Jewish Student Weekly

Lamb pilaf is basically a variant of pilaf with meat in it. It is a slightly flavored rice with generous chunks of lamb in it. This is how to make it:

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 4 lb boneless lamb shoulder, well trimmed, cubed
• 2 lg. onions, thinly sliced in rings
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 c raw rice
• 1 c golden raisins
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 can condensed consommé
• 2 c water
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 1 c blanched, slivered, almonds, toasted
• 3 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

PROCEDURE:

Heat half the oil in a very large skillet and sauté half the quantity of lamb over very high heat until brown. Place the lamb to a bowl with paper towels so that the excess oil is soaked. Drain the excess fat from the pan. Repeat with the remaining oil and lamb.

Once done, lower the heat to medium. Sauté the onions along with cinnamon and pepper in the same skillet until the onions are tender.

Lightly oil a casserole or a baking dish. Layer rice, raisins, lamb and onions and sprinkle salt on the top. Mix together consommé and water and pour it over the top. Cover the dish and bake at 400 degrees F. Remove the cover and sprinkle lemon juice and almonds over it. Bake it for another ten minutes without covering.  If you are preparing for a lot of guests you can prepare the dish in advance uptil the point of adding the consommé.

This dish is relatively easy to make and delicious. It is made on the occasion of Shabbat and on other such festive occasions.

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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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