Most everybody’s heard of matzah ball soup. But, that’s not the only Jewish chicken soup in town. 

If you like robust, flavorful and a bit spicy, this is the chicken soup for you.  Its origin is Yemeni, but today you can find this soup in Israel, where an overwhelming majority of Yemen Jews reside.  What sets this chicken soup apart from other chicken soups is its layers of flavor. 

First off, it’s flavored with a Yemini spice blend known as hawiaj — a blend of cumin, black pepper, turmeric, cardamom and clove. Some versions include coriander, some caraway or even saffron.  

I like to make my own hawiaj by first toasting the whole seeds in a dry skillet until aromatic and then grinding to a fine powder in a spice grinder. This way you’ll know your spice blend is super fresh and flavorful. This mixture adds such a unique, warming element to this soup, as well as other Yemen dishes (e.g., rub for meat, stews, curries).

But that’s not all…

The soup is served with a spicy, herbaceous condiment know as zhoug, as well as a mixture known as hilbe — which means fenugreek in Hebrew. Fenugreek seed (actually a legume) is both sweet (often described as maple syrup-like) and bitter. It also acts as a thickening agent. To make hilbe, ground fenugreek seed is mixed with water and then set aside for several hours. As it sits, the fenugreek will slowly hydrate and absorb the water. After being soaked it’s whisked by hand or blender until thick and gelatinous and then spiced with a little zhoug.

Both the zhoug and hilbe are placed on the table, so that each individual can add a tablespoon or two to their bowl as they like.

It can take several hours to prepare this soup. I took a short cut and used some flavorful chicken stock I had already had on hand in my freezer, made with a leftover chicken/duck carcass and chicken feet. I poached the chicken in this stock instead of water as most recipes call for. This is definitely a chicken soup to feed the soul! 

Yemen Chicken Soup

2 tbsp olive oil or chicken fat
3-4 lb whole chicken, cut into pieces
salt
1 large white onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp hawaij spice blend (recipe below)
6-7 cups chicken stock or water
1 large carrot, peeled, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 celery stalk, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4-1 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, peeled, sliced in half
zhoug (recipe below) for serving
hilbeh (see recipe notes) for serving

Heat oil in a Dutch oven. Add chicken thighs and wings and fry until skin is golden brown. Remove and set aside. 

Add the onions and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Add 1 tbsp hawaij and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the carrot, celery and seared chicken pieces (reserving the breasts). Add stock to cover. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. 

Add the chicken breasts and potatoes and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through and potatoes fork tender. Remove the chicken breasts and shred. Add back to the soup. Serve with zhoug and hilbeh. 

To make the Hilbe: soak 3 tablespoons of fenugreek powder in 1/2 cup water and soak for 3 or more hours. As the fenugreek sits it will absorb the water and thicken. Then, add a squeeze of lemon juice, salt to taste and a teaspoon of zhoug. Whisk or beat with a hand blender until thick. Add a tablespoon or two to each bowl of soup. 

Hawiaj

2 tbsp cumin seed
1 tbsp coriander seed
1 tbsp black peppercorn
1 tsp green cardamom seed
6 whole cloves 
1 tbsp turmeric
pinch saffron (optional)

Toast cumin seed, black peppercorn, coriander seed, cardamom seed and whole cloves a minute or two in a dry skillet until fragrant. Transfer to a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Mix in turmeric and saffron (if using).

Zhoug

1 cup cilantro
1/2 cup parsley
2 small, green chiles, such as bird’s eye or serrano
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
squeeze lemon 

Place all ingredients in a food procesor. Pulse until fairly smooth, but still has a little texture. Transfer to a jar. I like to cover with a thin layer of olive oil.