Yemeni Cuisine

Yemeni cuisine is a hearty, aromatic and distinctive tradition, long celebrated across the Arabian Peninsula and shaped by the country's ancient trading past in spices and coffee, indeed the very word mocha comes from Yemen's port of Mokha. Its national dish is saltah, a bubbling hot stew of meat and vegetables crowned with frothy, green fenugreek whip and fiery zhoug relish, eaten with flatbread straight from the pot. Equally loved is mandi, tender lamb or chicken and fragrant rice slow-cooked in an underground oven. The table also features spicy relishes, hearty breads and, famously, bint al-sahn, a flaky layered bread drenched in honey. It is warm, generous food of real character.

What you actually see

• Saltah - the bubbling stew crowned with frothy fenugreek.
• Mandi - the tender lamb and fragrant rice from the earth oven.
• Bint al-sahn - the flaky layered bread drizzled with honey.
• The relishes and coffee - the fiery zhoug and famous Yemeni coffee.

When to go

Year-round; Yemeni food is enjoyed across the country and celebrated through the wide Yemeni diaspora and its restaurants around the Arabian Peninsula and beyond. Saltah and mandi are the signature dishes to seek out, along with honey-drenched bint al-sahn.

Honest expectations

The signature saltah and earth-oven mandi are traditionally slow, communal dishes best enjoyed fresh and hot in a proper Yemeni eatery rather than rushed; happily the cuisine thrives through the diaspora across the Gulf and beyond. As a hearty, aromatic and generous tradition, from bubbling saltah to tender mandi and honeyed bread, though, Yemeni food is a genuine delight of Arabian cooking.

Nearby

The eateries of Sana'a, and Yemeni restaurants abroad, all serve it.