Aseeda Asir

Aseeda is a hearty winter and feast dish of the southern Saudi highlands, Asir, Jazan and Bahah. A thick wheat or corn flour porridge is cooked until dense and smooth, then served with a rich meat broth (often lamb) poured over it. It is the savoury counterpart to the sweet arikah, and is a staple of the southern highland table, eaten communally from a large bowl. The corn-flour version is particularly associated with Jazan and the far south.

Dense, smooth, neutral-tasting porridge soaked in a deep, savoury, fatty meat broth, the two textures meeting, the broth carrying the flavour. Eaten by hand from a shared bowl, it is hearty, rib-sticking and the warming staple of a southern winter.

The flour (wheat or corn) is whisked into boiling water and beaten constantly to prevent lumps, until it forms a dense, smooth, elastic mass that holds its shape. The meat broth is cooked separately (lamb with onion and spices), and poured hot over the aseeda at service. The aseeda itself is neutral; the broth is the flavour. The corn version uses cornmeal, giving a slightly sweeter, yellower result.