Jachnun, Lafa, Matbucha, Melawah, Shakshoukah, Zhug (Yemen cuisine)

Mon Jul 5 23:18:54 UTC 2004

MELAWAH

MELAWAH--28 Google hits,  13 Google Groups hits
LAFA + BREAD--128 Google hits, 17 Google Groups hits
LAFAH + BREAD--13 Google hits, 1 Google Groups hits
JACHNOON--76 Google hits, 12 Google Groups hits
JACHNUN--258 Google hits, 15 Google Groups hits
SHAKSHOUKA--1,700 Google hits, 12 Google Groups hits
MATBUCHA--1,-28 Google hits, 23 Google Groups hits
MUJADDARAH--1-2 Google hits, 9 Google Groups hits
(Jachnoon, Jachnun, Lafa, Matbucha, Melawah, Mujaddarah, Shakshoukah, Zhug  
are all not in the OED)

   On my July 4th walk back from Grant's Tomb and Columbia, I stopped by a 
kosher Yeminite place called "Alibaba" on 515 Amsterdam, between 84th and 85th 
Streets.  I briefly discussed Yemen cuisine here before (June 2002), but there 
aren't a whole lot of books to look at. 
   From the menu at www.alibabaNY.com:

Breakfast First  
SHAKSHOUKA--Eggs, fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce and green peppers

Salad Delights
MATBUCHA--Cooked tomatoes, peppers and garlic

Soups for a King
KOOBAH--Beef stock with meatballs wrapped in semolina dough

On the Side
MEJADARAH--Rice and lentils topped with fresh onions

Veggie Delicacies
MELAWAH--Lightly fried dough served with seasoned crushed tomatoes (hard 
boiled egg recommended)

JACHNOON--Unique and delicious rolled, oven-baked dough served with crushed 
tomatoes, chilies (hard boiled egg recommended)

HABIS--Humus and fava beans topped with onions, parsley, olive oil and two 
pitas (Hard-boiled egg recommended)

LAFAH--Homemade Yemenite pita bread]

ZCHUG (Yemenite hit sauce)--Hot pepper, garlic, cilantro and 12 different 
spices

(GOOGLE) (melawah)
Alibaba in Upper West Side in New York Metro's Guide to ...
... of brown rice and black beans on Alibaba's menu, a compendium of Middle 
Eastern
fare like koufta kebabs, baba ghanoush, bourekas, and melawah (lightly fried 
... 
www.newyorkmetro.com/pages/details/2434.htm - 31k - Cached - Similar pages

The Jerusalem Report Magazine: Goodtaste : Good Taste Article
... $13.95). We also tried the luscious house specialty, melawah, a pizza
look-alike crusted with a thin pan-fried puff pastry. Then ... 
www.jrep.com/Goodtaste/Article-4.html - 13k - Cached - Similar pages 

Lilian-Class
... This food comes from Yemen. The Melawah is a kind of fried pancake but it 
isn't
sweet, it's salty. The Melawah is made of paste and eaten with tomato sauce. 
... 
groups.msn.com/Lilian-Class/classletters6.msnw - 28k - Cached - Similar pages 

Nadine Abensur's Spicy Warm Potato Salad with a Moorish Influence
... To serve, make a quick imitation of a real Arabic bread – melawah – that 
is
difficult to find and notoriously difficult to make (or so I have always been 
... 
www.ivillage.co.uk/food/whoscooking/ 
recipes/articles/0,,182584_169942,00.html - 46k - Cached - Similar pages 

Dining in Eilat and the South
... Serving Israeli and International food at Massada Mountain, Dead Sea. 
(07)
658-4319. Nargila, Enjoy Yemenite specialities like jahnun and melawah. ... 
www.inisrael.com/helloisrael.net/rrants/eilat.htm - 14k - Cached - Similar 
pages 

The Jewish Agency For Israel: Mag-Net
... As the ceremony progressed, Yemenite food was served, including melawah 
(light fried
dough) and jachnoon (rolled baked dough) with spicy sauce, meat and eggs. ... 

www.jafi.org.il/arts/2003/march/2.htm - 13k - Cached - Similar pages 
Cookbook:   

Mediterranean Grains & Greens Recipe List
... Technique for "knuckling" water into dough. Israeli-Yemenite Melawah
with Grated Tomatoes, Zhug and Hard Cooked Eggs (Israel). Coriander ... 
www.paula-wolfert.com/books/medgrain_list.html - 82k - Cached - Similar pages 

(GOOGLE) ("lafa" and "bread")
Recipe World
... LABEL id=HbSession SessionId="3583156207"></LABEL> I believe you're 
talking
about Lafa, or Iraqi pita, it's a common type of bread in the Middle East. 
... 
groups.msn.com/RecipeWorld/ reciperequests.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&
ID_Message=45908&La... - 36k - Cached - Similar pages

eLuna.com
... In a hurry? At Busi you can buy an authentic Middle Eastern sandwich
consisting of meat and salad wrapped in Iraqi Lafa bread. Lafa ... 
www.eluna.com/rest/Busi.asp - 16k - Cached - Similar pages

Jerusalem
... new people who had never had shwarma (kind of a wrap type thing with meat 
off the
spit and great middle-eastern spices in Iraqi bread called lafa) we wanted to 
... 
jerusalemjoy.blogdrive.com/ - 44k - Cached - Similar pages 

eGullet.com -> Friday night's Indian dinner
... the precious gravy, and had to buy some "Iraqi Pita" which is the NANiest 
bread I
could ... It is also known here as "Lafa" (and in Jerusalem as Ash-Tanour) it 
is ... 
forums.egullet.com/show.php/ act/ST/f/40/t/26101/view/old - 21k - 
Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages 

(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
Preparing The Dishes; Yemenite High Holiday Soup Stew Hawayij (Yemenite spice 
combination) Yemenite Zhug (Ground spices with herbs) Helbeh (Dipping sauce 
made from fenugreek seeds and Zhug) 
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Sep 17, 1980. p. C6 (1 
page):
Hawayij (Yemenite spice combination)...
Yemenite Zhug (Ground spices with herbs)...
Helbeh (Dipping sauce made from fenugreek seeds and Zhug)..

