Recipe By:
Traditional

Ingredients:

 5 lb. Flour
 5 tbsp. Salt
 6 cups luke warm water
 2 envelopes dry yeast
 1 tbsp. sugar

Dissolve the yeast in a little warm water with sugar. Let it stand for five minutes. In a separate bowl put the flour and sprinkle salt on the edges. Add the yeast mixture and 4 cups of water in it. Mix well and knead for a few minutes. Add a little more flour if dough is sticky. Let the dough rise in a warm place for approximately 2 hours until the dough doubles in size.

Shape into approximately 40 to 45 balls and open to the desired size with a rolling pin. Let the dough rise an additional 20 to 30 minutes and bake in a preheated oven at 475 degrees for 8 to 10  minutes, or until they begin to brown and puff up. (The oven must be fully preheated to get the desired pocketing result)

6 oz. almonds (blanched if desired)
3-4 glasses cold water
1 tsp. ground cardamom
sugar

Rub the almonds in a dry cloth, to clean. Grind fine. Turn the ground almonds into a white muslin bag or a muslin square. If using a square, hold up and twist the four corners together, to make a bag, so that none of the almonds come loose.

Pour the water into a bowl, and holding the closed bag at the top with one hand, dip it in the water, squeezing the almonds in the cloth in the water repeatedly. The almond milk runs into the water. Empty the  milky water into a pot. Open the bag, stir the almonds around, and close again. 

Repeat the above process into two more bowls of water. The almond milk will now be thinner. Pour each bowl into the same pan.  Add sugar to taste (about one or two tablespoons at the start; you can add more
to taste when boiling, if required.  

Add one teaspoon ground cardamom. Bring to a slow boil, then simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, until somewhat reduced.  Cool and refrigerate. 

A refreshing and strengthening drink before the fast.

6 apples
2½ tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cardamom or cloves
½ cup water

Peel and slice dessert apples (sweet, or sweet and slightly sour). Cut into wedges, about 6 or 8 to an apple. Place in a pan, add sugar to taste, cloves or cardamom (seeds or pwder). Add water and bring to a slow boil, then simmer until softening. If the apples are fairly firm, they will remain in wedges. Cool.

Combine the yeast with the sugar and water until dissolved (10-15 mins.). Combine the remaining dough ingredients with the yeast and knead until the dough becomes soft. Cover the dough with a towel for 3-4 hours.

 Combine the cheese ingredients and leave uncovered in your refrigerator overnight.

Divide the dough into walnut size balls and open with a shobak (rolling pin) into a circle. Place one tsp. of the cheese mixture in the lower half of the circle, turn and close firmly. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375º F.

Exquisite Dairy Dessert
 

1 package lady fingers cookies
8 oz. cream cheese
16 oz. sour cream
1 pk. vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
¾ cup sugar
Selection of fruit (strawberries, kiwi, nectarines, mango etc.)
Whipped cream

Arrange a layer of lady fingers in a large glass bowl. Whip the cream cheese and sour cream with sugar and add the pudding mixed with milk until you get a smooth mixture. Divide into two and cover the lady fingers with half the quantity. Decorate with sliced fruit and cover with whipped cream. Repeat the arrangement of the layers, and top with strawberries. Keep refrigerated.

2 cups flour 
1 ½ cup oil
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil 
½ tsp. Saffron
2 tbsp. Rose water
½ cup walnuts and pistachio nuts (optional)

On a slow fire, fry the flour until it becomes brown while mixing constantly. When brown, add the oil and mix well. In a separate pot combine water and sugar and cook on a slow flame until water starts boiling. Add the syrup (sugar and water) to the flour mixture, mix while still on fire and add rose water. Finally add the saffron (mixed with a bit of hot water) to the mixture for flavor and color. Spread in a flat dish, cut into diamond shaped pieces and sprinkle chopped nuts. Cool down before serving. 

