Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

by Gil Marks

  Enterprising cooks experimented with flavors to produce a host of varieties, in particular cinnamon, almond paste, apricot lekvar, and raspberry. In the late nineteenth century, after chocolate (kahkahaw in Yiddish and kakaó in Hungarian) was introduced from America, it soon became the most popular filling and appropriately the name of this variation of the pastry evolved into kakosh; this pastry is still one of the favorite desserts of Hungarian Jews.

  Although central and eastern European Jews have a long tradition of yeast cake rolls, including the Polish babka, none embraced them as enthusiastically as the Hungarians. Many Hungarians serve makosh, kakosh, diós beigli (walnut roll), or one or more of the other variations on every Sabbath and at life-cycle events. In the late twentieth century, some Hungarian Jewish commercial bakeries in America began introducing these rolls to the wider public and chocolate and poppy seed rolls became commonplace at American gourmet shops. From a land renowned for its pastry, makosh and kakosh rank with the best of Hungarian specialties.

  Hungarian Poppy Seed Roll (Makosh)

  2 large, 3 medium, or 4 small cake rolls

  [DAIRY or PAREVE]

  Dough:

  2 packages (4½ teaspoons) active dry yeast or 1 (1-ounce) cake fresh yeast

  ½ cup warm water or milk (105°F to 115°F for dry yeast; 80°F to 85°F for fresh yeast), or ¼ cup water and add ½ cup sour cream

  ½ cup sugar

  2 large eggs or 3 large egg yolks

  ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened

  1 teaspoon table salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (optional)

  About 4¼ cups (22 ounces) bread or unbleached all-purpose flour

  Poppy Seed Filling:

  3 cups (15 ounces) poppy seeds

  1½ cups water

  1½ cups honey, or 1¼ cups sugar and ¼ cup honey, or 1 cup honey and 1/3 cup light corn syrup

  2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

  1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (optional)

  Pinch of salt

  Egg wash (1 large egg or egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water)

  1. To make the dough: Dissolve the yeast in the water. Stir in 1 teaspoon sugar and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, remaining sugar, eggs, butter, salt, and, if using, zest. Gradually add enough flour to make a soft, sticky dough. (Do not knead.) Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 2 days.

  2. To make the filling: In a nut grinder, food processor fitted with a metal blade, or blender, grind the poppy seeds. In a medium saucepan, combine the poppy seeds, water, honey, lemon juice, optional zest, and salt. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens, about 12 minutes. Let cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

  3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease the sheet.

  4. Punch down the dough. Fold over and press together several times. Divide the dough in half, thirds, or quarters. Roll out each piece into a thin 1/8-inch-thick rectangle; each half will be about 24-by-14 inches; thirds will be about 18- by 14-inches; quarters will be about 14-by-12 inches. Spread with the filling, leaving a ½-inch border. Brush the edges with a little egg wash to help seal the cakes. Starting from a long end, roll up jelly-roll style. Place on the prepared baking sheet.

  5. Brush the cakes with the egg wash. Prick in several places on the top and sides with the tines of a fork to prevent splitting during baking. Bake without rising until golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let the cakes cool on the sheet.

  Variation

  Kakosh (Hungarian Chocolate Roll):

  For the filling, combine 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup confectioners' sugar, 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and enough water to produce a spreading consistency.

  Makoud

  Makoud is an egg casserole with potatoes and/or meat.

  Origin: Tunisia

  Other names: minina.

  Makoud was originally an omelet cooked in a skillet and inverted partway through cooking. Modern versions usually contain mashed potatoes and ground meat and are baked as a casserole. The mixture is also thickened with extra potatoes and fried as patties. Makoud is a main course for both weekday lunches and special occasions. As a casserole, it is easy to serve in the sukkah, so makoud is traditional Tunisian Sukkot fare. Makoud with potatoes is a popular Passover dish. Chopped cooked meat or poultry may be substituted for ground beef; the version made with poultry is called makoud bil djadj.

