by Gil Marks
Hot tea, sweet and soothing, is drunk many times throughout the day and throughout the year. Naa-naa follows most meals to aid digestion. It also complements rich dishes, such as lamb stews. Jews serve naa- naa at special occasions, such as Mimouna. Moroccans brought their love of naa-naa to Israel, where it is now common in homes and restaurants, and even available in tea bags.
(See also Mint and Tea)
Nan
Nan is the Afghan word for bread, but it also means meal and food.
Origin: Afghanistan
Other names: naan, noni.
Beginning in the sixth century BCE, Persians have influenced and frequently ruled the landlocked, mountainous region of Afghanistan to the east. From Persia came the tanur (oven) and naan (bread)— probably during the Sassanid Empire (224 to 651 CE)— however in Afghanistan, the tandoor was generally built into the ground and frequently manned by a nanwaee (bread baker).
In Afghanistan, bread is a standard complement to meals. Silverware historically was not used, but rather bread was employed, always with the right hand, to lift or sop up various stews, soups, kebabs, and rice. Bread is also the main part of breakfast and is served with tea later in the day. Bread is always carried and served top side up.
In Afghan cities, bread is rarely made at home, but purchased from small local bakeries (nan-e wayis) once or several times a day. In the countryside, however, it is still frequently made at home. Those without access to an oven use a tawa (griddle) to cook thin breads known as nan-e tawagi. Most commercial bakeries are staffed by males, while home bread baking is done by females. Professional bakers (nan-e way) typically work in teams of three: A young boy rolls out balls of dough and passes them to an adult to roll and shape, who in turn flips the loaves to another nearby. This man slaps them onto the sides of the oven, then pulls the golden loaves from the oven walls using a hooked metal rod.
Afghans prepare three principle types of tandoori (clay oven) breads of varying thickness: nan-e Afghani, obi nan, and lavash. The nan may be lean like most Asian flatbreads, but many versions, known as nan-e roghani, contain a little oil for a bit of richness; this type is particularly popular for breakfast. Loaves made with milk and sugar are called kulchi-e tandoori. Obi nan, also called nan-e gird, were introduced from nearby Uzbekistan and are shaped as rounds. They are thicker and softer than standard nan. Lavash is a very thin bread, as it is throughout the region.
The most common type is nan-e Afghani, or simply nan or noni. These flat oblong loaves are made from white flour or a blend of white and whole-wheat flours, or whatever grains are available, and lightly sprinkled with nigella seeds (shirini tar), poppy seeds (khash khash), or sesame seeds (shumshum). Loaves run in size from less than a foot long to nearly five feet in length and a foot wide; the elongated type is called nan-e panja kashi. Authentic Afghan bread is leavened with a starter dough, producing a slight tang, and baked in a barrel-shaped tandoor, also called a nanwaee (nan maker), resulting in a characteristic smokiness. Loaves containing whole wheat have a slight nutty flavor too.
The loaves are rolled out into thin ovals (they become more oval after being pressed on the walls of the oven) and not raised after shaping and, therefore, are thinner than most flatbreads of the region. What in particular differentiates Afghan nan from other flatbreads are rows of indentations (dimples), similar to a tire track, in the thin loaf, which the baker makes by dragging and pressing his fingertips in the dough. The loaves are also frequently poked or slashed to eliminate air bubbles. The result is bread that is crisp on the outside and spongy and chewy in parts of the interior.
Like all lean Middle Eastern flatbreads, nan is best when fresh from the oven and gets stale rather quickly. Afghans use the same weekday loaves for the Sabbath and festivals.
(See also Bread and Naan)
Afghan Flatbread (Nan/Nan-e Afghani)
6 breads
[PAREVE]
1 package (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast or 1 (0.6-ounce) cake fresh yeast
1½ cups warm water (105°F to 115°F for dry yeast; 80°F to 85°F for fresh yeast)
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (optional)
2 teaspoons table salt or 4 teaspoons kosher salt
About 4 cups (20 ounces) bread or unbleached all-purpose flour, or 3 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole-wheat flour
About 2 tablespoons nigella seeds, poppy seeds, or sesame seeds for sprinkling
1. Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup water. Stir in the sugar and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, remaining water, optional oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a mixture that holds together.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, 10 to 15 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 475°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease the sheets. Or use baking stones.
4. Punch down the dough, knead briefly, cover, and let rest for about 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll out each piece into a thin oval about 1/3 inch thick. Dip your fingertips in water, spreading your fingers apart, then drag and press them lengthwise through the ovals to produce deep grooves, leaving a ½-inch border on all sides. Sprinkle with about ¾ teaspoon seeds and press them gently into the dough. Place on the prepared baking sheets, cover, and let stand for about 10 minutes.
5. Baking one sheet of bread at a time, place each on the lower oven rack and bake until the bottom of the breads begins to brown, 5 to 10 minutes.
Nargesi
Nargesi is an omelet made with herbs or green vegetables.
Origin: Persia
Other names: India: nargisi.