Do You Speak Med-Rim?
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Jul 20, 1994. p. C6 (1 
page) :
BAGELE  Puffy-dough bread that looks like a large oval bagel and is sprinkled 
with sesame seeds.  Sold in the streets of Jerusalem with little packets of 
za'atar wrapped in newspaper.
CHELBA  Yemenite orange-red hot-pepper sauce.
DUKKAH  Egyptian spice mixture of toasted and ground hazelnuts, cumin, 
coriander and sesame seeds.
FATTOUSH  Bread salad made with tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, toasted pita 
and sumac.
HALVAH  Grainy Middle Eastern sweet made from roasted sesame seeds and boiled 
sugar.
HARISSA  Fiery red-pepper paste from Tunisia, also used by Moroccans and 
Algerians.
HILBEH  Yemenite dip made from fenugreek seeds.
HUMMUS  Dip or spread of pureed chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice.\
HYSSOP  A biublical herb, similar to wild marjoram, used fresh in salads and 
dired in za'atar.
LABANEH  Thick yogurt cheese.
MATBUCHA  Cooked Moroccan salad of tomatoes, red peppers and onions.
"MED-RIM BREAD BASKET"  Lafah (Iragi pita); lachuch (spongy Yemenite bread); 
Druze bread (soft and parchment thin); malahwach *Yemenite multi-layered fried 
bread); Lahmejune (Armenian flat bread).
POMEGRANATE MOLASSES  Thick piquant syrup or concentrate made from reduced 
pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon, used for salads and in cooked foods.
SABRA  A sweet desert prickly pear with thorny, thin skin'; available in 
summer.
SHARON FRUIT  Sweet and aromatic tomato-shaped fruit developed in Israel from 
the persimmon.  It is edible even when hard, and its season is from November 
to January.
ST. PETER'S FISH  Also called tilapia, and mousht in Arabic.  Originally from 
the Sea of Galilee, now farmed, it is mild and sweet fleshed.
SUMAC  Dried and ground red berry that imparts a strong salty citrys flavor 
to salads and cooked foods.
TAHINI  Sesame-seed paste.  The condiment of choice in Israel and used as a 
dip, spread and sauce for falafel, fish, poultry and meats.
TURKISH SALAD  Puree of red pepper, tomato and spices.
ZA'ATAR  Blend of dried hyssop, sumac and sesame seeds.
ZHUG  Spicy Yemenite condiment of tiny hot peppers, fresh coriander and 
garlic.  Can be green or red.  Also spelled zhoug.

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JEWISH PENICILLIN

   DARE also has 1968, from an interview.  Just thought I'd re-check.

(WWW.NEWSPAPERARCHIVE.COM)
 News Journal   Tuesday, February 13, 1968 Mansfield, Ohio  
...lists on its menu PENICILLIN Home Made CHICKEN SOUP..
Pg. 19, col. 3 ("On Broadway" by Jack O'Brian):     Brooklyn's "Home Caterers 
Wonder Store" (170 E. 16th St.) lists on its menu "Jewish Penicillin--Home 
Made Chicken Soup."

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PLT SANDWICH

   Next to Alibaba is a place called Neptune.  It serves a PLT 
Sandwich--lobster, tomato, smoked pancetta, basil, aioli, arugula.  A "PLT" with lobster?
   Usually just the BLT is changed to PLT with pastrami or prosciutto of 
pancetta.  I've not seen lobster in this mix.  A few "PLT" cites follow.

(GOOGLE)
Melbee's... fresh herb vinaigrette Small $5 Large $8 Sandwiches: *PLT, 
grilled pancetta ... horseradish cream, Semolina Hogie $12 Seafood Salad, shrimp, 
lobster, scallops $12 ... 
www.kcrestaurantguide.com/melbees.htm - 41k - Cached - Similar pages    
PLT, grilled pancetta, field greens, summer tomatoes, Asiago roll, &8   

Ya Gotta Have It! ~ BLT Recipes... PLT. ... slices from a large tomato, 
halved; 2 large leaves of butter lettuce ** Inspired by the Maine lobster roll, the 
hardest part of this sandwich is finding ... 
www.biglove.lvhr.com/recipes/singles/blt.html - 18k - Cached - Similar pages    

(pancetta...tomato...lettuce--ed.)

Wine Spectator Online | Daily Wine News | Punch & Judy: New ...... Sandwiches 
include a PLT (prosciutto, lettuce and tomato) and a savory lobster club on a 
toasted brioche with crispy pancetta and "caviar mayonnaise.". ... 
www.winespectatorschool.com/ Wine/Daily/News_Print/0,2463,1673,00.html - 12k 
- Supplemental Result - Cached - Similar pages   