Kosher and spice: A culinary adventure of India’s Jewish food – Stuff
Posted By admin on August 18, 2022
If theres something Laura Greenfield has learned from her food adventures its that shes a small cog in a very big wheel.
For years now the Wellington chef has been exploring Jewish cuisine and the journey has shown her just how diverse and far-ranging the people of her religion are.
Jewish people have travelled all over the world, they've had to because theyve been persecuted and have gone where trade is. The food reflects that and its opened my mind.
Greenfield has been showcasing Jewish food at her restaurant Field & Green for the past few years and right now thats what shes serving up for Kosher & Spice, her entry in this years Visa Wellington On a Plate.
READ MORE:* A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That: The mother-daughter duo bringing authentic Indian cuisine to home cooks* A Jewish immigrant's story in 7 courses* Golden Bay writer's new cookbook a 'multi-dimensional work' exploring Indian roots
KEVIN STENT
Greenfield says Ashkenazi Jews were eating nose to tail before it became trendy.
When her wife Raechal Ferguson was planning this years culinary investigation, she suggested Greenfield should check out the Jewish food of India; something she didnt know much about. Turning to a few recipe books, she got to work.
Some recipes werent particularly good. One was literally wash fish then boil it in water and serve; I thought were not going to be very busy if we do that.
Boiled fish aside, Greenfield learned from other recipes what spices are used in the food, then created a long list of potential dishes, trying each one out.
Wed go yeah or nah, or this needs work and created a shortlist, redid the recipes again and finally got the menu.
The Jewish food of India is just as diverse as the countrys people. The Cochin Jews arrived on the Malabar Coast, Kerala, in around 50 CE and the areas trading history is reflected in cuisine dominated by spices and drawing from different cultures.
MONIQUE FORD / STUFF
Ekim has the most affordable entry in this year's Burger Wellington but owner Mike Marsland says its no slouch when it comes to taste.
The Bene Israel community settled on the West Coast of India, near Mumbai, around the second century. Their spicy food is characterised by the cooking of the local Maharashtra people, making use of the coasts abundant fish with lots of chilli and tumeric.
And the Baghdadi Jews came from the Middle East about 250 years ago, settling in West Bengal near Kolkata. Their cooking is a hybrid of Indian spices added to Iraqi and Syrian dishes of potatoes, raisins and tamarind.
Greenfield has always loved spices, although they werent something she ate growing up in London. Her family are Ashkenazi Jews whose ancestors came from Russia and Poland.
Ashkenazi is basically poor food from a cold climate. Dumplings, chicken and offal; you ate the whole chicken and the whole cow then made jelly out of the hooves. Basically it was eating nose to tail before it became trendy.
She describes her family as secular but culturally very Jewish
Kerala duck curry with poppy seed paste is on offer at Field & Green
Friday night dinners were a very big thing for us; even as teenagers you didn't go out, you didnt go to your mates, youd stay home and have chicken soup, dumplings and all the traditional things.
On the high holy days wed always go to synagogue and have lunch. Mum was a great cook and I'd help her in the kitchen; food has always been a huge part of the culture in our lives.
Greenfield moved to New Zealand in 2014 with Ferguson, a Kiwi she met in the UK.
We were in our late 40s, leaving our jobs; lives; house. Everyone thought we were bonkers to go and open a restaurant in Wellington. It was mad, but we did it at the right time and we love it.
Becoming a chef wasnt Greenfields first choice of career; as a teenager she wanted to be an actress and attended drama school after finishing college.
My parents said I needed a back-up career so should do a secretarial course - as women did in the 1980s - or a cooking course. I did a 3-month cordon bleu course it should have been called how to become a wife - but I had other plans.
Tilkut Potatoes with sesame seeds and Phul Gobi dry roasted cauliflower.
She says the course taught her discipline and she started catering lunches for local contacts, discovering she was not only good at it, it was something she loved.
I started cooking and haven't stopped since my early 20s, its been almost 33 years of cooking.
Although pork and shellfish are the two main no-nos of Jewish cooking, this time around shes also avoided using beef to respect the Hindu laws. Because Jewish laws forbid the cooking of meat with dairy, coconut milk and cream has taken its place and about half the dishes are vegan.
A collaboration with Duncans Brewery has resulted in a special beer with a label depicting the Hamsa, a hand shaped amulet used for protection by Jewish and Muslim people. New shirts for the restaurant staff also feature the design.
With only about 7000 Jewish people in NZ, Greenfield hopes customers not only enjoy the dining experience but, like she has, learn about a culture spanning centuries.