  Tunisian Potato and Meat Casserole (Makoud)

  6 to 8 servings

  [MEAT]

  6 large eggs, lightly beaten

  2 cups mashed potatoes, or 6 slices white bread, soaked and squeezed

  3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

  ¼ to ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

  About 1 teaspoon table salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  Ground black pepper to taste

  ½ teaspoon ground turmeric (optional)

  3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

  1 large yellow onion, chopped

  1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced

  1 pound ground beef or lamb chuck or 8 ounces chopped roast beef

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 13-by-9-inch or 11- by 7-inch baking pan.

  2. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and, if using, turmeric. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the meat and cook, stirring, until it loses its red color, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir into the potato mixture.

  3. Spoon into the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

  Makroud

  Makroud is a semolina pastry often made with a date filling.

  Origin: Maghreb

  Other names: macroude, macrud, makhroud, makrout.

  Makroud, which means "wound [like a turban]" in Arabic, are popular in many parts of the Maghreb; this pastry is the Berber form of the Middle Eastern ma'amoul (small filled shortbread cookies). Moroccans also use the term makroud for semolina fritters, which are customary for Hanukkah.

  For most of history, these were homemade treats and numerous variations emerged. Since home ovens were rare in the Maghreb, the pastries were originally deep-fried. Today, there are both fried and baked versions, which are made by housewives as well as commonly sold in Tunisian bakeries. Dates (dattes) are the traditional and most widespread filling, but Algerians also fill the pastries with almond paste (makroud el looz) or leave them unfilled. Some versions include only semolina in the dough, while others combine semolina and flour; in a more recent version, some Moroccans have substituted cornmeal. Non-Jews generally use clarified butter, which produces a hard dough, while Jews favor oil for a pareve treat. After cooking, makroud are simmered in sugar syrup or honey.

  Makroud is the Berber form of filled cookies. These sticky treats usually have a date filling and are simmered in syrup or honey.

  These cookies are popular throughout the year, but are traditional for Hanukkah and Purim. Makroud are typically served with Turkish coffee or mint tea (naa-naa).

  Malabi

  Malabi is a white pudding generally made of almond milk or cow's milk and thickened with rice flour or cornstarch.

  Origin: Middle East

  Other names: Cyprus: mahalepi; Egypt: mahalabiya, muhalabiya; Persia: masghati; Turkey: muhallebi.

  Persians concocted a dish of poached chicken, almonds, rice, and sugar, in which the gelatin from the poultry bones and the starch from the rice thicken the cooking liquid when the dish is cooled. From this, medieval Arabs developed a milky white pudding made from almond milk, sugar, rose water, and rice flour, which they named, muhallabia, from the Arabic for "milk."
Jews sometimes substituted white grape juice for the almond milk.

  When the Arabs conquered Sicily in the tenth century, they introduced the almond milk and rice-flour pudding, which later, during Spanish rule, was renamed biancomangiare (white thing to eat). By the thirteenth century, the pudding had arrived in France, where it was known as blancmangier (white eating), which ultimately became the English blancmange.

  Unlike custard or contemporary Western soft puddings, muhallabia are made without eggs, producing a texture that is a cross between gelatin and pudding. Two families of this pudding emerged: rice flour and cornstarch. Both are sometimes still made with almond milk, but they increasingly use cow's milk. The Turks call rice-flour pudding sutlach and cornstarch pudding muhallebi. Syrians call rice-flour pudding suttlage and cornstarch pudding al massia. Israelis learned of the cornstarch pudding from the Turks and, although in Hebrew blancmange is technically raferfet-karish (jelly custard), in the common parlance the name became malabi.

  The basic cornstarch pudding is rather bland in nature, requiring some flavoring. Rose water remains the most widespread addition, although it is an acquired taste. Other flavorings are almond, orange, chocolate, and mastic. Cardamom, sometimes plenty of it, is characteristic of Persian tastes.

  In Israel, malabi became much more popular than muhallebi ever was in Turkey—what falafel is to Israeli street meals, malabi is to Israeli summertime street desserts. Malabi is sold from innumerable kiosks across the country and is even offered as a dessert in many upscale restaurants.

