[THREAD]

Israeli/Jewish foods

Many people believe that Jewish cuisine solely consists of Ashkenazi foods, and that Israeli foods do not exist. However, Israeli/Jewish foods are very rich and diverse. https://twitter.com/ihatetoseeit2/status/1249460006522675201

JACHNUN:

Country: Israel
Created by: Yemeni Jews

A Yemenite-Jewish pastry, Jachnun is delicious and served hot on a Shabbat morning. It has been popularized by Yemeni Jews in Israel, and is eaten by all Israelis. It can be eaten with avocado, resek agvanyot, and other spreads.

BOREKAS:

Country: Israel
Created by: Sephardi Jews

Not to be confused with Börek, Borekas is an Israeli pastry popularized by Sephardi Jews. They arrive in a variety of shapes and many different fillings, such as mashed potato, cheese, ground beef etc.

SABICH:

Country: Israel
Created by: Iraqi Jews

Sabich is a highly appetizing Israeli sandwich based on a Iraqi-Jewish dish that is served on Shabbat. It is prepared with a laffa stuffed with fried eggplant, eggs, tahini, etc.

LAFFA:

Country: Israel
Created by: Iraqi Jews

An Israeli flatbread of Iraqi jewish origin, Laffa can be used for Sabich, the Maghrebi matbucha, the Mediterranean Shakshuka, and many more.

SANBAT WAT:

Country: Israel
Created by: Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews)
An Ethiopian Jewish stew, Sanbat comes from the Amharic word for Shabbat, meaning that it is served on Sabbath day. It is a spicy dish seasoned with berbere, cloves, onions, tomato sauce, etc.

CHALLAH:

Region: Israel, the Diaspora
Created by: Ashkenazi Jews

Challah is a braided bread typically eaten on Shabbat and other Jewish holidays throughout the year. The word challah comes from the Torah.

PTITIM:

Country: Israel
Created by: Osem (Israeli company)

Formerly known as Ben-Gurion rice, ptitim is a toasted pasta shaped like little flakes. It was created in the 1950’s in Israel when rice was scarce. It is highly popularized and is typically a side dish.

ME’ORAV YERUSHALMI:

Place of Origin: Jerusalem, Israel
Created by: Mahane Yehuda Market

Also known as the Jerusalem mixed grill, this dish is considered a specialty of Jerusalem. The main ingredients include chicken hearts, spleens and liver mixed with lamb and onion.

TZFAT CHEESE:

Country: Israel
Created by: Meir Arzoni, a Persian Jew

Tzfat cheese is a semi-hard salty cheese, derived from sheep’s milk. It was first produced in 1840 by the HaMeiri Dairy, and is still produced by the descendants of the original cheese makers.

MOFLETTA:

Country: Israel
Created by: Moroccan Jews

Mofletta is a Moroccan-Jewish pancake eaten during the Mimouna celebration, which is the day after Passover. It’s a type of crepe and that is eaten warm and spread with butter, honey, syrup, jam, etc.

BOYOZ:

Country: Turkey, Israel
Created by: Sephardi Jews

Boyoz is a Sephardi pastry with Judeo-Spanish roots, brought to the city of Izmir, Turkey. Recently, all master bakers who prepared Boyoz in Izmir were Jewish.

PESCAÍTO FRITO

Region: Spain, Canary Islands
Created by: Sephardic Jews

Also known as Pescado Frito, this dish is a delicacy in Spain, especially in Andalusian provinces. It is a traditional Shabbat meal for Sephardic Jews as well. It is believed that Sephardis brought...

... pescado frito to England, once they settled there, giving inspiration to fish and chips.

TEBIT:

Country: Israel
Created by: Iraqi Jews

One of many variants of the Hamin/Cholent, Tebit is an Iraqi Jewish stew served in Mizrahi families on Shabbat.

ADAFINA:

Country: Israel
Created by: Moroccan Jews

An additional variant of Hamin/Cholent, this Moroccan Jewish stew is served on Shabbat as well. It is often served with dates and other sweet fruits.

KUBBEH:

Country: Israel
Created by: Iraqi/Kurdish Jews

Not to be confused with Kibbeh, Kubbeh was once made exclusively in Kurdish and Iraqi Jewish families and has now expanded to Israelis of all backgrounds. It is a delicious dish, and for that it is extremely popular.

ZIVA:

Country: Israel
Created by: Yemeni Jews

Borekas Ziva, which somewhat resembles the Yemeni Malawach, is a delicious puff pastry created in Tel Aviv. There are many variations of the fillings of Ziva, such as Tzfat cheese, Feta cheese Sirene, etc.

KUBANEH:

Countries: Israel, Yemen, Syria
Created by: Yemeni Jews

Kubaneh is a traditional Yemeni Jewish pull apart yeast bread. It is baked overnight and eaten for breakfast or on Shabbat, and has become very popular within Israeli society. Best dipped with zhug!!

FAZUELOS:

Country: Usrael, Sephardi Diaspora
Created by: Sephardi Jews

These pastries of thin fried dough are usually eaten at Purim. They are the sephardi versions of Hamentashens. They are very popular among Turkish Jews and Moroccan Jews in Israel.

MALAWACH:

Country: Israel
Created by: Yemeni Jews

A flatbread that resembles Jachnun, Malawach consists of thin layers of puff pastry brushed with oil or fat. It is usually served with Zhug or honey. It originated from a variation of Hojaldre, a sephardic Jewish dish.

Of course, there are many, many more foods beyond the aforementioned ones, like latkes, teiglach, rugelach, sufganiyot, blintz, etc etc.

It is also important to mention that foods that didn’t originate in Israel or were not created by Jews, but were eaten by Jews in the diaspora, were brought to Israel. For instance, Tunisian Jews popularized Shakshuka, a Tunisian dish, Maghrebi Jews brought Haraime...

... Persian Jews brought Persian cuisines such as Ghorme Sabzi and Tahdig (both very popular in Iranian Jewish communities in Israel) Couscous brought by Libyan Jews, Zhug brought by Yemeni Jews, Matbucha brought by Maghrebi Jews, among many, many more.

Thank you @CrazyNormie for the list. Food intifada incoming...