I've opened this world thats excited me so much and hopefully theyll feel the same.
More:
Kosher and spice: A culinary adventure of India's Jewish food - Stuff
- Indo-Jewish Cuisine History And 4 Dishes That Make It Special - Slurrp - September 10th, 2023
- Bring Roman-Jewish Cuisine to The Table With This New Cookbook - Epicurious - September 1st, 2023
- Southern kvells: New cookbook highlights South Carolinas Jewish history and cuisine - The Times of Israel - September 1st, 2023
- The Heart Of French Cuisine - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - July 18th, 2023
- Indulge in the Bold Fusion of Jewish-American Cuisine In ... - Aish - June 29th, 2023
- Potato pancake - Wikipedia - December 21st, 2022
- Bukharan Jews - Wikipedia - December 11th, 2022
- Mountain Jews - Wikipedia - October 12th, 2022
- Syrian Jews - Wikipedia - October 12th, 2022
- Colorado Springs area cooking classes and events starting Oct. 12 - Colorado Springs Gazette - October 12th, 2022
- A treasure hunt that turns violent, Stanley Tucci's foodie memoir and an espionage tale of Jewish refugees in Louth - Independent.ie - October 12th, 2022
- The difference between race and ethnicityand why it matters - Fast Company - October 12th, 2022
- 14 of the best hotels in Krakow - Times Travel - The Times - October 12th, 2022
- Where to Eat in Northern Liberties - Philadelphia magazine - October 10th, 2022
- Trader Joes drops the Israeli for its pearl couscous, citing change in supply chain - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - October 10th, 2022
- 11 Times Great British Baking Show Proved Its Not That Good Anymore - Eater - October 10th, 2022
- Rogers Park ranks No. 5 best place to live in the U.S. - Chicago Agent magazine - October 10th, 2022
- We Just Spent A Weekend In The Most Liberal City Of The Middle East - Travel Off Path - October 10th, 2022
- Fly Out Of New York To Witness Italy's Most Marvelous Gems - TheTravel - October 10th, 2022
- I Never Felt Connected to My Jewish HeritageUntil I Rediscovered It Through Food Halfway Across the World - Well+Good - September 29th, 2022
- One Man's Search for the First Hebrew-Lettered Cookbook - Atlas Obscura - September 29th, 2022
- Fall in St. Louis means it's time to embrace the Jewishness of the pumpkin - - St. Louis Jewish Light - September 29th, 2022
- Uman Celebrates the Jewish New Year - Kyiv Post - September 29th, 2022
- From Vineyard to Your Holiday Table, Here's a Global Selection of Wines to Celebrate the Holidays from Royal Wine Corp - PRUnderground - September 29th, 2022
- You'll Never Have to Ask "What's For Dinner?" Again With These Fun DIY Cooking Kits - Futurism - August 18th, 2022
- Seven summer spots for great hot weather eating and drinking in Israel - Ynetnews - August 18th, 2022
- Saul's Deli, a 36-year-old Berkeley institution, has been sold - Berkeleyside - August 4th, 2022
- Brisket wasn't always on the table ... - JNS.org - August 4th, 2022
- Food historian and 'Koshersoul' author Michael Twitty coming to JCCSF J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - August 4th, 2022
- Cultural Calendar: Where to Go and What to Read in August - Saveur - August 4th, 2022
- Ayo Edebiri Does Not Think 'The Bear' Is Sexy - The Cut - August 4th, 2022
- An American Jew's 2022 visit to Saudi Arabia | Jeffrey Kass | The Blogs - The Times of Israel - July 23rd, 2022
- New Hampshire Is Tiny And Pretty Weird. That Could Help Maggie Hassan. - FiveThirtyEight - July 23rd, 2022
- The Yotam Ottolenghi effect: The superstar chef on how the pandemic, and parenthood, have simplified his recipes - Stuff - July 23rd, 2022
- The food legacy of a Holocaust survivor - BBC - July 21st, 2022
- A Traveling Jewish Deli Exhibit Tells an American Tale in Pickles and Pastrami - The New York Times - July 21st, 2022
- The Fascinating Connection Between New York Citys Jewish and Chinese Immigrants - Saveur - July 21st, 2022
- Daily Kickoff: Tom Nides and CIA Director Burns on Biden's Mideast visit + IDF @ Aspen - Jewish Insider - July 21st, 2022
- The best of both East and West Coast cuisine: New gourmet sandwich eatery opens - Long Island Advance - July 21st, 2022
