Shared by Ayala Hodak
Shared by Ayala Hodak
A Persian Sweet to Break the Yom Kippur Fast
A Persian Sweet to Break the Yom Kippur Fast
Family Journey
TehranHolon, Israel
Tenafly, New Jersey
4 recipes
Faloodeh (Cold Desert With Apples and Rosewater)
Ingredients
- 4 gala apples, peeled and coarsely grated
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar*
- 3 ½ tablespoons rosewater
- 3 cups water
- 5-6 ice cubes
Kuku Sabzi (Persian Herb Omelette)
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- ½ bunch parsley (1 cup leaves and tender stems), washed, dried and chopped
- ½ bunch cilantro (1 cup leaves and tender stems), washed, dried and chopped
- ½ bunch dill (1 cup leaves and tender stems), washed, dried and chopped
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
Ghormeh Sabzi (Persian Herb Stew)
Ingredients
- 12 dried black Persian limes, halved and seeded
- 9 cups water, divided
- 1 cup black eyed peas, soaked overnight
- 3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
- 5 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 3 bunches parsley (8 cups leaves and tender stems), washed, dried, and roughly chopped
- 3 bunches cilantro (8 cups leaves and tender stems), washed, dried, and roughly chopped
- 1 bunch mint (1½ cups leaves), washed, dried, and roughly chopped
- 1 leek, green part only, sliced into ⅛-inch strips and washed
- 3 tablespoons dried savory
- 3 tablespoons dried mint
- 3 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2½ teaspoons ground cumin
Shifteh Berenji (Persian Meatball Soup)
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1 cup dried small white beans, such as navy beans, soaked in 4 cups of water overnight
- 1 pound beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 10 dried black Persian limes, halved
- 6 chicken necks or backs (or 1½ pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks)
- 2 small whole yellow onions, peeled
- 2 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 3 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 medium celery root, peeled and cut into 2-inch by ¼-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground white meat chicken
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
- 1½ cups jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
- 1½ cups finely chopped cilantro (1 bunch)
- 1¼ cups finely chopped parsley (1 bunch)
- ¼ cup finely chopped tarragon
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces pitted prunes (1¼ cup)
Recipes
1
Faloodeh (Cold Desert With Apples and Rosewater)
Ingredients
- 4 gala apples, peeled and coarsely grated
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar*
- 3 ½ tablespoons rosewater
- 3 cups water
- 5-6 ice cubes
2
Kuku Sabzi (Persian Herb Omelette)
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- ½ bunch parsley (1 cup leaves and tender stems), washed, dried and chopped
- ½ bunch cilantro (1 cup leaves and tender stems), washed, dried and chopped
- ½ bunch dill (1 cup leaves and tender stems), washed, dried and chopped
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
3
Ghormeh Sabzi (Persian Herb Stew)
Ingredients
- 12 dried black Persian limes, halved and seeded
- 9 cups water, divided
- 1 cup black eyed peas, soaked overnight
- 3 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
- 5 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 3 bunches parsley (8 cups leaves and tender stems), washed, dried, and roughly chopped
- 3 bunches cilantro (8 cups leaves and tender stems), washed, dried, and roughly chopped
- 1 bunch mint (1½ cups leaves), washed, dried, and roughly chopped
- 1 leek, green part only, sliced into ⅛-inch strips and washed
- 3 tablespoons dried savory
- 3 tablespoons dried mint
- 3 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2½ teaspoons ground cumin
4
Shifteh Berenji (Persian Meatball Soup)
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1 cup dried small white beans, such as navy beans, soaked in 4 cups of water overnight
- 1 pound beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 10 dried black Persian limes, halved
- 6 chicken necks or backs (or 1½ pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks)
- 2 small whole yellow onions, peeled
- 2 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 3 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 medium celery root, peeled and cut into 2-inch by ¼-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground white meat chicken
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
- 1½ cups jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
- 1½ cups finely chopped cilantro (1 bunch)
- 1¼ cups finely chopped parsley (1 bunch)
- ¼ cup finely chopped tarragon
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces pitted prunes (1¼ cup)
Ayala Hodak was a cook in residence, sharing several stories and recipes with the JFS archive. Read about the Persian stew her family enjoys for Yom Kippur breakfast, her mother's herb omelet and ghormeh sabzi, a Persian herb stew. You can find all of her recipes in her recipe box here.
Ayala Hodak’s mother, who moved to Israel when she was a teenager from Iran, is a gifted cook, says Ayala. Even at 79, Maheen, who was given the name Yafa when she arrived in Israel, “can cook anything. She doesn’t stick to recipes.” Maheen’s repertoire stretches from Ashkenazi recipes to Turkish dishes. For Yom Kippur, she reaches back to her roots in Tehran where she first learned to cook in her mother’s kitchen.
To break the fast, Maheen and now Ayala serve a take on faloodeh. Fans of Persian cooking may know this dish as a popular dessert prepared with vermicelli noodles, ice, and rosewater but some in the Persian Jewish community serve this variation made with apples and rosewater at the end of Yom Kippur to ease everyone into the feast ahead. When Ayala was a child, her mother would make a batch before heading to synagogue or “or she would ask me to make it a few hours before,” she says. That way, the “apples stay a little crisp,” but you can also make it the day before, she says. Simply make sure to cover the apples with ice but not water, adding that at the last moment.
*Next month, we will share more recipes from Ayala and Maheen like one for an herbed Persian omelette called kuku sabzi. Stay tuned.
