Jewish Student Weekly

Like we all know, for Jews the Sabbath is a day where special attention is paid to food and a great variety of delicacies come out of each kitchen. To go with all the delicious curries and side dishes, it is necessary to have flavored rice. Today’s dish is the perfect thing to make on the Sabbath.

Ingredients

1 bay leaf

¼ tsp of saffron threads dissolved in 1/4^th cup of boiling water

2 cups of long grain rice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp salt

4-5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Over a medium flame heat the olive oil and then sauté the rice in the oil until it begins to turn brown.  Sprinkle salt over the rice, add in the saffron dissolved and then pour in the stock.  Cover tightly and put in the oven. Allow it to bake for 35-40 minutes for white rice and 1 hour for brown rice. When all of the liquid has been absorbed, it means the rice is done.

Remove the bay leaf before serving. Serve as a main course along with a side dish such as meat, fish or a vegetarian entrée.

When there is a lot of flavoring in the side dishes it is preferable that the rice and bread are not flavored too heavily. Thus just a mild sprinkling of spices and other flavoring should be perfect. Overdoing it with too many dishes does not allow you to appreciate the taste of even one.

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Yiddish is a Germanic language which is spoken by about 4 million Jews all around the world. The term ‘Yiddish’ itself means Jewish. The language came about sometime between the 9^th and 12^th centuries as an amalgamation of Middle High German dialects and was also influenced heavily from Hebrew/ Aramaic terms that are found in traditional Jewish literature.

Yiddish after some time split into West and East Yiddish and East Yiddish further split into North and South Yiddish. Modern Yiddish especially East Yiddish also has been influenced greatly by the Slavic languages. Yiddish is written in the Hebrew language although Yiddish is not linguistically related to Hebrew in spite of the fact that it has absorbed many things from Jewish tradition.

The late 19^th and early 20^th centuries are considered the golden age of Yiddish literature and this period also coincides with the revival of Hebrew as a language and also as literature. At the beginning of the 20^th century Yiddish began emerging as a major European language and Yiddish theatre and films also became popular. In the middle of the 20^th century however, the Holocaust led to the sudden decline of Yiddish as the Jewish community that used Yiddish extensively was largely destroyed.

In the United States Yiddish initially bound together Jews from different countries but eventually there came an end to that. In the United States most people did not pass on the language to the coming generations as they preferred them to learn English and assimilate to the present culture. In Israel Modern Hebrew began to be the language of use as there were increasing conflicts between the cultural and secular forces in the country.A large number phases in the English language are also inspired from Yiddish to such an extent that they are now part of the language.

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Falafel is a very popular fast food in the Middle East and is slowly becoming popular all over the world. Falafel comes in the shape or balls or are slightly flattened and served along with pita bread. It is an important part of a Jewish diet and is the national food of Israel. It is served along with humus on a salad.  Here is how to make your own falafel:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of                dried chickpeas

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic chopped finely

3 tsp of fresh parsley chopped

1 tsp of coriander

1 tsp of cumin

2 tbsp flour

Salt

Pepper

Oil for frying

PROCEDURE

Place the chickpeas in a bowl and cover with water. Allow to soak overnight.  Drain the chickpeas, place in a pan with fresh water and allow to boil.  Boil for 5 minutes and thereafter let it simmer on low for about an hour.  Drain and allow it to cool for about an hour.  Combine the chickpeas, garlic, onion, cumin, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl. Now add the flour.

Mash the chickpeas together and make sure to mix the ingredients together well. The result should be in the form of a thick paste.  Make small balls with this paste. Flatten them slightly. Deep fry until golden brown.  This should take around 5 minutes.

Falafel can be served with humus and tahini. Stuff the pita bread with falafel, lettuce, tomato or whatever salad you like and the seasoning of your choice. Falafel is healthy and has high protein content owing to the chickpeas. Also if you find that your falafel doesn’t have the right consistency and is not staying together you can add a little more flour until you feel the consistency is correct. Also vary the salt and pepper as per your taste.

