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Saltah (Lamb Stew under Whipped Fenugreek Froth)

Saltah (Lamb Stew under Whipped Fenugreek Froth) reads umami 7.3, richness 6.6 and citrus 4.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Yemeni main, about 13 hr 58 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 7.7 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 2.9 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 5.9 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.6 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 7.1 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.5 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.3 · Richness 6.6 · Citrus 4.6 · Sourness 4.4 · Allium 3.9 · Salinity 3.6 · Herbaceous 2.7 · Heat 2.5 · Earthy 2.4 · Sweetness 2.3 · Fruity 1.9 · Nutty 1.9 · Floral 1.7 · Bitterness 1.5 · Warm Spice 1.4 · Funk & Ferment 1.3

What's in it (15)

• fenugreek seeds — 60 g
• cold water — 500 g
• lamb shoulder roast — 600 g
• sunflower oil — 27 g
• onion — 120 g
• tomatoes — 500 g
• potatoes — 300 g
• garlic — 18 g
• hawaij for soup — 10 g
• salt — 10 g
• water — 1000 g
• eggs — 110 g
• coriander leaves — 40 g
• green chilies — 30 g
• lemon juice — 15 g

Time & effort: about 13 hr 58 min (1 hr 58 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 69.7 kcal, 5.4 g protein, 3.9 g fat, 3.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. Start the hulba a day ahead. Cover the fenugreek seeds with the 500 ml cold water and soak 12 hours; they swell and turn slimy. Drain, rinse well, and grind to a paste with 100 ml fresh cold water.
2. Now whip the fenugreek paste with a fork or a whisk for 8 to 10 minutes, adding cold water a spoonful at a time, until it turns pale, doubles in volume and stands in soft peaks like whipped egg white. This froth is the whole identity of saltah and there is no shortcut to it. Rest it, covered, in the fridge; the bitterness fades as it sits.
3. Grind the coriander, chillies, two of the garlic cloves and the lemon juice to a rough green sauce (sahawiq) with a pinch of the salt. Set aside.
4. Heat the oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat and brown the lamb in two batches, 5 minutes a batch. Add the onion and cook 6 minutes until soft, then the remaining garlic and the hawaij and cook 1 minute until it smells of cardamom and cumin.
5. Add the tomatoes, salt and the litre of water, bring to a simmer and cook 1 hour. Add the potatoes and cook 25 minutes more, until the meat is tender and the stew has thickened and darkened.
6. Transfer the stew to an individual madra — the black volcanic stone bowl saltah is cooked and served in — or the heaviest small casserole you own. Get it back to a hard, spitting boil on the stove; it must arrive at the table still bubbling.
7. Crack the eggs into the bubbling stew and stir once so they set in ribbons, about 1 minute.
8. Take it off the heat, spoon the whipped hulba over the whole surface in a thick pale layer and swirl a spoonful of the green sahawiq into it. Serve immediately, still boiling underneath, with hot flatbread torn and dipped straight into the pot.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Beef and Bean Chili Verde — Tex-Mex
• Moroccan Pork Casserole — Moroccan
• Ground Beef Kofta Stuffed Pitas — Middle Eastern
• Pozole Rojo — Mexican
• Harira — Moroccan

Keep reading: what umami, richness, citrus mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.