Hawaij: The Two Yemeni Spice Blends, for Soup and for Coffee

Ask for hawaij and you might get one of two very different Yemeni spice mixes. One is yellow with turmeric, sharp with black pepper and cumin, and goes into soups and stews. The other is built on ginger, cardamom and cinnamon, and goes into coffee. Yemeni immigrants brought hawaij to Israel, where cooks of all backgrounds now use the savory blend. Just don’t swap one for the other.

At a glance

The name

Jessica Halfin, writing for The Nosher, says the word simply means “spice mix.” Michelle Welsch, in Tasting Table, gives it as Arabic for “mixture” and lists the spellings hawaj, hawayei and hawayij.¹

What is in it

There’s no single recipe. Here are the published versions we could open, side by side. None of them is “the” hawaij.

Hawaij for soup (savory)

Sources: Sussman,² Ringler,³ Halfin,⁴ New York Shuk.⁵

Sussman’s recipe makes 3/4 cup and toasts whole spices over medium-low heat. All four agree on the five-spice core, and the turmeric gives the blend its deep yellow color. You’ll sometimes see saffron in hawaij descriptions, but it isn’t in any of the versions we found.

Hawaij for coffee (sweet)

Sources: Miller and Sarna,⁶ Ringler,³ Halfin,⁴ Welsch.¹

Halfin says the coffee blend will remind you of an Arabic chai spice mix.

Flavor and the compounds behind it

The savory blend tastes peppery, earthy and warm, with turmeric’s color and mild bitterness. The coffee blend is sweet-spiced and gingery. We didn’t find an aroma analysis of any hawaij blend, but the key compounds of its main spices are well documented:

Those figures are for each spice’s oil, from different samples and studies. They don’t tell you anything about the proportions in a finished blend.

How hawaij is used

Savory hawaij

• Soup. Hawaij is best known in Yemeni chicken soup. It’s a spicy, turmeric-heavy blend traditionally stirred into soups. In Sussman’s overnight soup, it goes in with fresh ginger near the end of a long cook.² Ringler says it adds heat, spice and color to the gently cooked soup.
• Stews and slow-cooked dishes. It’s very common to add hawaij to soups, stews and other slow-simmered dishes.
• Rubs and marinades. It also works as a dry rub for grilling, a rub or marinade for meat and fish, and in vegetable dishes.

The mix is widely used in Israel by cooks of all backgrounds.

Coffee hawaij

The sweet blend is traditionally used to flavor coffee. Welsch suggests starting with half a teaspoon in a French press before adding the hot water, then tasting. Or sprinkle a pinch on a freshly brewed cup.¹ Miller and Sarna use it in hot cocoa. Ringler notes the sweet blend wouldn’t work in savory soup, so don’t swap one for the other.³

Buying and quality

Not sure which jar you’ve got? Check the ingredients. Turmeric, cumin and pepper mean the soup blend; ginger and cinnamon mean the coffee blend. You can buy either premixed or make your own.

Storage

Sussman says her homemade savory hawaij keeps in an airtight container for up to 6 months.² That’s one recipe writer’s guidance, not a tested shelf life, so trust your nose with an older jar.

Safety

We didn’t find a regulator finding specific to hawaij. The savory blend is heavy on turmeric, so for documented lead contamination in turmeric and how widespread it is, see the safety section of our turmeric profile.

Health claims

You’ll sometimes see hawaij promoted for its fiber and minerals, or for constipation, diabetes or bone health. We didn’t find any study of hawaij itself, and we’re not claiming it treats or prevents any condition.

Substitutes and related pages

The individual spices: cumin, black pepper, cardamom, coriander, turmeric, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. For the coffee blend, see also chai spices.

Related blends: baharat, advieh, berbere, garam masala and curry powder. If one note has taken over a dish, see too much cardamom, too much cumin or too much turmeric.