Hawaij
Yemeni spice blends: one for soups and stews, built on cumin, pepper and turmeric, and one sweet for coffee.
Also: hawayej, Yemeni spice mix, hawaij for soup, hawaij for coffee
Hawaij is the name of two Yemeni blends carried to Israel by Yemenite Jews. The savoury soup hawaij mixes black pepper, cumin, turmeric and cardamom, and sometimes coriander or cloves; it flavours broths, stews, rice and the Sabbath dish kubaneh, a bread cooked overnight. The coffee hawaij combines ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and aniseed, added to coffee as it brews. Cooks also use the soup blend on roasted vegetables and meat. The word comes from the Arabic for mixture or needs. Families grind it freshly, and a jar stands next to the stove, as garam masala does in an Indian kitchen.