  In Israel, malabi is typically topped with a sweet syrup, either a date syrup or a neon-pink-colored, rose-flavored raspberry syrup, and commonly garnished with toasted coconut or strands of kanafeh (shredded wheat pastry) and/or chopped toasted pistachios or peanuts. Instead of the syrup, some people spoon a little cherry sauce into the serving dish then add the malabi—the bright red fruit provides a dramatic contrast to the white pudding. Another trend has been to omit the syrup and top the pudding with bright red slices of rose-flavored Turkish delight (rahat lokum).

  This light rose water—flavored pudding is traditional in some families for Rosh Hashanah dinner. For Passover, it is made with potato starch. Almond milk versions are ideal for meat meals. For a fancy presentation, the entire malabi is cooled in a large bowl, inverted onto a serving platter, and drizzled with syrup.

  (See also Almond Milk and Sutlach)

  Israeli Cornstarch Pudding (Malabi)

  about 5 cups/5 to 7 servings

  [DAIRY or PAREVE]

  5 cups milk or almond milk, or 4 cups milk and 1 cup heavy cream

  About ½ cup sugar

  Pinch of salt

  10 tablespoons (3 ounces) cornstarch or potato starch

  1 to 4 tablespoons rose water, 2 tablespoons almond extract, 1 tablespoon orange-blossom water, or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  Rose Syrup (Optional):

  2/3 cup sugar

  ½ cup water

  1 teaspoon rose water

  1 teaspoon red food coloring

  ½ cup toasted and coarsely chopped pistachios, almonds, or peanuts for garnish (optional)

  ½ cup toasted flaked coconut for garnish (optional)

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine 4 cups milk, sugar, and salt. Gradually bring to a low boil over medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves.

  2. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1 cup milk and add to the milk in the saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Add the rose water and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes.

  3. Divide the pudding between 5 to 7 goblets or other serving dishes—it's best to use glass to show off the bright white color—and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface. Let cool, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours.

  4. To make the rose syrup: In a small saucepan, combine all the syrup ingredients, bring to a boil, boil until slightly syrupy, and let cool.

  5. Just before serving, remove the plastic from the malabi, drizzle a little syrup over the puddings, and, if using, sprinkle with the nuts and/or coconut.

  Malai

  Malai is corn bread as well as the Romanian word for cornmeal.

  Origin: Romania

  Other names: painea de malai, pita de malaior, turta de malai.

  The peasants of southern Europe long subsisted on gruels—and, less frequently, unleavened breads—made primarily from barley or millet. Shortly after Columbus's first voyage, Spanish explorers introduced corn to the Old World and it was spread by the Turks to the Balkans. Although corn did not fare very well in the climes of northern Europe, the milder conditions in the center of the continent proved ideal for growing the new American grain. In the late seventeenth century, the poor found cornmeal a cheaper and more practical replacement for millet, semolina, and other grains in their traditional dishes. In those areas, corn, when served along with large amounts of legumes, provided complementary nutrition and soon emerged as the most important component of the diet, much as potatoes—another American import—did in northeastern Europe and Ireland. The favorite method of preparing cornmeal was to make a mush called mamaliga in Romania, and polenta in Italy. Another popular Romanian way of cooking cornmeal was to bake it as a casserole or bread to make a dish called malai, which is also the word for cornmeal. Every Romanian meal featured either mamaliga or malai.

  Romanian Jews make numerous versions of malai, most containing various dairy products, resulting in a moister texture and tangier flavor than American corn breads. In general, malai is crumbly and slightly tart or, when plenty of sugar is added, sweet-tart. The traditional types of malai were raised with yeast, but recently baking powder has become more common. In some variations, a curd cheese is mixed into the batter; in others, it is layered in the bread. Dairy malai is often accompanied with sour cream or butter; pareve versions are served with schmaltz. Traditionally, after baking their challahs on Friday, some Romanian housewives stuck a malai in the oven to serve cold for Sabbath breakfast or lunch. Others preferred it warm from the oven.

