Yemenite helbeh (dipping sauce)

Yield: 1 Servings

Ingredients:

2 tb Fenugreek seeds
1/4 c Zhug (see recipe "Yemenite -zhug")
1/2 sm Lemon; juice of
1 Tomato Date: Mon
12 Feb 1996 09:09:19 +0200 (EET)

Instructions:

From: David Barnett That's interesting - I have her "Jewish Holiday Kitchen" cookbook which also has a recipe for Zhug but it was neither authentic nor good. The following is the translation of a recipe given to me by a Yemenite woman who grows her own tiny peppers (I have no idea what variety but they are much hotter than seranos). One thing the Yemenites do with it is make a "dipping sauce" (more of a spread actually) that is eaten with bread called Helbeh. This is adopted from Joan Nathan's recipe: 1. Let the fenugreek seeds soak in water for several hours or overnight. 2. Pour off any remaining liquid leaving a moist paste. 3. Using a wooden spoon whip in little by little up to 1/2 cup water into the paste. Then mix in the zhug lemon juice (JN calls for 1 tablespoon or to taste) and the tomato (JN says to grate it I just mash it up). 4. Adjust seasonings to taste. It should be very spicy. This can either be eaten plain with bread (I would use pita) or served with a meal like a chutney. CHILE-HEADS DIGEST V2 #238 From Glen Hosey's Recipe Collection Program hosey@erols.com