Mizrahi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Jews of the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
,
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, and Arab countries.
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...
have also been known as Oriental Jews (''Mizrahi'' is Hebrew: Eastern or Oriental).
Jews of the Mizrahi communities cook foods that were and are popular in their home countries, while following the laws of ''
kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
''. The cuisine is based largely on fresh ingredients, as marketing was done in the local ''
souq''.
Meat is ritually slaughtered in the
''shechita'' process, and is soaked and salted. Meat dishes are a prominent feature of
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
, festival, and celebratory meals.
Cooked, stuffed and baked vegetables are central to the cuisine, as are various kinds of beans, chickpeas, lentils and burghul (cracked wheat). Rice takes the place of potatoes.
History
Mizrahi Jews are the Jews of the Middle East, and points south and east, largely along the Mediterranean coastal areas and the Levant. In some countries, there was much mixing of populations after 1492 when the
Jews were expelled from Spain.
Cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews includes the cuisines of the
Jews of Iraq,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
,
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
(Persia),
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, the
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
communities,
Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...
,
Eastern Caucasus and Georgia.
Some of these communities and cuisine styles overlap with Sephardic communities who fled to many Eastern, Middle-Eastern, and North African countries after the Spanish expulsion.
Coming from the Mediterranean and "sunny" climes, Mizrahi cuisine is often light, with an emphasis on salads, stuffed vegetables and vine leaves, olive oil, lentils, fresh and dried fruits, herbs and nuts, and chickpeas.
Meat dishes often make use of lamb or ground beef. Fresh lemon juice is added to many soups and sauces. Many meat and rice dishes incorporate dried fruits such as apricots, prunes and raisins. Pine nuts are used as a garnish. Pomegranate juice is a staple of Persian-Jewish cooking.
''
Kubbeh
Kubbeh, also known as kubbe, is a family of dishes of Iraqi and Kurdish Jewish origin that are also popular in Syria, and consist of a filled dumpling soup, with a wide array of fillings and soup broths. Once almost exclusively made at home by ...
'', a meat-stuffed bulgur dumpling, features in the cooking of many Mizrahi communities. It is served in the cooking broth, as a kind of soup.
Breads
Flatbread
A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread.
Flatbreads ran ...
s of many varieties are central to middle eastern cooking. Various flatbreads such as
pita
Pita ( or ) or pitta (British English), is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket, als ...
s,
''laffa'',
''malawah'', and ''
lavash
Lavash ( hy, լավաշ) is a thin flatbread usually leavened, traditionally baked in a tandoor (''tonir'') or on a ''sajj'', and common to the cuisines of South Caucasus, Western Asia, and the areas surrounding the Caspian Sea. Lavash is one ...
'' are used instead of
challah
Challah (, he, חַלָּה or ; plural: or ) is a special bread of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat and major Jewish holidays (other than Passover). Ritually acceptable ...
, which was only used by Ashkenazim of Europe, and in the Turban-shaped variety by Moroccan Jews. ''
Lahoh
Lahoh ( or , ar, لحوح, laḥūḥ, ) ), is a spongy, flat pancake-like bread that originated from Somalia.Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, ''Culture and Customs of Somalis'', (Greenwood Press: 2001), p. 113. It is a type of flat bread eaten regu ...
'' is a flatbread of the Yemenite Jews with a spongy texture.
Herbs, spices and seasoning blends
Mizrahi cuisine makes liberal use of cumin, pepper, sesame seeds, and various spices common to all Middle-Eastern cuisines. Saffron, a staple of Sephardic cuisine, is also featured in certain Mizrahi dishes.
Many foods are flavored with seasoning blends or pastes, and light sauces. ''
Hilbah
Hulbah, holbah, helbeh or hilbeh ( ar, حلبة) is a condiment made from ground fenugreek seeds, and a traditional Yemeni food, now popularized among other cultures as well, especially by Yemenite Jews in Israel, who have introduced it to other ...
'', a paste made from
fenugreek
Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Its seeds and leaves are common ingredients ...
seeds and hot pepper, is added to soups and other traditional Yemenite dishes. ''
Skhug
Zhug ( he, סְחוּג, s'ḥug), sahawiq (Yemeni Arabic: ) or bisbas ( Somali: ) is a hot sauce originating in Yemeni cuisine. In other countries of the Arabian Peninsula it is also called ma'booj ( ar, معبوج}).
Etymology
The word '' ...
'', a hot pepper sauce, comes in red and green varieties. A diluted version of ''skhug'' is spooned over ''
falafel
Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served in a p ...
''. ''
Hawaij
Hawaij ( ar, حوايج, he, חוויג'/חוואיג'), also spelled hawayej or hawayij (which simply just means “mixture” in Arabic), is a variety of Yemeni ground spice mixtures used primarily for soups and Yemeni coffee.