Nargesi is the Farsi word for the narcissus flower, which has white petals and a bright yellow center, reminiscent of the whites and yolks of an egg. It is also the name of a popular variation of the Persian kuku (omelet); in this version, some yellow egg is cooked in the center of cooked green herbs or vegetables, reminding Persians of the narcissus. An alternative to scrambling the eggs is to carefully drop one unbeaten egg into the center of the cooked vegetable base, then, one by one, drop the remaining whole eggs around the outside. Mixed herbs and spinach are the most popular vegetable combinations. At dairy meals, each serving is sometimes topped with a dollop of yogurt and served as an appetizer. For meat meals, nargesi sometimes contains tiny meatballs. Indians make a dish of the same name, spelled nargisi, substituting paneer (fresh cheese) for the eggs and tinting some of the paneer yellow with saffron to emulate the yolks.
Persian Braised Herbs with Eggs (Nargesi)
4 servings
[PAREVE]
¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds (6 bunches) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 pound (3 bunches) chopped fresh cilantro
1½ cups (½ bunch) chopped fresh dill
About ½ cup water
About ¼ teaspoon table salt or ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Ground black pepper to taste
4 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric (optional)
1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the parsley, cilantro, and dill and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the water, salt, and pepper and simmer until most of the liquid evaporates, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Lightly beat the eggs. Mix in the turmeric, if using. Remove about 3 tablespoons of the eggs. Drizzle the remaining eggs over top of the herb mixture, flatten (do not stir in), and cook until nearly set, about 3 minutes. Using the back of a large spoon, make a slight indentation in the center of the herbs, pour th
e reserved egg into the indentation, and cook until set, about 3 minutes. Alternatively, do not beat the eggs, but carefully drop one unbeaten egg into the indentation, then drop the remaining unbeaten eggs around the outside of the herb base, cover the pan, and cook until the eggs are set but the yolks are still soft, about 2½ minutes. Cut into wedges. Serve warm.
Nigella
Nigella sativa is a member of the Ranunculceae (buttercup) family. The intensely black, sharp-edged seeds are used as both a spice and medicine. It is often confused with black cumin seeds (kala jeera), black sesame seeds, and black onion seeds, none of which it is. Although little known in the West, nigella is actually quite ancient; it has been found in Egyptian tombs and many scholars believe it to be the ketzach of Isaiah, making it the earliest written record of this spice and showing it was cultivated in Israel more than 2700 years ago. Nigella is used in Indian cooking, including in the spice mixture garam masala, and in Middle Eastern cooking. It is also a familiar topping for Jewish rye bread. In modern Israel, ketzach or ketzach haginah (garden nigella), has become popular. The Talmud mentions adding them to bread dough, and Israelis today still add the seeds or oil to breads, crackers, and cookies.
Non
Non is the Bukharan word for bread.
Origin: Uzbekistan
Other names: lepyoshka, nan.
Along the silk road—caravans brought riches from the Orient to the west, including to central Asian towns including Samarkand, Tashkent, and Bukhara—in modern day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Bukharan food, from the heart of the Silk Road, is a blend of Turkish, Chinese, Russian, and Persian influences. It was from the Persians that the Bukharans adopted the tanur (cylindrical clay oven), which they called tandir and, probably during the Sassian period (224 to 651 CE), non (flatbread). Due to the protracted Russian dominance of the region in the twentieth century non is also called lepyoshka. Long before the arrival of the Russians, the mainstay of the Uzbeki diet had been bread, which was typically served at every meal. In general, people on the east side of the Caspian Sea (Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan), an area rich in wheat and barley, eat much more bread and pasta than those on the west side (Azerbaijan and western Georgia).
Tandir non, made today as it was centuries ago, is considered the best bread—the ovens contribute a special flavor and texture. Nearly every family in the countryside and even some in the city have a tandir in an inner courtyard or backyard in which to prepare fresh bread daily. Loaves are also widely sold by small local bakeries and in marketplaces. The basic lean dough used for most breads is leavened with special starter doughs—some carefully guarded and handed down from generation to generation—that impart a unique flavor. The air of an established Uzbek bakery is saturated with special varieties of yeast from the previous bakings. For a slightly richer bread, some bakers add several tablespoons of oil to the dough.
The most common Bukharan form of bread is a round loaf that is distinguished by an indentation in the center. It is called parakh non, or issik non (flatbread), or simply non. After the first rise, the dough is rolled out using a small wooden pin, covered with a cloth, and either baked immediately for a flatter bread or left to briefly rise a second time. The center indentation was originally made using large bird quills and later with a parakh or chekish, a nail-studded wooden device about three inches in diameter whose tiny holes restrict the amount of rising in the center and imprint a distinctive design. A single imprint is used for smaller loaves, while for larger loaves the parakh is pressed once in the center then five to six times around the central indentation to make a rosette pattern.
In some areas, bakers make the imprint before the dough rises, but most press it in afterward. If the center is perforated beforehand, the bread puffs up; if the center is imprinted after the dough rises, the loaves are flatter, and crisper in the center. Before placing the bread in the oven, the baker lightly rubs the dough round with water, then frequently sprinkles it with nigella or sesame seeds (black, white, or a combination). Using a rapida (a round, padded cotton mitten), the baker then slaps the dough onto the vertical sides of the oven and presses it against the walls; the round shape of the rapida helps to maintain the shape of the non. The outer portion is golden brown on the outside and soft inside, while the center is low, pale, and hard. Parakh non are thicker than typical Middle Eastern flatbreads.
