Aseed

Ingredients

Dough

• 400 gplain wheat flour
• 900 mlwater
• 1 tspsalt

To serve, savoury

• 600 mlhot lamb or chicken broth, well seasoned
• 1 tbspsahawiq (Yemeni chilli relish)

To serve, sweet

• 4 tbsphoney
• 60 gghee or butter, melted
• 2 tbspblack seed or clarified samn

Directions

1. Bring the water and salt to a rolling boil in a heavy pot.
2. Tip in all the flour at once and leave it undisturbed for 2 minutes, letting the flour hydrate through as a mound.
3. Now beat hard with a strong wooden spoon or an aseed stick, pressing the dough against the sides of the pot and folding it back. It will be very stiff and take real effort; this is the whole technique.
4. Keep working it over low heat for 12–15 minutes until it is completely smooth, glossy and elastic, with no dry pockets of flour and no raw taste.
5. Wet a deep bowl, tip the dough in and swirl the bowl so it forms a smooth dome, then invert it onto a serving plate.
6. Press a deep hollow into the top with a wet spoon or your fist.
7. Fill the hollow with hot broth and a spoonful of sahawiq for the savoury version, or with honey and melted ghee for the sweet one. It is eaten with the right hand, pinching pieces from the outside of the dome and dipping them into the well.

Technique

• The beating cannot be shortened. Undermixed aseed has floury lumps through it and a raw taste, and no amount of broth hides that.
• Wet everything the dough touches — bowl, spoon, hands. It sticks ferociously to anything dry.
• Serve it immediately. Aseed stiffens as it cools and cannot be reheated to the same texture.

Substitutions

• Barley or sorghum flour, or a mixture, for a darker and more traditional highland version.
• A stand mixer with a dough hook can do the beating, though it is not how it is made.

Variations

• Asida across Libya, Sudan and the Gulf, essentially the same dish under a related name.
• Fatteh-style, with the broth poured over torn bread beneath the dome.

History

Stiff dough of flour and water, eaten by pressing a hollow into it and filling that with broth.

Frequently asked questions

What is Aseed?

Aseed is a main from Yemen: smooth dough dome eaten by hand with broth or honey. Stiff dough of flour and water, eaten by pressing a hollow into it and filling that with broth.

How long does Aseed take to make?

Aseed takes 5 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Aseed?

Yes, within limits. Barley or sorghum flour, or a mixture, for a darker and more traditional highland version. A stand mixer with a dough hook can do the beating, though it is not how it is made.

What is the most important thing to get right in Aseed?

Now beat hard with a strong wooden spoon or an aseed stick, pressing the dough against the sides of the pot and folding it back. It will be very stiff and take real effort; this is the whole technique.