Shufoot is a cold Yemeni appetizer made with luhooh bread soaked in an herby yogurt sauce.
Luhooh لحوح is a spongy Yemeni bread. Luhooh is most similar to Ethiopian ingera bread. Both breads are thin and spongy in texture. ingera bread however has a sour/tangy taste, while luhooh is more savory - kind of like a bubbly crepe. Check out my luhooh recipe for step-by-step instructions.
If you don't have time to make luhooh, you can use afghani bread, or large pieces of naan. Although that's not traditional, I've seen it served in some Yemeni households and many people seem to enjoy it that way.
The shufoot herb yogurt also makes for an incredible dressing. Just thin it out with a bit more water and you'll have a beautiful creamy dressing for your favorite salads.
Ingredients:
3 large pieces of Yemeni luhooh bread ثلاث حبات لحوح
1 tub (32oz) of plain yogurt (whole milk) علبة كبيرة لبن زبادي كامل الدسم
2 cups buttermilk كبايتين لبن سائل
2 tbsp cumin ملعقتبن ك كمون
2 tbsp dried coriander ملعقتين ك كزبرة ناشفة
2 tbsp salt (adjust to taste) ملعقتين ك ملح حسب المذاق
1 tbsp pepper (adjust to taste)ملعقة ك فلفل اسود
Water to thin out yogurt as needed (0.5-1.5 cups) ماء لتخفيف اللبن
Herb measurements are estimates - you can adjust based on your liking:
مقادير الاعشاب ممكن تتعدل حسب المذاق
1 cilantro bunch عصبة كزبرة
1/4 cup fresh dill ربع كباية شبت
1/4 cup fresh mint ربع كباية نعناع
1 large green pepper فلفل اخضر بارد حبة كبيرة
1 large jalapeno pepper فلفل اخضر حار حبة صغيرة
6-7 garlic cloves حبات ثوم
6 green onions stems حبات بصل أخضر
1 cup chives كباية كراث
1 plum tomato حبة طماطم
Garnish: للتزيين
Pomegranate seeds حبوب رمان
Grapes عنب
Mint leaves ودق نعناع
Dill leaves ورق شبت
Directions
In a food processor, blend all herbs and vegetables until they combine into a thick paste.
Add cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper to the food processor and blend until well combined. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as desired.
Mix yogurt and buttermilk in a large bowl. Add 2 cups of the green herb sauce and mix well. You can add more green sauce if you'd like. Taste before adding an additional 1/4 of a cup at a time.
Gradually add water to thin out the yogurt mixture. Use your judgement to determine how much water your yogurt sauce will need. It should be the consistency of buttermilk.
In a deep dish of any shape, start with one ladle of your yogurt sauce. Spread around the bottom of the dish.
Cover the base of the dish with your luhooh bread. If your dish is not round, just rip it up into pieces and make sure the layer is evenly covered.
Ladle a generous amount of yogurt sauce until the luhooh layer is completely covered. Spread evenly.
Repeat step 6 with another layer of luhooh. Then repeat step 7 with a layer of yogurt.
Repeat steps 6 and 7 one last time. You should now have 3 layers of luhooh bread. the top and final layer should be a generous amount of yogurt evenly spread out.
Refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Reserve the rest of the yogurt sauce.
Since the luhooh soaks up the yogurt, add more yogurt to the top of your shufoot dish before serving. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, sliced grapes, mint leaves, or dill leaves.
Tips
Save yourself the trouble and make the luhooh a day before.
Allow the luhooh some time to soak up the yogurt sauce - I recommend 2-4 hours in the fridge.
If your reserved yogurt sauce thickens while in the fridge, just dilute with a little bit of water and mix in before topping off your shufoot.
Serve whatever leftover yogurt sauce you have with the shufoot - your guests will love drizzling extra sauce on their portions.
If you enjoy spicy food, add extra spicy green peppers to your green mix.
You will likely have green mix left over. Mix it with buttermilk and your favorite chicken seasoning for an excellent chicken marinade. You can also use it to marinate fish - just add some extra garlic and lemon juice. Green mix leftovers are also great for veggie stews.