Cleveland Avenue in Columbus is a very
interesting location. If you want foods and services that are not
typically found in Buckeye Nation, this is one "must-explore"
destination. It's the first place I wander when I want to find a
shop with ingredients needed for African and Asian recipes. A wide
variety of restaurants from around the world are in the area, as well as
the local populations to match them.
CrossRoads Baptist Church is right in the middle of all this. My personal favorite restaurant in Columbus is on Cleveland Avenue, just down the road a few blocks from the mural site. It's the Yemeni Restaurant. I love it for the food as well as for the people who work there. The owner is Naj, and he completely welcomes you from the moment you walk through his door.
When I go to restaurant with food I don't know and waiters who do, I always ask them to pick the food for me. I know if I don't make the dish, I will like it. And, sadly, there is no guarantee that I will like a dish if I make it. This philosophy always wins at the Yemeni Restaurant. So, I eat whatever they serve me and I down it with their Kerk Tea. I have learned to ask for it. Every time!
CrossRoads Baptist Church is right in the middle of all this. My personal favorite restaurant in Columbus is on Cleveland Avenue, just down the road a few blocks from the mural site. It's the Yemeni Restaurant. I love it for the food as well as for the people who work there. The owner is Naj, and he completely welcomes you from the moment you walk through his door.
When I go to restaurant with food I don't know and waiters who do, I always ask them to pick the food for me. I know if I don't make the dish, I will like it. And, sadly, there is no guarantee that I will like a dish if I make it. This philosophy always wins at the Yemeni Restaurant. So, I eat whatever they serve me and I down it with their Kerk Tea. I have learned to ask for it. Every time!
I'm not exactly sure how it is prepared
at my restaurant of choice, but I've been told on multiple occasions
that it takes twenty minutes to prepare. I will never spend that
much time making it. It's safe to say never. I've learned in
my travels that tea is enjoyed across the Arab world, but there are many
ways to make it. Nobody in Morocco ever used tea bags. It was
never served iced with lemon but always hot with fresh mint. This
Yemeni brew is a sweet tea with milk. Just like in Morocco, it's
very sweet. Feel free to adjust the sugar dosage to your
particular addiction.
Kerk Tea
Columbus, Ohio, by way of Yemen
Columbus, Ohio, by way of Yemen
| 16 ounces water (2 cups) 4 ounces condensed milk 6 tsp sugar |
3 - 4 cardamom pods2 whole cloves
2 black teabags
|
Boil up your water, milk, sugar,
cardamom, and cloves in a saucepan over medium heat. While boiling
for five minutes, be careful not to burn your milk. Then, add your two
bags of black tea (which I'm guessing are not traditionally in tea bag
form in Yemen) and boil away for another five minutes.
Okay, this recipe takes ten minutes, not twenty. Ten is most likely do-able in my kitchen.
Okay, this recipe takes ten minutes, not twenty. Ten is most likely do-able in my kitchen.
Serves two.
My latest discovery, chicken fahsa, was
served piping hot in a madra, a traditional Yemeni dish made from
stone. I've never had any food served so hot. It was "burn the
roof of my mouth" hot. It really did.
It's my guess that the more traditional meat is lamb. It's an option at the Yemeni Restaurant. But, I grew up with chickens, and it's always my choice over lamb.
It's my guess that the more traditional meat is lamb. It's an option at the Yemeni Restaurant. But, I grew up with chickens, and it's always my choice over lamb.
Chicken
Fahsa
Columbus, Ohio, by way of Yemen
Columbus, Ohio, by way of Yemen
| 1/4 lb of chicken (lamb) 1 Tbs oil 1 diced medium onion
2 minced garlic clovesjalapeno peppers to taste |
2 Tbs chopped cilantro
1 Tbs red chile sauce
1/2 cup green bell peppers
1 cup water
1 tsp tomato paste
|
We're only at the first step and it's
already something I've never done in my kitchen. Boil the chicken,
or lamb if you must, until the meat falls off the bone. I've never done
that so I can't tell you how long to do this. Then, set it aside.
The next step is to pull out your Madra (traditional Yemeni dish made from stone) and place it on high heat. I'm sure you have one in your kitchen. But, if not, grab a pot that you can cook up a stew inside. Dice up the onion and add it to the oil on your Madra. Add the minced cloves, as well as, however many diced jalapeno peppers meet your tastes. Next toss in the chopped cilantro and let everything cook for a minute or two. Add the red chile sauce and let things saute for another minute.
Mix in the diced green peppers. Then, add the meat (without the bones) to the mix. Break the meat up even more as you stir it together. Add a cup of water and then just let the stew boil.
No times were given, but you let it boil. Add the tomato paste, and continue to let things boil. Then, add another cup of water and boil away. When the stew is just about ready, you top it off with hulba and let it cook away for a few more minutes.
I wrote that last bit a little fast, but you might have thought, "What the hul is hulba?" It's a popular Yemeni dip that, fortunately, isn't that hard to make. But, you have to be prepared and make it the day before.
The next step is to pull out your Madra (traditional Yemeni dish made from stone) and place it on high heat. I'm sure you have one in your kitchen. But, if not, grab a pot that you can cook up a stew inside. Dice up the onion and add it to the oil on your Madra. Add the minced cloves, as well as, however many diced jalapeno peppers meet your tastes. Next toss in the chopped cilantro and let everything cook for a minute or two. Add the red chile sauce and let things saute for another minute.
Mix in the diced green peppers. Then, add the meat (without the bones) to the mix. Break the meat up even more as you stir it together. Add a cup of water and then just let the stew boil.
No times were given, but you let it boil. Add the tomato paste, and continue to let things boil. Then, add another cup of water and boil away. When the stew is just about ready, you top it off with hulba and let it cook away for a few more minutes.
I wrote that last bit a little fast, but you might have thought, "What the hul is hulba?" It's a popular Yemeni dip that, fortunately, isn't that hard to make. But, you have to be prepared and make it the day before.
Hulba
Columbus, Ohio, by way of Yemen
Columbus, Ohio, by way of Yemen
| 1 Tbs ground fenugreek 1 tomato 1 or 2 garlic cloves 3 Tbs chopped cilantro |
1 green chile juice from 1 lemon salt to taste
|
You must soak the fenugreek over
night. It removes the bitter taste it packs. And, if that isn't
reason enough, it's just the way it's done. Tradition. The
next day, the fenugreek turns into a paste mixture. You keep it
and toss the water.
Throw your paste in the blender along with a tomato, the cloves, cilantro, chile, lemon juice, and salt. Mix it until frothy and top your fahsa.
Of course, if you really have a Madra to serve your stew in, it's going to look authentic. And, if you eat it traditionally, place the dish in the center of the floor. Gather around your communal pot of fahsa, and dip it with the fresh pita bread you also traditionally made. But, let the soup cool down. I really burned the roof of my mouth, and it took about a week to heal.
Throw your paste in the blender along with a tomato, the cloves, cilantro, chile, lemon juice, and salt. Mix it until frothy and top your fahsa.
Of course, if you really have a Madra to serve your stew in, it's going to look authentic. And, if you eat it traditionally, place the dish in the center of the floor. Gather around your communal pot of fahsa, and dip it with the fresh pita bread you also traditionally made. But, let the soup cool down. I really burned the roof of my mouth, and it took about a week to heal.