Amidst coronavirus, I’m sticking to what I – and a lot of other people – love most: cooking and baking.  One challenge I’ve presented to myself is to make a dish (or dishes) of international cuisines every week, learn some words from the language, and e-visit some of the country’s landmarks.  Some of these dishes will be more complex than others, based on what ingredients I have available in the house. 

Israel is one of the oldest countries in the world, with a rich religious and cultural history. Let’s head on over for delicious cuisine!

DISH #1: CHALLAH (DF)

The first time I was exposed to challah was at Hillel at Tufts, for the Challah for Hunger club. Since then, I’ve enjoyed rolling and braiding out challahs on Wednesday nights. I would be remiss if I didn’t include challah as a part of Israeli cuisine.

A little history first: according to aish.com, the word “cake” is a translation of Hebrew word for “challah.” Before the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, 12 loaves of bread were continuously on display. After its destruction, rabbis would practice hafrashat challah (the removal of dough), which eventually evolved to the brioche-like bread people simply call “challah”.

Apparently, you should not slice challah. As Marnie Winston-Macauley of aish.com writes, “Tearing vs. Slicing: On ‘Chopped’ I saw them slicing the challah instead of tearing! (I ran for the Slivovitz.) Oy vey. Abraham is rolling.” Note taken! So in the traditional way, but perhaps more so because my family just couldn’t wait, we tore into the challah with great enthusiasm.

Another point of discussion is the shape and braiding of challah. Straight loaves are eaten throughout the year, while round challahs are usually served for Jewish holidays, like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Braiding wise, you can make the straight loaves with anywhere from 3-8 braids. I did it with four, and I recommend seeing this video as a step by step tutorial.

As shown in the picture below, I made a traditional loaf, and a mini one with a twist: stuffed with Alter Eco’s Quinoa Crunch Chocolate and topped with Demerara sugar. If you want to stuff your challah with raisins or chocolate chips, you roll out a strand and make indentations, and place the raisins/chocolate chips in it, and then roll again until you can’t see them. You can also make a cinnamon sugar variation, by rolling the strand in cinnamon sugar.

Recipe: NYT’s My Favorite Challah

• Note: I halved the recipe for these pictures.

DISH #2: MEJADRA RICE (GF + V)

I first came across Mejadra rice in one of my college dining halls, of all places. And for that, I am grateful. Not only was mejadra one of the most delicious dishes the dining hall offered, but it ignited my desire to make my own. For my birthday last year, my parents gifted me Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s Jerusalem cookbook, and luckily for me, mejadra rice is in there. No worries, if you don’t have the book, I’ve linked the recipe below!

Recipe: Ottolenghi’s Mejadra rice

• Note: Instead of all-purpose flour, I used chickpea flour, but white rice flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour should work just as well.

After having made the official recipe, I realized that if you’re on a time crunch, you can make a single serving by eye. This is the short cut version that is slightly less decadent, but also a fun change from any typical rice dish. Shortcut:

• Instead of frying the onions with the flour and salt, simply sauté 1/4 sliced onion with salt until the slices are soft and slightly browned (~5 minutes) in a pan. Clear the pan by setting the onions aside on a separate plate.
• Have leftover brown or white rice, either homemade or from takeout? Oil your pan again (~1 tbsp), toast your cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant, and add the rice in.
• Sprinkle your rice with cinnamon, allspice, turmeric, salt, and black pepper. If you have lentils, you can add them in at this time. Add back in the onions, and you’re done!

USEFUL WORDS

Greetings

• Shalom! –> Hello!
• Boker tov –> Good morning
• Mah shlom’cha? –> How are you?
• Naimi lehakir otkha –> It’s nice to meet you
• Lehitra’ot –> see you

Conversation

• Todah –> Thank you
• Sababa –> cool, great
• Slicha –> excuse me, sorry

LANDMARKS

I was lucky enough to come across this tour of Holy Jerusalem that I found to be pretty neat. Here’s the video:

Be te’avon! (bon appétit!)