Aseer's regional dish
Haneeth is the most popular traditional dish of the Aseer region. On 8 January 2024 the Culinary Arts Commission named it Aseer's regional dish under the National and Regional Dishes Narratives initiative, launched in early 2023, which also named jareesh the national dish and maqshoush the national dessert. Saudipedia lists haneeth among the dishes that branch from kabsa.
How it is cooked
The meat is cooked slowly over high heat in a vessel called the muhnath, which is heated first. Bundles of local plants, such as markh (Leptadenia), are laid between and over the coals, and the covered pot is buried in a pit for about two hours until the meat is done; this is what gives it its distinctive flavour.
How it is served
Haneeth is served sprinkled with salt, with rice or tannour bread and local honey on the side, and with reddish barley mifa bread from the tannour and local ghee. It is a traditional dish of the Ramadan iftar.
From Aseer's table
Other Aseer dishes include aseeda, whole wheat cooked until firm and eaten with broth or milk; mifa tannour bread, from long-fermented whole-wheat dough; al-radifa, a calorie-rich breakfast or supper of ghee, salt, fresh milk and whole-wheat flour; tasabi', made of milk and flour and served with honey on special occasions; al-mashghootha, a winter dish of flour, milk, water, laban and salt served with honey, ghee and dates; and al-milla, meat cooked under layers of markh and coals, buried for about three hours and served with rice.
Ramadan dishes in Aseer also include marqooq, jareesh, fatta and sambousa.
Aseer, World Region of Gastronomy
On 13 June 2022 the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism (IGCAT) announced Aseer as World Region of Gastronomy 2024, with the participation of the Culinary Arts Commission.