The basic mixtu ...
'' is a Yemenite spice mixture that comes into two varieties. One, a blend of powdered ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, is added to coffee and baked goods. The other, a blend of turmeric, black pepper, onion, cumin, cardamom and cloves, is added to soup.
Pastes and sauces are very often served on the side in small dishes on the table during meals, to be added by each diner as desired. Certain spice combinations are characteristic of particular countries, such as coriander and cumin in Egyptian cuisine.
The
''souqs'' of the Middle East and North Africa sell ready-made spice blends sold in bulk, but traditionally, Mizrahi Jews bought fresh herbs and prepared their own blends at home to maintain ''
kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
'', fearing insects in the blends sold in the open-air bazaar.
* ''Adeni hawaij'' (Aden)—cumin, coriander, black pepper
* Adeni black tea spice (Aden)—cardamom, cinnamon, cloves
* ''Advieh-e halegh'', ''halegh'' (''charoset'') (Iran)—may contain: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom (optional)
* ''Hawaij'' (Yemen)—black pepper, cardamom, turmeric, saffron
* ''Kama'' (Morocco)—black pepper, cumin, ginger, turmeric, nutmeg
* ''Quatre épices'' or four spices (Egypt)—cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves
* ''Za'tar'' or ''zahtar—
za'atar
Za'atar ( ; ar, زَعْتَر, ) is a culinary herb or family of herbs. It is also the name of a spice mixture that includes the herb along with toasted sesame seeds, dried sumac, often salt, as well as other spices. As a family of related ...
'', thyme or hyssop with ground sesame seeds, sumac and salt
Desserts
Hot ''
sahlab
Salep, also spelled sahlep or sahlab,( tr, salep, sahlep; fa, ثعلب, ; ar, سحلب, ; al, salep; az, səhləb; he, סַחְלָבּ, ; el, σαλέπι, ; Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Bosnian: салеп, ''salep'') is a flour m ...
'', a liquidy cornstarch pudding originally flavored with orchid powder (today invariably replaced by artificial flavorings), is served in cups as a winter drink, garnished with cinnamon, nuts, coconut and raisins.
''Arak'' from the anis drinks family, is the preferred alcoholic beverage. Rosewater is a common ingredient in cakes and desserts. ''
Malabi
Muhallebi is a milk pudding commonly made with rice, sugar, milk and either rice flour, starch or semolina, popular as a dessert in the Middle East. While the dessert is called Muhallebi in Greece, Turkey and Iraq, the Egyptian variant is called ...
'', a cold cornstarch pudding, is sprinkled with rosewater and red syrup.
''Ikaddaif'' or ''
kadaif
Knafeh ( ar, كنافة) is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with spun pastry called ''kataifi'', soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup called Attar (syrup), attar, and typically layered with cheese, or with other ingredients such as clot ...
'' is a very sweet pastry similar in style and technique to ''
baklavah
Baklava (, or ; ota, باقلوا ) is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine.
The pre-Ottoman Empire, Ottoma ...
''. It consists of shredded dough, which is wrapped around crushed nuts, baked and then soaked in syrup. It is common in various parts of the Middle East and is served at festive meals.
Cooking techniques
As cooking on
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
is prohibited, Mizrahi Jews take advantage of slow-cooking techniques, such as baking on a low temperature overnight, to have available hot dishes on the Sabbath. This technique is virtually universal to all Jewish cuisines. One staple of this technique is ''hamin'' or ''
chamin
Cholent and other Sabbath stews ( yi, טשאָלנט, tsholnt ''or'' tshulnt) are traditional Jewish stews. It is usually simmered overnight for 10–12 hours or more, and eaten for lunch on Shabbat (the Sabbath). Shabbat stews were developed ...
'' (from the word ''kham'', which means "hot").
In
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
this dish is known as ''
dafina''. There are many varieties of ''hamin'' and ''dafina'', as particularly local spices and ingredients are used, as well as the method of preparation. Some varieties are denser than others, and some use rice as a staple instead of the common root vegetables.
''
Bourekas
Bourekas or burekas ( he, בורקס) are a popular baked pastry in Sephardic Jewish cuisine and Israeli cuisine. A variation of the burek, a popular pastry throughout southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East, Israeli bourekas are m ...
'' are often served on Shabbat morning. In Yemenite cooking, Shabbat dishes include ''
jachnun
Jachnun or Jahnun ( he, גַ'חְנוּן, , ) is a Yemenite Jewish pastry, originating from the Adeni Jews, and traditionally served on ''Shabbat'' morning. Yemenite Jewish immigrants have popularized the dish in Israel.