  (See also Corn/Cornmeal and Mamaliga)

  Romanian Cheese Corn Bread (Malai)

  6 to 8 servings

  [DAIRY]

  Double the recipe and bake in a 13- by 9-inch pan. For a more cake-like malai (budinca de malai dulce), increase the sugar to ¾ cup and add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; for a more savory bread, reduce the sugar to 2 to 3 tablespoons.

  1 cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

  1 cup (4.75 ounces) medium-grind cornmeal, preferably stone-ground

  2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

  ½ teaspoon salt

  2 large eggs, lightly beaten

  1 cup milk

  ½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt

  ½ cup gevina levana (Israeli white cheese), creamy brinza (Romanian feta), or cream cheese

  1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

  1/3 to ½ cup sugar or honey

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (325°F if using a glass dish). Grease one 8-inch square baking pan, one 9-inch cast-iron skillet, or two 9-inch pie plates.

  2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sour cream, cheese, butter, and sugar. Stir in the cornmeal mixture.

  3. Pour into the prepared pan and tap to remove any air bubbles. Bake until the bread is golden brown and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 50 minutes. Malai is best served warm.

  Malida

  Malida is a mixture of flaked rice, shredded coconut, raisins, nuts, spices, and sugar.

  Origin: India

  Other names: maleeda.

  One biblical figure dominates the lore of the Bene Israel of India: Elijah the Prophet, or Eliyahoo Hannabi, as they pronounce his name. According to legend, he twice visited their community. The first occurrence followed their ancestors'
initial arrival via shipwreck on the Konkan coast. As the nearly drowned survivors struggled to shore, Elijah suddenly arrived and breathed life back into them. Much later, on the fifteenth of the month of Shevat, the prophet appeared nearby the landing point in the hilly village of Khandala, which is in the western part of the western state of Maharashtra. Close to Khandala is a black rock embedded with marks (Eliyahoo Hannabi cha Tapa), said to have been made by the wheels of Elijah's chariot of fire as he soared heavenward.

  A confection featuring flaked rice, coconut, raisins, and spices is a signature dish of the Bene Israel of India, which is served at celebrations as an offering of thanks.

  The Bene Israel developed a unique ceremony of thanksgiving called Eliyahoo Hannabi. Among the auspicious occasions meriting an Eliyahoo Hannabi are recuperation from an illness, the purchase of a house or other important item, the return from a long trip, the fulfillment or annulment of a vow, graduation, and the start of a new job. An Eliyahoo Hannabi is also held after celebratory life-cycle events; for example, it is held before a wedding, following a birth, and on the evening after a brit milah. In addition, the holiday of Tu b'Shevat, the anniversary (urus) of Elijah's second appearance, is a customary occasion for the ceremony for all Bene Israel.

  The central feature of the ceremony is the malida (sweet foods), a sort of confection based on a special form of rice, variously called flaked, flattened, beaten, pounded, or pressed rice, and called poha in Hindi. Poha consists of husked rice kernels that are soaked in water for eight to ten hours, then roasted and flattened by rollers. Poha is a common item in the typical Indian pantry, especially in Maharashtra.

  After saying prayers to God and giving thanks to the prophet Elijah, the malida is displayed on a special round platter. Also on the platter are five or seven different fresh whole fruits and, in the center, flowers or myrtle branches (for reciting the besamim benediction), symbolizing the meal offering of the Temple. In addition, many people accompany the malida with a platter of roasted cubes or livers of goat, lamb, or chicken, symbolizing the Temple offerings. The woman preparing the malida is sometimes blindfolded, connoting that the ceremony is performed in blind faith. At the end of the ceremony, the malida is passed around for all the participants to enjoy and each recites the appropriate benedictions over the malida and fruits. In the malida preceding a wedding, the fruits are placed near the bride's stomach, symbolizing fertility, and only she eats them. The Bene Israel generally prefer malida to be very sweet.