Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 pounds boneless short ribs, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 4 tablespoons schmaltz (preferred) or olive oil
- 3 tablespoons hawaij (recipe below)
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, halved
- 1 marrow bone, cut in 1/2 lengthwise by your butcher
- 4 large and preferably heirloom tomatoes
- 1 bunch each cilantro and parsley, tied into a “bouquet garni”
- 2 1/2 quarts beef broth
- Salt
- Pepper
- 12 baby Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped for garnish
- The Hirshon Hawaij recipe:
- 2 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground corriander seed
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 4 cloves
- 5 shelled cardamon seed pods
- 2 bay leaves, crumbled and stiff central vein discarded
- Grind all spices together, reserve extra amount not used for this recipe for another use.
- Recipe for hilbeh:
- 8 tablespoons fenugreek seeds
- 4 cups water
- 1 tomato
- 4 garlic cloves
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon of Zhoug (optional but highly recommended)
Instructions
- Hilbeh Preparation:
- Put fenugreek seeds in a deep bowl.
- Cover with 4 cups of water.
- Let stand overnight or at least 4-5 hours.
- The fenugreek seeds will absorb a lot of water and swell considerably.
- The next day, get rid of the soaking water as it is bitter.
- Grind the fenugreek seeds for 1-2 minutes in a food processor.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend until reaching a homogeneous texture.
- Marak Temani Preparation:
- In a large bowl, combine short ribs, 2 tablespoons schmaltz, 2 tablespoons hawaij and salt, mixing well to evenly coat meat. Transfer to a plate and loosely cover with parchment paper. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Heat remaining schmaltz in a lidded large pot over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Cook short ribs, turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer meat to a plate and set aside.
- Add the meat and the bone marrow into the pot.
- Make three deep incisions in the tomatoes (while keeping them whole) so that they can release their flavor in the broth.
- Add the tomatoes and cilantro/parsley bundle into the pot.
- Cover the ingredients with 2 to 3 quarts of broth until the ingredients are almost fully covered.
- Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat to medium.
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add all remaining ingredients (including remaining tablespoon hawaij) except potatoes.
- Reduce heat to low and cover the pot.
- Simmer the soup for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
- Add potatoes to the broth.
- Simmer for another 30-45 minutes until the broth thickens and the meat is tender.
- Before serving, remove the tomatoes, marrow bones and cilantro/parsley bundle.
- Serve in individual bowls, with both hilbeh and zhoug on the side. Garnish each bowl with chopped fresh cilantro.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