Preparation
Jahnun is p ...
'' and ''kubbanah''.
Shabbat and holiday cooking
Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
foods are often slow-cooked prior to Shabbat, and kept warm overnight once cooked, as cooking is forbidden on Shabbat by Jewish Law. In Yemenite cooking, Shabbat dishes include ''jachnun'' and ''
kubaneh
Kubaneh ( he, כֻּבַּאנֶה) is a traditional Yemenite Jewish bread that is popular in Israel. Kubaneh is traditionally baked overnight to be served for Shabbat morning accompanied by haminados (eggs that are baked in their shells along wit ...
''.
Passover
Mizrahi
''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' ( he, מזרחי) has two meanings.
In the literal Hebrew meaning ''Eastern'', it may refer to:
*Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East
* Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberian P ...
cuisine allows the use of ''
kitniyot
''Kitniyot'' ( he, קִטְנִיּוֹת, ''qitniyyot'') is a Hebrew word meaning legumes. During the Passover holiday, however, the word ''kitniyot'' (or ''kitniyos'' in some dialects) takes on a broader meaning to include grains and seeds such ...
'', which is forbidden amongst the
Ashkenazim
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
. ''Kitniyot'' are legumes and some grains, which include rice and a variety of beans and pulses.
Whereas ''
charoset
Charoset, haroset, or charoises (Hebrew: , ''kharóset'') is a sweet, dark-colored paste made of fruits and nuts eaten at the Passover Seder. According to the Talmud its color and texture are meant to recall mortar (or mud used to make adobe ...
'' in Ashkenazi homes is a blend of chopped apples and nuts spiced with wine and cinnamon, Mizrahi ''charoset'' is often based on dried fruits, especially dates, and is much thicker in consistency.
Other Mizrahi Jewish dishes are
''tebit'', a chicken and rice dish, and ''ingriyi'', sweet and sour meat topped with aubergines, both from the cuisine of Iraqi Jews.
Rosh Hashanah
''
Makroudh
Makroudh ( ar, مقروض, Latn, ar, maqrūḍ, mt, maqrut), also spelled Makrout, is a cookie from the cuisine of the Maghreb. It is filled with dates and nuts or almond paste, that has a diamond shape – the name derives from this characte ...
'' are pastries stuffed with spiced dates and scented with orange-flower water prepared for
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
by Algerian Jews.
Slow-cooked vegetables stuffed with meat are a popular holiday dish. Moroccan Jews season the stuffing with cinnamon, turmeric, and nutmeg. Holiday meals start with at least a dozen small salads.
Rosh Hashana Recipes Routed Through Africa
/ref>
Gallery
File:MoroccanlemonS.jpg, Moroccan pickled lemons
File:Red Kubbeh soup with pita, pickled cucumbers and hummus.jpg, A bowl of ''kubbeh adom'', or red ''kubbeh'' in a beet broth
File:Yemenite Kubaneh.jpg, ''Kubaneh'', traditional Yemenite Shabbat pull-apart bread
File:Jachnun.jpg, ''Jachnun'' served with oven-baked egg, fresh grated tomato and ''zhug
Zhug ( he, סְחוּג, s'ḥug), sahawiq (Yemeni Arabic: ) or bisbas (Somali language, Somali: ) is a hot sauce originating in Yemeni cuisine. In other countries of the Arabian Peninsula it is also called ma'booj ( ar, معبوج}).
Etymolo ...
''
File:Makrouds.JPG, ''Makroudh'' covered in honey
File:Armeniadoma.jpg, Yaprak stuffed vine leaves
See also
* Jewish cuisine
Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions cen ...
* Cuisine of Israel
Israeli cuisine ( he, המטבח הישראלי ) comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israel ...
* Cuisine of the Ashkenazi Jews
* Cuisine of the Bukharan Jews
* Cuisine of the Sephardic Jews
Sephardic Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Sephardi Jews.
Those of this Iberian origin who were dispersed in the Sephardic Diaspora ultimately became the Eastern Sephardim and North African Sepha ...
* Cuisine of the Syrian Jews
* Middle Eastern cuisine
Middle Eastern cuisine or West Asian cuisine includes Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Cypriot, Egyptian, Georgian, Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, Kurdish, Lebanese, Palestinian and Turkish cuisines. Common ingredients include olives and ol ...
* Maghrebi cuisine
Maghreb cuisine is the cooking of the Maghreb region, the northwesternmost part of Africa along the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of the countries of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Well-known dishes from the region include ''c ...
References
External links
Persian MIRROR - Cuisine: Basic Cooking
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuisine Of The Mizrahi Jews
Jewish cuisine
Mediterranean cuisine
es:Gastronomía sefardí
tl:Lutuing Sefardi