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Everyone’s heard of Humus and Falafel and they’re available in restaurants all over the world, even in countries where there are no Jews. Humus is a kind of dip made by the Jews and is extremely popular. Here’s how to make it:

(Serves around 5)

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups of dried chick peas

2 tsp of salt

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely

1/4^th cup of lemon juice

1 cup of taratoor (sesame) sauce

PROCEDURE

Wash the peas in cold water and put in a large plan. Cover with water and leave to soak at room temperature for 12 hours.  Add salt and enough fresh water to completely cover the peas. Cover and bring to a boil for 2-3 hours or until the peas are very tender. Change the water in the pan from time to time. Drain the peas and keep the cooking liquid aside.

In a small bowl mash the garlic and then add the peas and ½ a cup of the cooking water to form a smooth paste.  With a large spoon keep adding in the lemon juice and blending.  Beat constantly and add the taratoor sauce until the mixture is smooth. The humus should ideally be thin so that it can be spread easily. If is it not thin enough add some more of the cooking liquid and beat until smooth.

Put the humus into a bowl and serve.

Humus is generally served with falafel and bread and is a delicious accompaniment to food. It is relatively easy to make and the ingredients are easily available. In case you don’t have fresh chick peas you can also use dried ones or canned ones. If you use the dried ones you will need to soak them the previous day so that they can recover the lost moisture.

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Franz Kafka is one of the best known Jews of all time. One of the world’s most favorite authors, Kafka was born in 1883 to a middle class Jewish family in Prague which is now a part of the Czech Republic. He has had a huge impact on literature in the west. Most of his works were unfinished at the time of his death at the age of 41 and were published posthumously.

He was the oldest of his parent’s six children and was raised mostly by governesses and servants because both his parents used to be away from home managing their business. Kafka’s family was one of the many affected by the vendetta against Jews. His sisters were all sent to Litzmannstadt Ghetto; a ghetto established specially for Jews so that they did not come in contact with non-Jews.  His youngest sister Ottla was sent to a concentration camp and was then gassed to death at a death camp.

Though Kafka’s first language was German he was also fluent in Czech and had learnt a bit of French by reading French authors. He studies law and was also a clerk at the civil and criminal courts at Prague. He was greatly taken by Yiddish theater and this was thause of his increasing faith in Judaism.  Kafka did not publish any books before his death. Metamorphosis was his only published work which is considered to be a short story.  He has several museums started in his name in Prague and the term “Kafkaesque” has been coined after him. He has also inspired a great number of films on his life and work. 

Kafka is believed have suffered from clinical depression and some social problems. In 1917 he developed tuberculosis and over the years developed many medical conditions. Later his tuberculosis grew so bad that the condition of his throat did not permit him to eat. He apparently died of starvation in 1924 at the age of 41 in Vienna.

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Everyone loves cookies and this particular one is quite a delicious one. They can be served on any occasion or just munched anytime. Cookies go great with milk or with some other things and are a great accompaniment. These cookies that I’m telling you about today are called Maple Sugar Cookies and they are quite delicious.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups of flour

½ tsp of salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup coconut oil

1 cup granulated maple sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

4 egg yolks

1 ½ tsp of vanilla extract

½ a tsp of maple extract (optional)

PROCEDURE

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. Cream the coconut oil together with the sugars. Beat in the eggs and the yolks and the extracts also if you’re using them. Mix the flour while remembering to scrape it off the sides of the dish also. Chill the dough briefly for about 20 minutes or so.  Divide the dough into batches and roll out to around ¼ inch thick.  Cut it with biscuit cutters into whatever shape you fancy.  Bake them two sheets at a time, the time varying slightly with the size of the cookie.

You could try variations like colouring the sugar differently to make the cookie fancier.  In this recipe coconut oil has been substituted for butter and the results are fairly pleasing.  Coconut oil is also quite good for health so you can always take a break from butter and add it in here this time. These cookies are quite sweet and you can serve them as an accompaniment with almost anything. It’s a big hit among kids and the adults don’t complain either.

