Practice

“[Dearborn, Michigan] is like the Yemeni equivalent of Little Italy,” said Amjaad Al-Hussain. She’s the author of  Sifratna: Recipes from Our Yemeni Kitchen , the only Yemeni cookbook written and published in English. Though many of her family members were born in Yemen, Al-Hussain has never visited, having been raised entirely in the United States. She said Dearborn took her by surprise. “I spent a week there [a few years ago],” Al-Hussain explained. “Speaking with a store clerk in my own Yemeni dialect was like an out-of-body experience, but that’s normal in Dearborn! Traditional outfits, Yemeni grocery stores, street signs in Arabic … it’s really a  community .” I had called Al-Hussain late last year to ask about fahsah and saltah, two delicious-sounding Yemeni stews that were brought to my attention while working on another assignment. From Al-Hussain, I learned that both stews are served boiling-hot. The starting point for the stews is the same:...