by Gil Marks
Tachin
Tachin is a baked rice casserole.
Origin: Persia
Other names: tacheen.
Tachin is the Farsi word for "bottom of the pot," but also refers to a type of Persian rice casserole, which entails less preparation than the more famous Persian method of making rice, chelow. There are numerous variations: Some are dairy and made with yogurt, which adds richness and moistness. In others, chicken pieces are buried in the mound of rice (tachin-e morgh) for a one-dish meal. As is typical of Persian cookery, tachin is not highly spiced. Instead, the focus of the dish is the texture and color of the rice; many people from neighboring countries consider it rather bland. Most tachin are layered, sometimes with fried eggplant slices in the center (tachin-e bademjan), traditional sukkot fare, with the rice on the bottom becoming crispy. Turmeric or saffron is common; these spices are added to many Persian dishes to mask any unpleasant cooking odors and also to impart a yellow color, a Middle East symbol of joy. Historically, rice was much beloved but expensive in many parts of Persia, and casseroles were considered ideal for entertaining. Accordingly, tachins were generally served only on special occasions. Tachin is typically accompanied with turshi (pickles).
Persian Rice Casserole (Tachin)
6 to 8 servings
[PAREVE or DAIRY]
2½ cups (1 pound) basmati or other long-grain rice
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ teaspoon ground turmeric or ground saffron
About 1 teaspoon table salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt
About 1/8 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
1 cup plain yogurt or 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)
1. Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add the rice and boil on high until the rice is nearly cooked, about 15 minutes. Drain.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread a thin layer of olive oil over a 9-inch square ovenproof dish or a round 1½-quart ovenproof dish.
3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, turmeric, salt, pepper, and, if using, yogurt. Stir in the rice. Spoon into the prepared dish.
4. Cover and bake until heated through and the bottom is crisp, about 50 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Some cooks like to invert the casserole onto a serving platter.
Tagine
Tagine is a cooking vessel as well as the stew made in the pot.
Origin: Morocco
Other name: tajine.
Cooking in earthenware vessels has long been common in the Mediterranean. The wealthy frequently used metal versions of these vessels, while the masses relied on the more affordable and, for some tasks, more effective clay. Originally, the bottom of these clay skillets was concave, but eventually some evolved into flat-bottomed skillets. The entire base of a flat skillet could then be exposed to the heat and the skillet could also double as a plate. Multiple uses were quite common—in addition to being utilized for cooking, the Roman olla served as a receptacle for money, as well as a funeral urn. The Greeks used the word teganon, source of the Italian tegame (skillet), for a shallow, round earthenware pan, which was essentially a rudimentary terra-cotta skillet; the pan's round shape made it well suited for shallow frying. The term teganon first appeared in a Jewish text in 2 Maccabees, which was possibly written around the end of the second century BCE. The word subsequently emerged in rabbinic literature as a term for "skillet" and in Hebrew as the verb "to fry." Consequently, the modern Hebrew word for "skillet" is machavat tegon and the verb "to fry" is teegain.
In Spain, the Roman patella became paella, denoting both a specific shallow, circular, flat-bottomed earthenware dish and a special stew with rice that was cooked in this dish. However, across the Straits of Gibraltar and throughout the Maghreb, the name of these vessels generally derived from the Greek teganon, which had been popularized in the area by either Greeks or perhaps Jews. Unique to Marrakesh is the tangia or tajina, a deep terra-cotta jar traditionally covered with oiled parchment, but more recently with an earthenware lid. Typically, it was set in the ashes of a hammam (bathhouse) or hearth and left overnight so that the meat—with very little or no added liquid—could slowly cook; this was the same method that Jews used to cook Sabbath stews. In Tunisia, the word tagine generally refers to a small, round earthenware pan with a lid, as well as to a type of omelet, akin to a fritada, that is baked in the pan; originally, the pan was smothered with hot coals to cook the food inside.
The Moroccan tagine serves as both a cooking vessel and serving platter, although in many parts of the country the couscous is usually served separately from the other foods in the tagine.
