cups basmati rice, washed

· 4 cups water

· ½ red onion, finely diced

· 2 carrots, peeled and grated

· 1 green capsicum, deseeded and diced

· 3 cloves garlic, crushed

· 6 threads saffron

· 3 tbs olive oil

· 2 tsp salt

· 6 cardamom pods

· 3 cloves

· ground black pepper to taste

· 3 cm cinnamon bark

· 1 whole green chilli (optional)

Method:

1. Boil the water and soak the saffron threads in 4 cups of the water until water has taken up the golden colour (about 1 ½ hours)

2. Put oil in a medium size pot, heat and gently sauté onions stirring often with wooden spoon until translucent; about 5 minutes

3. Add capsicum and sauté briefly; about 2 minutes

4. Add crushed garlic and sauté until garlic begins to turn brown

5. Add grated carrot and sauté until soft; about 10 minutes

6. Add in the spices and rice and stir until rice is coated in oil

7. Add saffron water and bay leaf and bring the pot back to the boil stirring often with the wooden spoon and scraping the bottom of the pot

8. Once boiling give another good stir across the bottom to make sure no rice is stuck there then pop a lid on the pot and turn the heat back to low (2/10)

TIP: from this point don’t take the lid off the pot until ready to serve the rice

9. Let the pot cook with the lid on for 10 minutes then turn the heat off and let the covered pot steam on the cooling element for a further 10 minutes

10. Now just let your rice sit warm in the covered pot until ready to serve

11. When ready to serve remove lid off and use a fork to gently fluff the rice

These are Q-ZINE original recipes informed by multiple sources including but not limited to:

https://yemeniyah.com/2014/07/15/lamb-chop-in-red-sauce/

http://www.shebayemenifood.com/content/carrot-rice

http://www.shebayemenifood.com/content/cardamom-spiced-white-rice

http://www.shebayemenifood.com/content/hawaij-yemeni-spice-mix

https://www.shibam.com/recipes/zurbian-a-festive-yemeni-dish/

https://www.sifrafoods.com/post/yemeni-zorbian

https://www.sifrafoods.com/post/yemeni-zahawig

https://www.shebayemenifood.com/content/three-kinds-zahawiq-salata-hara

https://salwasdeliciouskitchen.wordpress.com/2018/08/07/sahawiq/