Yemen cuisine is not divided into regional cuisines, but it has
influences from the Indians (especially the Indian herbs and
spices), the Persians, the Lebanese people and the Egyptian
ones. Still, Yemen cuisine represents the variety and the taste
of the specific Arabian cuisine. The variety of aliments
includes: lamb, yoghurt, thyme, mint and cinnamon (for the meat
dishes), tea and coffee, rice, garlic, turmeric, fish on the
coasts, pepper, eggplants, cucumbers, onions and citrus fruits.
The most traditional dish is the salto, which is based on meat
and served an end of dinner or lunch during a special day. There
is a wide range of juices and soft drinks, teas (shay) and
coffees (qahwa): the ginger coffee, the mocha matari coffee.
Yemeni people also make their own traditional bread, called the
mellawach, which is served with a spicy hot sauce that contains
many spices, called the zchug. Zchug is also put on grilled
meat, besides the hilbeh, fenugreek or coriander paste.