From the Moroccan town of Tafraout, high in the Anti-Atlas Mountains, came a unique two-piece cooking vessel made from red clay called a tagine, which is now ubiquitous throughout the country as well as in Algeria. This tagine consists of a shallow, circular, flat-bottomed dish standing about three inches high, with a tall, heavy conical lid that fits in the base. During cooking, the lid seals in the moisture, making the pan ideal for long, slow simmering on a stove or over live coals. The steam accumulates near the top of the cone, then drips back down, keeping the stew moist and intensifying the flavors. When the food is ready, the top is removed and the base then acts as a serving platter. The relatively dry stews cooked in the tagine are referred to by the same name. Tagine and couscous are the two national dishes of Morocco.
In Morocco, the typical stew cooked in these earthenware vessels is a relative of the Persian geimeh. It originated as a way of preserving lamb in spices and fat; the meat is slow-cooked until it is very tender. The resulting meat and thick, spicy sauce are served with flatbread or couscous. Tagines can be sweet, savory, or piquant. They often have a combination of sweet spices and various fruits. Preserved lemons, olives, and dried fruit are common flavorings. Lamb tagines are typically served as everyday fare, while chicken tagines are usually reserved for special occasions. Seasonal vegetables are also added, stretching the meat into an economical dish. Although most Arabs use samneh (clarified butter) to cook their tagines, Jews substitute oil. Otherwise, there are few differences between Jewish and Berber tagines.
Tagines are not demanding and can be kept on a low heat for a while, making them ideal for Sabbath evening dinner. A tagine is served at most holiday meals, usually preceded by a small, savory phyllo appetizer or pastilla (pigeon pie) and accompanied by a number of vibrant salads.
(See also Couscous)
Moroccan Lamb Stew (L'haam Tagine)
5 to 6 servings
[MEAT]
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 medium yellow onions, chopped
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley, or ¼ cup each
About 1 teaspoon table salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
½ to 1 teaspoon ground cumin or cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon crushed saffron strands or ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne (optional)
3 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, neck, or shank, cut into 1¼-inch cubes
About 2 cups chicken broth or water
1. In a large bowl or plastic bag, combine the oils, onions, cilantro, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, ginger, saffron, and, if using, cayenne. Add the lamb and toss to coat.
2. Place the meat mixture in a tagine, a heavy heat-proof dish, or a large pot. Cover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the meat has absorbed most of the oil, about 15 minutes. Uncover and stir the meat, browning on all sides.
3. Add the broth, cover, and simmer over low heat or bake in a 325°F oven until very tender, about 1½ hours. The sauce will be very thick; if necessary, add a little more water while cooking. Serve with couscous or rice.
Tahini
For millennia, the primary oil in many parts of Asia was deri
ved from pressing sesame seeds. Originating as a medieval by-product of sesame oil production, but emerging as a beloved food in its own right, was a thick paste made by grinding hulled and lightly roasted sesame seeds. When the paste is made from unhulled roasted sesame seeds, it has a darker color and somewhat bitter flavor and is called sesame butter. In some areas of the Middle East, especially Iraq, sesame seed paste was called rashi. In most places, it became known as tahina—from the Arabic tahn (ground)—but it is more commonly pronounced in the West with the Greek spelling, tahini. Tahini has become a staple in Israel; the modern Hebrew word for it is tachina.
In 1905, twenty-two-year old Nathan Radutzky, a Jewish immigrant from Kiev, arrived in the United States. Two years later, he founded Independent Halvah and Candies on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The company's featured product was sesame paste halva, which was made by hand from his special recipe. The confection was sold initially through pushcart vendors and later in Jewish delis and appetizing stores. Following World War II, Radutzky's four sons renamed the family-owned company the Joyva Corporation. The company, which had relocated to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, began marketing tahini in vacuum tins, eliminating the need for refrigeration. For decades, Joyva served as the predominant American source of sesame paste. In the United States, initially tahini was generally limited to various Middle Eastern and health food stores. The word tahini first appeared in English toward the end of the nineteenth century, but the actual product did not become commonplace in America until the late 1960s, when Middle Eastern dishes began gaining popularity. Today, tahini can be purchased in small cans or bottles in most Western supermarkets and is available in bulk in many health food and specialty stores.