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Shabbat is one of the most important days of the Jewish calendar and there is a special Shabbat feast for that day. The food is elaborate and the whole meal takes a great deal of time to put together. There is challan- a special kind of holy bread made on this occasion, kiddush, a great deal of meat, soups and finally deserts. Jews lay great importance on celebrating their festival days and the meals form an important part of any significant day. Traditionally food is made in huge quantities. Over the years this has stopped, but a Shabbat feast is still a tradition that is followed by all Jewish households. One of the dishes which can be made on Shabbat is:

Balsamic Chicken

This dish is perfect for Shabbat and can be served with a variety of things including Challah, potatoes etc.

For this you need:

½ cup of vegetable oil

½ cup of balsamic vinegar

3 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp ketchup

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp dry mustard

1 clove of garlic

5 pounds of chicken
Preparation:

First mix all the ingredients together. Then spread the paste on the chicken.  Let the chicken marinate for a few hours so that it is nice and soft and absorbs the flavor of the marinade well. Then cover the dish and bake in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about a quarter of an hour.

This dish is very easy to make and takes absolutely no time. So during the festival time when you are in a bit of hurry and struggling between all the dishes this is the perfect one to make so that it will lighten your load a little. It is also very tasty and is very appropriate for the Shabbat.

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The nature and reason behind some of the festivals celebrated by Jews are different and hence they may be referred to as good day or fast or festival.

The Jewish New Year is called Rosh-ha-Shanah in which God sees the deeds of a person through the past year and gives a judgement for the coming year. According to Judaism the world was finally created on this day and two days together form Rosh-ha-Shanah. It is considered by Jews to be one long day

There is a festival called Yom Kippur where all Jews pray to God to atone for the sins they have committed. It is a day of fasting where people fast from sundown until night falls on the next day. Bathing, drinking, eating and conjugal relations are not allowed on this day and it ends with the breaking of the fast in the night.

The time between the two above days are the ten days during which a person is supposed to review his acts over the past year, atone for them. Fasting and praying is also done and people confess before God to repent for their sins.

One of the most important Jewish festivals is Hanukkah which is also knows as the festival of lights. It is the most well known festival among non-Jews and is celebrated to mark the defeat of the Seleuicid Empire who had come in the way of the people of Israel practicing Judaism.  Only the non-orthodox Jews celebrate this festival as the orthodox believe that it is insignificant.

A very important day for all Jews is Shabbat or Sabbath. Every week one day is taken as a day of rest and treated as a holiday. This Friday night to Saturday night is the Jewish Shabbat which is the most important holy day for Jews the world over.

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Although most food that are thought of as being Jewish food are not unique to Jews but the combinations and innovations brought to them by the Jewish community make them special to the Jews. I shall now guide you through the basic and most popular Jewish dished.

A lot of Jewish cooking revolves around the Shabbat (Sabbath) and thus special attention is paid to food cooked on this day.

One of the most basic of all Jewish foods is Challah. The Challah is a sweet bread traditionally used on festival and other special days. The bread is sweet and tastes a bit of egg. On most occasions the bread is braided but the shape may vary according to the occasion.

Another favourite is the Matzah Ball soup. It consists of chicken dumplings in soup.  It consists of thin chicken broth with a few large balls and in some cases carrots or celery or other variations may also be added to the broth.

Knishes are also extremely popular and served on most occasions. The word ‘knish’ stems from the Ukrainian word which means dumpling. Knishes are basically dumplings made out of potato and flour and stuffed with an assortment of things. The dumplings are baked not fried until they are nicely browned on the outside. They could be filled with potato and onion, beans, cheese or anything that catches the cook’s fancy.  They can be served as an appetizer or also as a side dish.

Many of the very common American food items including bagels are Jewish, though the ones available in most bakeries and stores are very different from the authentic Jewish bagel. Jewish food is symbolic to the occasion and different food items are served on different festivals. The food is also an amalgamation of food that is made in different countries of the world which the Jews have added their own touch to in order to make it their own.

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