Hilbeh
Hilbeh is the Yemeni fenugreek relish served in Yemen, and among Yemeni Jews in Israel, with soups, bread and meat. It looks unusual: soaked fenugreek seeds are blended and whipped with ice-cold water until they turn into a pale, light froth, then blended with coriander, green chilli, garlic and lemon. It tastes bitter, herbal and hot, and fenugreek has a characteristic aroma reminiscent of maple syrup. Usually a spoonful is stirred straight into a bowl of soup or spread on bread.
Your own work in that: 15 min.
- Soaking the fenugreek 480 min
- Whipping and blending 10 min
- Serving 5 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSoak the fenugreek
Cover the fenugreek seeds with water and leave 8 hours or overnight. They swell and develop a jelly-like coating.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp fenugreek seeds · 250 ml water for soaking · 3 tbsp ice-cold water for whipping · 1 bunch coriander · 2 pcs green chillies · 3 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp lemon juice · ½ tsp ground cumin · 1 pinch ground cardamom · 1 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt
Overnight, the seeds swell and turn jelly-like.Rinse the seeds
Pour off the soaking water — it is very bitter — and rinse the seeds twice in fresh water.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp fenugreek seeds · 250 ml water for soaking · 3 tbsp ice-cold water for whipping · 1 bunch coriander · 2 pcs green chillies · 3 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp lemon juice · ½ tsp ground cumin · 1 pinch ground cardamom · 1 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt
Whip the fenugreek
Put the seeds in a tall, narrow container, add a tablespoon of ice-cold water and blitz with a stick blender into a thick paste — whole seeds cannot be whipped with a whisk. Keep blending, adding ice-cold water a spoonful at a time (3 tablespoons in all), until pale, increased in volume and fluffy like foam.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp fenugreek seeds · 250 ml water for soaking · 3 tbsp ice-cold water for whipping · 1 bunch coriander · 2 pcs green chillies · 3 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp lemon juice · ½ tsp ground cumin · 1 pinch ground cardamom · 1 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt
With ice water, fenugreek turns to froth.Prepare the greens
Wash and dry the coriander, peel the garlic and stem the chillies (keep the seeds if you like heat).
Ingredients: 2 tbsp fenugreek seeds · 250 ml water for soaking · 3 tbsp ice-cold water for whipping · 1 bunch coriander · 2 pcs green chillies · 3 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp lemon juice · ½ tsp ground cumin · 1 pinch ground cardamom · 1 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt
Blend with herbs
Add the coriander, chilli, garlic, cumin, cardamom and salt to the fenugreek and blend into a pale green, smooth paste.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp fenugreek seeds · 250 ml water for soaking · 3 tbsp ice-cold water for whipping · 1 bunch coriander · 2 pcs green chillies · 3 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp lemon juice · ½ tsp ground cumin · 1 pinch ground cardamom · 1 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt
Green, frothy and fragrant.Season with lemon
Stir in the lemon juice and olive oil. Taste — it should be clearly salty, sour and hot, with a slight fenugreek bitterness.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp fenugreek seeds · 250 ml water for soaking · 3 tbsp ice-cold water for whipping · 1 bunch coriander · 2 pcs green chillies · 3 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp lemon juice · ½ tsp ground cumin · 1 pinch ground cardamom · 1 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt
Transfer
Spoon into a bowl or small jar.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp fenugreek seeds · 250 ml water for soaking · 3 tbsp ice-cold water for whipping · 1 bunch coriander · 2 pcs green chillies · 3 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp lemon juice · ½ tsp ground cumin · 1 pinch ground cardamom · 1 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt
Serve
Serve a spoonful stirred into meat soup, with bread, eggs or grilled meat. Add it to the bowl, not the pot — cooked, it loses its freshness.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp fenugreek seeds · 250 ml water for soaking · 3 tbsp ice-cold water for whipping · 1 bunch coriander · 2 pcs green chillies · 3 cloves garlic · 2 tbsp lemon juice · ½ tsp ground cumin · 1 pinch ground cardamom · 1 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt
Before you start
Bitterness
Fenugreek seeds are sold in herbalists, health food shops and spice shops. If the hilbeh is too bitter for you, soak the fenugreek longer, up to 24 hours (in the fridge after the first night), changing the water twice. Each change takes some bitterness away.
With zhoug
Yemeni households often pair hilbeh with zhoug — a green coriander and chilli paste. Stir a spoonful of each into a bowl of soup.
Storage
With fresh coriander and raw garlic this is a short-lived relish: keep it in the fridge in a closed jar for no more than 3 days, and do not cover it with a layer of oil. The whipped fenugreek deflates over time — blend it again before serving.