- Where To Eat in Paris: A Personal List - Jewish Journal - July 21st, 2022
- The Unique History Of Steak Tartare, Once A Snack Of Warriors - Tasting Table - July 21st, 2022
- Weaponizing Food: How Cond Nast Transformed an Israeli City Into a Palestinian Town - Algemeiner - July 21st, 2022
- How TikTok Resurrected the Worlds Oldest Sandwich - The Takeout - July 21st, 2022
- Fri, July 15 at 8pm - The Great American Recipe - WSIU - July 21st, 2022
- Israeli Food is so Jewish, Here's Why - aish.com Jewlish, Food 4 Thought, Featured - Aish.com - July 14th, 2022
- Old Bay on Everything: How the Crab Seasoning is Taking Over - Washingtonian - July 14th, 2022
- Traditional Jewish Chicken Soup Recipe (Jewish Penicillin) - July 10th, 2022
- 'I never expected to find Asian cuisine in the Netherlands' - DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl - July 10th, 2022
- Getting to Know Your Neighborhood: East Boston | BU Today - Boston University - July 10th, 2022
- Yatir Winery Launches DAROM-A New Independent Brand That Comes Straight from The Israeli Desert Wine Region - Broadway World - July 10th, 2022
- 'Two Dogs' will delight readers of all ages - Washington Blade - July 10th, 2022
- Two restaurants from Malaga among best in Europe - The Olive Press - June 26th, 2022
- Column: Theyve been making the worlds best pastrami sandwiches for 75 years. Can they keep it up? - Los Angeles Times - June 26th, 2022
- Yatir Winery Launches a New Independent Brand That Comes Straight from the Israeli Desert Wine Region - wineindustryadvisor.com - June 26th, 2022
- The surprising landscape of Indian Jewish food - BBC Travel - June 4th, 2022
- Cheesecake, dairy, coffee and the evolution of a holiday - JNS.org - June 4th, 2022
- Food Network Star Molly Yeh's New Restaurant Is Coming to East Grand Forks, Minnesota - Eater Twin Cities - June 4th, 2022
- 5 Reasons You Need To Experience This Amazing Food Tour In Rome - TravelAwaits - June 4th, 2022
- Cheesecake, dairy, coffee and the evolution of a holiday - Cleveland Jewish News - June 2nd, 2022
- Fourteen books to read this summer - Jewish Insider - June 2nd, 2022
- Award-winning Culinary Writer Anya von Bremzen Visits Thessaloniki | GTP Headlines - GTP Headlines - June 2nd, 2022
- 23 of the Best Restaurants in Rome Including Pizza, Street Food, Cafes and Markets (2022) - 2foodtrippers - June 2nd, 2022
- Skirball Exhibit Showcases Jewish Deli and Immigration History - Jewish Journal - May 27th, 2022
- In the Kitchen With Ricky: Become a pitmaster with this smoked brisket - The Spokesman Review - May 27th, 2022
- Where to Eat, Drink, and Stay on the Lower East Side in NYC - Thrillist - May 27th, 2022
- Out & About: Area entertainment and cultural events starting Wednesday, May 25 - Martinsville Bulletin - May 27th, 2022
- Everything you need to know about Boston Calling 2022 - Boston.com - May 27th, 2022
- Crepe escapes: You can travel the world just by eating pancakes - The Boston Globe - May 27th, 2022
- The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg - The Burg News - May 27th, 2022
- Column: Orange Garden, Chicago's oldest Chinese restaurant, has a long history, with a gangster legend, an iconic neon sign and a family hoping to... - May 27th, 2022
- Around the World in 7 NYC Dishes - AFAR Media - May 22nd, 2022
- Going On in Greek-American Community - The National Herald - May 22nd, 2022
- Always Eat The Health Salad - Defector - May 22nd, 2022
- Out & About: Area entertainment and cultural events starting Wednesday, May 18 - Martinsville Bulletin - May 22nd, 2022
- UN PLAZA GRILL Launches 'Cuisines from Around the World' with Guest Chefs Through 2022 - Broadway World - May 18th, 2022
- Eitan Bernath Is on Top of the 'World' - Tablet Magazine - May 18th, 2022
- Best Things To Do This Week In Los Angeles And SoCal: May 16 - 19 - LAist - May 18th, 2022
- Don't Miss the Beauty In Your Own Backyard! - Jewish Journal - May 18th, 2022
- How the Peninsula's pastrami experts at The Refuge were inspired by French fine dining - The Almanac Online - May 18th, 2022
- Things to do in Cincinnati this week: Events and concerts planned for May 16-22 - The Cincinnati Enquirer - May 18th, 2022
Comments