Sambusak B-Tawa
(meatless version)
Jewish Baghdadian Dish 

 Filling

Soak chickpeas overnight and cook the next day until tender. Grind chickpeas in a food processor. Fry onions, cut big in oil, till transparent. Add crushed garlic, turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper and the chick peas. Mix on a slow fire for a few minutes.

Dough

Mix flour with salt. Cut the margarine into small pieces and add to the flour while rubbing it into the flour. Add yeast mixture and the water and knead until you get a soft dough.  Divide the dough into walnut size balls. Open with a rolling pin and put 2 tsps. of the chickpea mixture, turn and seal tightly. Fry in deep hot oil on both sides.

Shabakya
Jewish Moroccan Dish 

Dough

Mix the oil with the water and add flour until you get a soft dough, (you may add more flour if necessary.) Divide it into approximately 70 small balls and open it into a rectangle shape with a rolling pin. Cut four vertical lines in each rectangle. In a deep pot, warm oil until very hot. Hold the two outer strips of dough, cross over and place in the hot oil until it puffs up.

Syrup

Mix all the ingredients together and cook on the fire for about 15-20 minutes until it becomes thick. Pour the syrup on the fried pastry.

Zangoolah
Jewish Baghdadian Dish 

Dough

Combine yeast, sugar and water and let rise. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and the salt and add to the yeast mixture after it has risen. Mix into a smooth soft mixture (if necessary add more water). Let the miixture stand covered for approximately one hour - until it rises. Warm oil in a deep pot. Put the dough mixture in a ketchup bottle and squeeze into the hot oil in a spiral shape. When brownish, turn to fry on the other side. Place on a paper towel and dip in the syrup.

Syrup 

On a medium flame, mix sugar, water and lemon. When it thickens, remove from the fire and add the rose water.

3 packs pressed dates
    ( 500 grams each)
Water
Walnuts
 
 

Haleq (referred to as Silan the rest of the year).

Pour boiling water over dates, and mix them well. Soak for 2-3 hours. Strain the mixture into another pot. Repeat the process of soaking and draining with the remaining dates. Now the sweetness of the dates is transferred into the liquid- and the dates can be discarded. Let the liquid simmer on a very low flame until a third of the liquid evaporates. Let the liquid cool, and then refrigerate.

Jose

Grind walnuts (till slightly coarse) not too fine. When you eat the Haroseth on Pesah,  mix the Haleq and Jose (walnuts) at the time.

Can be served with Massah and romaine lettuce.

Massah Cake
From Israel

8 Massahs
2 tsp. Coffee mixed with
1 cup hot water
2 sticks soft butter or margarine
½ cup sugar
4 oz. Ground cooking chocolate
1-2 liqueur
 

Break the Massah into small pieces (1 inch square approx.) And pour the hot coffee over it. Mix well.Cream the soft butter/margarine together with the sugar, the ground chocolate and the liqueur. When all ingredients are well mixed, combine them with the Massah and transfer into a square dish.

Decorate with 2-3 tbsp. ground chocolate and 2 tbsp. ground walnuts.

Refrigerate overnight. Cut into diamond shaped pieces and serve.
 

Georgian Haleq (Haroseth)
Traditional Georgian Dish

1 cup walnuts
½ cup filberts
1 cup almonds
½ cup roasted peanuts
1 cup dates
1 cup raisins
2 ripe bananas
2 red delicious apples
1½ tsp. cardamom
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. pepper
 

Grind the walnuts, filberts, almonds and peanuts together with the dates and the raisins in a meat grinder or food processor. Mash the bananas and combine into the mixture together with the peeled and grated apples. Mix well and add all the spices. Refrigerate.
Note: The taste only develops fully on the second day, as such, prepare it at least one day in advance.

Koukhi
Jewish Georgian Dish

Ingredients:

1 large pk. coriander (Chinese parsley)
1 cup ground walnuts
3 cloves garlic
½ cup water
4 tbsp. lemon juice
½ - ¾ tsp. salt
 

In a food processor, chop the coriander and the garlic and blend with water. Combine the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Serve as relish.

© Copyright Midrash BEN ISH HAI