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Cinnamon
and curry are two of the spices that were used to season the sacrifices
given at the Temple. These very same spices season our food and continue
to be popular today: they are also essential ingredients for cooks in many
cultures.
Our neighbor, Munira Musaffi, who immigrated
to Israel from Iraq in the spring of 1951, shared a morning with us preparing
vegetables in a pungent hot sauce. Served alone as an appetizer, or as an
accompaniment to couscous, this spicy dish not only wakes up the taste
buds, but is colorful to behold with its yellows, oranges and browns.
In Iraq, Munira lived in her parents'
home until the day she married at the age of 16. The young couple lived with
Munira's husband's parents home for a few years until they were ready to set
up their own place. Even then she did not learn to cook. Living with her
parents and in-laws, Munira attended meals and did not need to learn to prepare
them. ``My mother and then my mother-in-law took care of everything. Later,
when we moved into our own home, I had a maid,'' says Munira.
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Munira was already a mother of a few
small children when the family immigrated, and so began the family's life
anew, where Munira had to learn to manage her family's household, including
-- for the first time -- the daily chores.
Munira learned the recipe below from
her neighbor, also a native of Iraq, once she moved to Israel. ``They ate
this in Iraq, but I only learned how to make it here,'' says Munira.
For ease, we'll call this dish curried
vegetables. It can be seasoned to taste. The recipe we give yields moderate
to hot servings.
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Ingredients 4 carrots
1/4 head
of cauliflower
3 zucchini
1 cucumber
1 small
eggplant
1 red pepper
1 yellow
pepper
1 green
pepper
1 garlic
bulb
Vinegar
Curry powder
(yellow)
Cumin
Hot paprika
or hot pepper
Peel and cut carrots into sections approximately
thumb length. 1/4 the carrot strips and cut out the sweet core.
Cut zucchini
and cucumbers into thumb length sections, cut each piece into 1/4 length strips.
Make small
cauliflower florets.
Put all
of these vegetables in a pot. Add water to cover plus another 1/4 inch.
Set flame
to simmer.
Add 1 cup
vinegar.
Cut other
vegetable in large bite-size pieces. Add to pot.
The liquid
should have a vinegar taste but should not burn.
Add 1 tablespoon
of kosher salt.
Add 4 tablespoons
of sugar.
At this
point it should look like a vegetable soup at the beginning stages.
Peel and
slice whole garlic bulb. They should look like almond slivers. Sautee the
garlic until brown. Add 1 tablespoon cumin, and a pinch of hot paprika.
Turn off
both flames (under garlic and under pot of vegetables).
Add fried
vegetables to pot.
Let cool.
Store in glass jar in refrigerator.
Serve at
room temperature.
B'tayavon [Hearty appetite!]
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