On a recent trip to Israel, I decided it would be fun to go shopping in the shuk in Tel Aviv, bring my purchases to cousin Vivi’s house and cook there, just as she cooked for me countless times over the four decades of our relationship. Here’s what I made. It was a success. The secret is in the hawayej, a Yemenite curry – a mixture of Middle Eastern spices including cumin, black pepper, turmeric and cardamom.
Ingredients
4-pound chicken, cleaned and cut in eighths
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
2 whole tomatoes, scored and left whole
1 large bunch cilantro, cleaned and tied with kitchen twine, plus extra for garnish
3 carrots, peeled and quartered
1 large onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 – 2 tablespoons hawayej*
2 large red-skinned potatoes, cut in chunks
Preparation
Place chicken in 8-quart pot with water to cover by 3 inches. Add salt and pepper. Cook on a low flame for 45 minutes, removing foam/fat as it cooks.
Add tomatoes, cilantro, carrots, onion, garlic and hawayej. Bring to boil, then lower flame and simmer for one hour.
Taste the broth. Add more salt, pepper and hawayej to taste. Add potato and cook 30 minutes more.
Before serving, discard cilantro and tomatoes. Snip in fresh cilantro leaves.
* Hawayej for soup is sold online by Pereg-spices.com
Yield: 8
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