One of the most common uses of tahini is in a raw sauce, typically made with lemon juice, water, garlic, and sometimes chopped parsley. Sesame seed sauce is officially taratur bi tahina, but in actual parlance the name is usually shortened to simply taratur in the Arabic part of the Levant and to techina in Israel. Unquestionably, tahini sauce's most famous role in Israel is as part of a falafel sandwich, but plain taratur bi tahina also serves as a dip and salad dressing, a sauce for cooked vegetables (such as roasted cauliflower), a topping for shawarma and other roasted meats, a sauce for kibbeh (fried torpedo-shaped meat in a thin starchy shell), and a topping for fish. When made for fish, the sauce tends to be more lemony.
In many areas, tahini is mixed with lemon juice and plenty of chopped parsley for a simple salad, which is served with pita bread. Tahini has a nutty flavor and serves as a key component of Middle Eastern cooking—it appears in hummus; eggplant dishes, such as baba ghanouj; and confections, notably halva.
(See also Sesame)
Middle Eastern Sesame Seed Sauce (Taratur Bi Tahina/Techina)
about 1¾ cups
[PAREVE]
1 cup tahini (sesame seed paste), stirred well before using
About ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, or 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 to 3 cloves garlic, mashed
About ¾ teaspoon table salt or 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ to 1 cup cold water
Blend together the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt until smooth. It will become a bit lumpy at first as the oil binds up, until exposed to sufficient liquid to form a smooth emulsion. Add enough water to make a sauce of pouring consistency.
Tamarind
Tamarind, a name derived from the Arabic tamir hindi (date of India), is the fruit of an evergreen tree from the legume family. The Arabic name is a misnomer, as it is not from a palm tree, and is probably indigenous to tropical eastern Africa. Early in history, it was transported to India, where it flourished. When Persians or Radhanites (international Jewish merchants) brought it to central Asia from India around the seventh century CE, everyone assumed it was native to that country. The ancient Egyptians may have culled the plant from Sudan, but it is unmentioned in the Bible or Talmud.
Tamarind fruit consists of brown pods resembling the carob. Inside the pods are a sticky, tart, brown pulp and up to twelve glossy brown seeds. When the fruit matures, the shell turns brown and brittle as the pulp and seeds darken in color. Among fruits, tamarind follows only dates in the amount of sugar. However, tamarind is also the most acidic of fruits, with a flavor similar to a combination of apricots and dried plums. In cooking, neither lemon juice nor pomegranate concentrate is an adequate substitute for tamarind.
Tamarind was first recorded in cooking outside of India during the Middle Ages. Before the popularization of lemons in the Middle East, tamarind served as the primary souring agent in cooking throughout much of Asia, a role it still maintains in India and Syria and to a lesser degree in Iraq, Iran, and Georgia. The pulp is used to make jams, candies, marinades, and sauces (including Worcestershire). Tamarind's acidity acts as a natural meat tenderizer. Tamarind is the basis for a favorite Indian chutney, imli chanti. Syrian tamarind sauce, variously known as tamarhindi, temerhindi, ourt, or ooht, is tamarind pulp and water boiled down with sugar and lemon juice into a very thick, dark liquid. The sauce is a distinctive flavor of Syrian Jewish cooking; and added to numerous sweet-and-sour dishes, including lahmajin (open-faced meat pies), bazargan (bulgur relish), stuffed grape leaves, stews, and meatballs. In Egypt and parts of Israel, tamarhindi is the name of a drink made from tamarind concentrate and sugar.
Tamarind pods are rarely available in the United States, but tamarind is sold in several other forms: concentrated pulp, dried blocks, pure concentrate (or paste), and syrup. Concentrated pulp or dried blocks, both of which usually contain seeds, must be softened in liquid before using. Pure tamarind concentrate, sometimes called tamarind paste, is made by boiling seedless pulp so that some of the moisture evaporates; today the moisture is sometimes removed under vacuum. Tamarind syrup is a slightly thickened mixture of tamarind pulp, sugar, and water.
