Kosher and Traditional Jewish Cooking: Authentic Recipes From a Classic Culinary Heritage: 130 Delicious Dishes Shown in 220 Stunning Photographs (47 page)

CHOLENT

Ashkenazi, long-simmered stew of meat and beans.

CHRAIN

Horseradish and beetroot condiment of Ashkenazi origin.

CHREMSLACH

Ashkenazi matzo meal pancakes, often eaten at Pesach.

DAFINA

A long-baked Shabbat stew, made of beef (often with a cow’s foot), potato, beans and hard-boiled eggs. It is a speciality of Moroccan Jews.

DAIRY

Refers to a meal made with milk products.

DESAYUNO

Sephardi Shabbat breakfast.

EINBREN FLOUR

Flour browned with fat. Traditionally, it is used to thicken soup in the German Ashkenazi kitchen.

EINGEMACHTS

A preserve made from beetroot (beets), radishes, carrots, cherries, lemons or walnuts. It is favoured at Pesach.

ETROG

Large yellow citron used to celebrate Sukkot.

FALAFEL

Deep-fried chickpea or broad (fava) bean croquettes, adopted from the Arabs. They are eaten with salads and pitta bread.

FARFEL

Pellet-shaped dumplings made from grated noodle dough or crumbled matzo.

FASSOULIA

White beans, often stewed with meats and vegetables, eaten as an appetizer or stew, popular with the Jews of Greece.

GEFILTE FISH

Ashkenazi balls of minced (ground) fish, eaten cold, poached and jellied or fried. Gefilte means stuffed, and originally the fish was stuffed back into its skin.

GLATT

A particularly stringent form of Kashrut.

GRAM FLOUR

It is made from ground dried chickpeas and is used in pakoras, spicy pastries, and falafel.

HALEK

Date syrup, eaten for Pesach by the Jews of Iraq, India and Yemen, in addition to or in place of charosses. In the Bible, “halek” is thought to refer to honey.

HALVA

A sweetmeat made from sesame paste and sugar or honey, and flavourings, then pressed into blocks and dried. Chocolate, pistachio nuts or almonds may also be added. Halva is popular with Jews from Middle Eastern and Balkan lands.

HAMANTASHEN

Triangular-shaped, Ashkenazi cookies with various fillings such as apricots or nuts; eaten at Purim.

HAMIM

See cholent.

HANUKKAH

See Chanukkah.

HARISSA

North African fiery paste of red chillies and spices, often served with mild foods such as couscous.

HAROSSET/HAROSSETH

See charosses/charosset.

HAVDALAH

The ceremony that marks the end of Shabbat and the start of the new week. Prayers are said over wine, special spices are smelled, and a candle is lit.

HAWAIJ

A Yemeni spice mixture that includes cardamom, saffron and turmeric, used in most Yemenite cooking.

HILBEH

A pungent spice paste of ground fenugreek seeds, often served with spicy zchug. Hilbeh is slighly bitter and has a unique aroma, almost like brown sugar.

HOLISHKES

Ashkenazi stuffed cabbage, it is often simmered or baked in a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce.

HOREF

Hebrew for hot pepper or spicy. Used in Israel to describe the spicy sauce or peppers eaten with falafel.

IKADDAIF

Shredded dough used in Middle Eastern pastries to wrap around nuts, then baked and soaked in syrup.

KAES

The Yiddish word for cheese.

KAMA

A Moroccan spice mixture of pepper, turmeric, ginger, cumin and nutmeg, used for stews and soups.

KARPAS

The parsley, lettuce or herbs placed on the Seder plate and dipped in salt water.

KASHA

Toasted buckwheat.

KASHRUT

Jewish dietary laws dictating what may be eaten.

KATCHAPURI

Flaky pastries filled with goat’s cheese or feta cheese, brought to Israel from Georgian Russia.

KHORESHT

The sweet and sour Persian stew that is ladled over rice and features in the everyday diet of Persian Jews.

KIBBEH

Dumplings of Middle Eastern origin made from minced (ground) lamb and soaked bulgur wheat, eaten either raw, formed into patties and baked or fried, or layered with vegetables and baked.

KICHELACH

Light, crisp, slightly sweet cookies of Lithuanian Ashkenazi origin. They are traditional in areas where there is a large Ashkenazi population.

KIDDUSH

Sanctifying blessing over the wine and challah.

