Ingredients
Fenugreek
- 3 tbspground fenugreek seed
- cold water, for soaking
Green paste
- 1 bunchcoriander
- 2 clovesgarlic
- 2green chillies
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tspsalt
Optional
- 2 tbspzhug
Directions
- Put the ground fenugreek in a bowl and cover it generously with cold water.
- Soak it for at least 3 hours and preferably overnight, changing the water two or three times.
- Changing the water is what draws the bitterness out. Fenugreek soaked once and used is harsh enough to be unpleasant, while soaked and rinsed several times it turns mild and faintly maple-like.
- Pour off the last of the water, leaving the swollen seed at the bottom.
- Now beat it. Add a couple of tablespoons of ice-cold water and whip it hard with a fork, a whisk or a blender.
- Keep beating and keep adding cold water a spoonful at a time, until the paste turns pale, doubles in volume and holds air like a mousse.
- That foaming is the entire dish. Fenugreek carries saponins, which whip up much as egg white does, and unwhipped hilbeh is just a bitter paste. Ice-cold water foams noticeably better than warm.
- Blend the coriander, garlic, chillies, lemon and salt to a rough green paste.
- Fold the green paste into the whipped fenugreek gently, keeping the air in it.
- Fold rather than beat at this stage, or you knock out everything you spent ten minutes putting in.
- Taste and add more lemon and salt, both of which it takes a surprising amount of.
- Serve it in a small bowl, spooned onto soup, onto bread, or beside grilled meat.
- It is eaten with the Yemenite Jewish soup marak temani, and with kubaneh on Shabbat morning.
- It falls within a few hours, so make it close to the meal rather than the day before.
Technique
- It was brought to Israel by Yemenite Jews and is now sold in every market and eaten well beyond that community.
- It is genuinely bitter, and that is the point of it rather than a fault to be corrected.
- A plain version without the herbs, pure whipped fenugreek, is also standard.
Substitutions
- Whole fenugreek seed ground at home, which is fresher and better.
- Parsley in place of coriander if you dislike it.
Variations
- Hilbet, the Eritrean version, which adds faba beans and is far milder.
- Plain, with no herbs at all.
- With a spoonful of grated tomato blended through.
History
Brought by Yemenite Jews; soaked ground fenugreek is beaten with water until it froths, then mixed with coriander and chilli.
Frequently asked questions
What is Hilbeh?
Hilbeh is a sauce & condiment from Israel: whipped fenugreek relish, bitter and foamy, spooned onto soups and bread. Brought by Yemenite Jews; soaked ground fenugreek is beaten with water until it froths, then mixed with coriander and chilli.
How long does Hilbeh take to make?
Hilbeh takes 15 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 1 small bowl. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Hilbeh?
Yes, within limits. Whole fenugreek seed ground at home, which is fresher and better. Parsley in place of coriander if you dislike it.
What is the most important thing to get right in Hilbeh?
That foaming is the entire dish. Fenugreek carries saponins, which whip up much as egg white does, and unwhipped hilbeh is just a bitter paste. Ice-cold water foams noticeably better than warm.