Taramasalata
Taramasalata is a salted fish roe dip.
Origin: Greece, Turkey
Other names: taramosalata; Romania: salata de icre.
The foreign influences on Greek cuisine, most notably Ottoman, Persian, and Italian, is clearly demonstrated in the foreign titles of so many of the country's dishes. The name taramasalata is derived from tarama, Turkish for "soft roe," indicating the Turkish source of the dish. Taramasalata, a creamy, slightly briny dip, is made with the roe of various fish, such as lightly smoked gray mullet as well as cod and shad, but ever since Jewish merchants popularized carp in the Balkans in the sixteenth century, it has been primarily made from carp roe, which imparts a now-preferred pinkish orange color. The pink hue of many commercial brands today, however, derives from artificial coloring rather than carp roe. The base was originally made from bread, but as in Greek skordalia (garlic sauce), potatoes have recently become an accepted substitute. Olive oil and fresh lemon juice not only contribute flavor, but also serve to create an emulsion as in mayonnaise. The Greeks tend to add garlic to taramasalata, which the Turks generally omit. In Romania, vegetable oil and sometimes vinegar are incorporated instead of olive oil and lemon juice, and a little seltzer is frequently beaten in for a fluffier consistency.
Unprocessed tarama can be found in Greek and many Middle Eastern food stores. Red salmon caviar makes a tasty substitute. Taramasalata was originally made in a large wooden mortar with a pestle, but today most cooks substitute a food processor, although many aficionados insist that the best texture can only be achieved in a mortar.
Taramasalata is popular among Greek and Turkish Jews, who typically include it as part of a mezze ("appetizer assortment," mezedes in Greek). Some serve it for Rosh Hashanah dinner, as fish symbolizes fertility and creation. Ikra (the term used in parts of the Balkans) and taramaslalata can be found on the menus of quite a few Israeli restaurants, especially those focusing on Balkan or Mediterranean fare. Taramasalata is served with pita bread, French bread, crackers, or vegetable crudités. It is traditionally accompanied with anise-flavored liquor, such as ouzo
or arak.
Greek Fish Roe Dip (Taramasalata)
about 2 cups/4 to 5 servings
[PAREVE]
4 thick slices semolina or Italian white bread, trimmed of crusts, or 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
½ cup (4 ounces) tarama from carp or shad roe, or red caviar
2 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup extra-virgin olive or vegetable oil, or ¾ cup olive oil and ¼ cup vegetable oil
1. Soak the bread in cold water to cover until soggy, about 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess liquid and crumble the bread.
2. In a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, using an electric mixer, or in a large wooden mortar, puree the bread, roe, and lemon juice into a uniform paste. With the machine on, gradually add the oil in a slow, steady stream (or in a mortar grind in and stir), processing until the mixture is smooth and has a mayonnaise-like consistency. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Remove from the refrigerator about 1 hour before serving.
Tarator
Tarator is a yogurt and cucumber mixture used as a sauce, salad, and soup.
Origin: Turkey
Other names: Afghanistan: chaka; Arabic: khyar ib leban; Armenian: jajik; Farsi: mast-o khiar; Greek: tzatziki; Iraq: jajeek; Turkish: cacik, taratuar, toroto.
Tarator was originally the name of a medieval Turkish sauce made from ground walnuts and vinegar, and various dishes bearing the name can be found throughout the former Ottoman Empire. Among Levantine Arabs, taratur denotes a sauce based on tahini (sesame seed paste). Among Sephardim of Turkey and the Balkans, the term tarator came to mean a mixture of cucumbers and yogurt, which occasionally also contained chopped walnuts. Each locale has its own flavoring variation. When the yogurt mixture is thick (gust) and the cucumbers are finely chopped, tarator is used as a dip; when the cucumbers are sliced, it becomes a salad; when the mixture is relatively thin, it is served as a soup. Tarator dip is served as part of a mezze (appetizer assortment) with pita or toasted pita triangles.
Turkish Yogurt and Cucumber Salad (Tarator)