KINDLI

Another name for Ashkenazi poppy-seed cake.

KISHKE

Stuffed intestine filled with matzo, chicken fat, onion and paprika. It is served roasted or poached.

KLOPS

Meatloaf or meatballs of Ashkenazi German origin.

KNAIDLACH/KNAIDL

Matzo meal dumplings.

KNISH

Savoury pastry filled with meat, cheese, potato or kasha.

KOSHER

Term used to describe any food deemed fit to eat by the laws of Kashrut.

KOSHER SALT

Large grains of salt for sprinkling on to meat, to drain out blood, as stipulated in the laws of Kashrut.

KREPLACH

Small meat-filled dumplings made of noodle dough, often served in chicken soup. At Shavuot they are filled with cheese and eaten with fruit and sour cream.

KRUPNIK

Ashkenazi mushroom and barley soup. It is a traditional dish in Eastern Europe, particularly Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine.

KUBBEH

Meat dumplings favoured by Iraqi Jews as well as those who emigrated to India and Israel. Kubbeh are eaten in soups and stews, and may also be steamed or fried.

KUBANEH

A Sephardi Shabbat breakfast dish cooked for a long time, often overnight.

KUCHEN

An Ashkenazi yeast-raised cake that is slightly sweet and often stuffed with fruit. It is eaten with coffee or tea for morning or afternoon breaks, or as dessert for festivals or holiday meals.

KUGEL

Baked dish of noodles, vegetables, potatoes or bread; it may be sweet or savoury.

LAG B’OMER

Holiday falling on the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, the days between Pesach and Shavuot.

LAHUHUA

A Yemenite flat bread that has a crumpet-like texture and is eaten with soups and stews.

LATKES

Fried potato pancakes eaten by Ashkenazi Jews at Chanukkah. Latkes can also be made with other vegetables or matzo meal.

LEKAKH

Traditional honey cake.

LOKSHEN

Yiddish for noodles.

LOX

Yiddish for smoked salmon.

LUBIA

Black-eyed beans (peas), popular in Sephardi cooking, especially in Israel where they are added to spicy soups and stews.

MAMALIGA

A creamy porridge-like mixture of cornmeal, similar to polenta. It can be eaten hot or cold.

MANDELBROT

Almond cookies resembling Italian biscotti. They are double-baked, giving a crisp, hard texture.

MANDLEN

The Yiddish word for almonds, which are favoured in Ashkenazi cooking. Also the name of the crisp, baked or fried soup garnishes made from noodle dough.

MAROR

Bitter herbs eaten at Pesach.

MATJESHERRING

See salt herring.

MATZO/MATZAH

The unleavened, thin brittle bread ritually eaten during Pesach.

MATZO

A fine flour made from crushed matzo, used to make cakes, popular among Turks.

PAREVE

Yiddish, describing the neutral foods that are neither dairy nor meat.

PASTRAMI

A cured dried beef that is a speciality of the USA.

PESACH/PASSOVER

The festival that celebrates the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.

PETCHA

Calf’s foot jelly, a traditional Ashkenazi dish.

PIEROGI

Little pasta dumplings, of Polish origin, filled with fillings such as cabbage, mashed potatoes, onions, cheese and kasha and served with sour cream. The sweet, dessert version are varenikes.

PIROSHKI

Ashkenazi savoury pastries of Russian origin made with a yeast dough and filled with cabbage, meat, hard-boiled egg, spinach, cheese or kasha. They may be appetizers or large pastries, and baked or fried.

PITTA BREAD

Known as khubz in Arabic, pitta is a round flat bread that is cooked on a flat pan and puffs up as it cooks. The bread may be slashed open and its hollow inside filled like a sandwich.

PLAETSCHEN

Ashkenazi term for little squares of pasta, which are eaten in soup.

PLAVA

Very simple Ashkenazi sponge cake. It was once the favourite British Jewish cake and every bakery in London’s East End had its own version.

POMERANTZEN

Candied citrus peel, a classic sweet treat of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe, especially Germany. Sometimes it may be dipped in chocolate.

PORGE

Ritually remove blood and fat from meat.

POTATO FLOUR

Used as a light and translucent thickening agent for sauces and cakes.

PRESERVED LEMONS

A North African speciality, lemons are salted and layered in jars, which imparts a tangy flavour. They are often added to dishes such as tagines and salads.