(pronounced zzzz-hoog, one syllable)
Fairly spicy Yemenite condiment, good for soups, stews, or spread on toast when your MIL comes to visit. Also very nice stirred into chicken soup when you have a bad sinus cold. This version is from Claudia Roden's New Book of Middle Eastern Food (Penguin, 1985) and is a pretty standard rendition.
Grind and blend the following to a paste:
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp caraway seed
3-4 cardamom pods
4 strong dried hot peppers soaked in water 1 hour
1 whole head garlic (peel cloves first)
a good bunch of coriander leaves (remove stems)
salt
Keeps for quite a while in a tightly closed jar with a layer of oil spread over the top.