Citra's Home Diary: Yemeni Spice Hawaij

Selam everybody...Merhaba from Turkey...

Did you hear about Hawaij spice before? Hawaij (spelled hawayej) is a Yemeni spices mixtures. There are two type of hawaij, both derived from the Yemenite kitchen: one is meant for soup, the other for black coffee. Spice mixture for soup are also used in stews, rice, vegetarian dishes and as barbecue spices rubbed into the meat. Basically, this kind of Hawaij consists of cumin, black pepper, turmeric and cardamom. More intricate versions may also contain cloves, nutmeg, saffron, coriander and dried onions.

The mixture for coffee is made from anise seeds, fennel seeds, ginger and cardamom. Although it is primarily used in brewing coffee, it is also used in desserts, cakes, and slow-cooked meat dishes. In Aden, the mixture is made with ginger, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon for black coffee, and when used for tea excludes the ginger

This spice came to Israel along with immigrants from Yemen, and it is widespread among Yemenites in Israel.

Basically, hawaij made by roasting – coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, whole black peppercorns until aromatic and made into a powder. Very few and very basic spices are used for making the dish.

And today I am gonna share very easy version of Hawaij spice mixtures. The recipe I took from MunatyCooking. It's a simple and quick hawaij spice to make. My spice grinder is broken so I need a simple way to make my spice mix to make my Yemeni Chicken mandi, so I think this is a perfect recipe for me.

I have another version of hawaij spice mix that you can check out through this link. Let me know in the comments which recipe you’d prefer to try.

So here is the spices list to make Hawaij mixture:

2 ½ tablespoons cumin powder

2 tablespoons coriander powder

1 tablespoon black pepper powder

1 tablespoon cardamom powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

½ teaspoon cloves powder

1 tablespoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon red chili powder (Optional)

Toss to combine all ingredients above and keep in dry airtight jar. Make about 200 ml hawaij mixture.

See my Yemeni Chicken Mandi using this Hawaij spice mixture here.