Yemeni month in Estonian Schools

December saw the beginning of The Yemeni month in four different schools in Estonia; these schools were Audentes Erakool, Rääma Elementry School, Vesiroosi Gymnasium and Tartu Miina Härma School. During this month these schools were involved in some activities that included making Henna tattoos and making some simple Yemeni food such as fried bread (Tauah Bread). And a salsa kind of dip called Sahaweq. The students also made an effort to make this bread and sell it at the Christmas Bazars. The money they were able to collect was added to the “Entelak” project, which is a Yemeni project to assist girls who have fallen out of school to continue their education.

Tauah Bread recipe:

• Flour
• Water
• Salt (according to taste)

Keep adding until you have a solid dough. Then make small balls out of the dough (the size depends on how big of a pan you have). Roll each ball flat and then smear with vegetable oil or melted butter, then fold, and smear again and then fold. Then roll the folded dough flat and start frying on a flat pan, add some oil according to preference.

The ready bread can be used to eat with either savoury food such as cheese or stew, or sweet food such as honey or jam.

Some add a filling of scrambled eggs and tomato and chilli to it, other fillings can be added also and fried along with the bread.

Sahaweq recipe

• 4 large tomatoes
• A little garlic (depending on taste)
• Salt (according to taste)
• 1 teaspoon cumin 
• 2 or 3 chilli cones (according to taste)

This Salsa kind of dip is a very popular dish, and can be added to any savoury food or eaten with bread.

“Ya nafs ma teshtay”

Ya nafs ma teshtay means you get what you wish to eat in English. It is the name of the event we have on the day before Ramadan – the month of fasting. We make many kinds of foods, sweets, drinks, and coffee for this event; then we meet with our family and friends to eat and to talk. We spend the day together in order to make it a special day of the year.

In this day we get a lot of guests and celebrate. The day starts by reading the holy Quran; it continues with hearing (nasheed), and listening to kutbah about Ramadan and about how priceless is time, how we should be spiritual and do good deeds. After that we continue with one of the most popular dance in Yemen: “Bara’a”. Then the men and women eat separately on the floor; some dishes are eaten with hands.

 

Bint alsahn – lunch food, eaten with honey on it.

Saltah – lunch food, eaten with breads while it is very hot

Hareesh – lunch food, eaten with honey and butter inside or instead with meat soup. It is eaten with fingers.

Motffayah – cooked fish to be eaten with Ruz (rice).

Ruz (rice) – we put some salad or Zahaweq on it.

Zahaweq – tomatoes which are mixed with some spices, can be eaten with breads or mixed with some other foods like Rice or Shafoot.

Shafoot – lunch food, preferred to be a little cold.

Assed – lunch food, eaten with fingers after some meat soup has been put inside.

Sanoonah – cooked fish with some spices to be eaten with breads.

Buraik – it is the kind of food eaten by hands as pieces; some prefer to eat it in the end of the lunch

Masoobah – eaten with honey and butter on it while it is hot

Khubz (breads) – main thing for Yemeni food, eaten with other dishes.

Luhooh – bread used to eat some foods by like zugni and to make some foods like Shafoot.

Basbossah – it is very sweet and eaten after meals

Sambossah – we eat this more during Ramadan. You can have some “Zahaweq” with it.

Dhamool we usually eat these with coffee or hot drinks.

Sladah (salad) – we eat it with lunch, and it is also put in shafoot and rice.

Vegetable soup – eaten hot, sometimes with breads. Preferred during Ramadan.

Rawany – before eating, it should be poured with some sugared water called “Shurop”. It is eaten mostly during Ramadan.

Shoubiah – should have some Shurop too, like Rawany.

Muraba altoffah (apple jam) – it is eaten mostly during Ramadan.

Kobz Tawah – a kind of bread, could be eaten by itself or with other dishes .

Qedam – usually eaten with saltah.

 

Read all the posts by Youth Leadership Development Foundation.
Read all the post by students from Yemen.