Several other widespread Bukharan breads are made from the same or similar dough. Obi non is similar to regular non, except the dough is a little stiffer and it is imprinted and baked without a second rise, yielding a thinner bread. Randa is a large rectangular flatbread; its sides are higher than its center and it is covered with nigella or sesame seeds. When the dough is cooked on the outside of a sajj (a cooking vessel akin to an inverted wok atop a fire), the resulting large, thick, concave cracker is called noni toki (dome bread).
Visitors to a Bukharan home are typically offered non and choy (green tea); the two in themselves sometimes constitute a meal, but at other times they are accompanied by salads, soups, or fresh fruit, especially grapes and peaches. It is considered extremely disrespectful to decline food or to start eating before being invited to by the host. In the Asian manner, bread is never cut with a knife, but rather broken into pieces by hand and set, flat side down, next to each place setting. Smaller pieces are torn from these to scoop up food. Throughout the meal, teacups are refilled. Bukharans use the same loaves during the week and on the Sabbath and holidays.
Due to the early presence, beginning in 1868, of Bukharans in Israel, non and other Uzbekistani baked goods have long been familiar in Jerusalem and certain other parts of the country. However, as late as the mid-1990s, traditional Bukharan bread was unobtainable in the United States. Now, however, non is available in parts of America such as Brooklyn, where Bukharan-owned bakeries churn out time-honored loaves from the vertical walls of traditional tandirs.
(See also Bread and Naan)
Nosh
The Yinglish (Yiddish English) word nosh, now entrenched in both American and British English, comes from the Yiddish nashn, itself derived from the Middle High German naschen (to nibble/gnaw). It first appeared in English in 1892 in Children of the Ghetto by Israel Zangwill (London). By the 1930s, it had become nosh (and noshing and nosher), and widespread in the 1950s, popularized by Jewish comedians. Nosh is used as both a noun and a verb, and means "a snack" or "to snack." A nosher is the person who eats the snack. The related noun nosheri/nosherei, from the Yiddish nasheray (tidbit), means "food for snacking," "a number of snacks," or "junk food." In England, a nosh is more substantial—to eat a meal—and a noshery is a "snack bar" or "restaurant."
Nusstorte
Nusstorte is a cake, sometimes flourless, made with finely ground nuts and leavened with beaten eggs.
Origin: Germany
Other names: nut cake; Hebrew: oogat egozim; Hungarian: diós torta.
"Nu, Fraulein? You gotta tell her whether your heart says plum-kuchen oder Nusstorte, or both, see? Just like that. Now make up your mind. I'd hate t' have you blunder. Have you decided?" (From Dawn O'Hara, the Girl Who Laughed [New York, 1911], an early novel by Edna Ferber. The author describes a scene inside a German bakery in the American Midwest in the early 1900s).
Nut cakes are among the earliest of cakes. The first light nut cakes appeared in Moorish Spain, and were made by beating eggs with sugar—a branch and twigs tied together originally served as the agitating utensil. This technique trapped air bubbles in the eggs, providing leaven for the batter. These cakes evolved into pan d' Espanna (sponge cake) and various Sephardic almond cakes, such as torta de almendras and torta de las reyes (orange-almond cake). It was the arrival in the rest of Europe of the sponge cake that would transform European nut cakes into luscious and light treats called tortas or tortes.
During the Renaissance, Italians occasionally added ground almonds to their tortas, but nuts had to be finely pounded by hand and Italians generally preferred the lighter cakes
without the nuts. The English, meanwhile, preferred butter-laden pound cakes and steamed puddings. However the Hungarians, Austrians, and Germans, probably beginning in the late seventeenth century, did not mind the work of grinding nuts as much, and took these nuss torten to their full height.
Some of these central European cakes, typically made from walnuts or hazelnuts, contain flour, while many others are completely flourless. Besides being readily adaptable to Passover, nusstortes are also inherently pareve, a major advantage in a kosher kitchen, and relatively low in fat (other than the fat in the nuts and egg yolks). Consequently, central European Jews and eventually other Ashkenazim began making nusstortes, not only for Passover, but also for special occasions throughout the year. In many Hungarian families, a nut torte layered with frosting is the customary birthday and anniversary cake.
A basic nut cake can be served plain or, in the central European manner, topped with a dollop of whipped cream (schlagsahne) or layered with it. Early American Jewish cookbooks generally called for various fruit mixtures, also pareve, as well as cream concoctions to hold the layers together and provide extra moistness and flavor to the cake. When buttercream frostings became popular during the early twentieth century, they were soon a favorite nut cake filling and topping.
Aunt Babette's (Cincinnati, 1889) offered recipes for an array of tortes, including two types of "Almond Cake, or Mandel Torte," plus a third for Passover made with potato flour; three examples of "Brod Torte" made from rye bread crumbs, along with a fourth brod torte made with matza meal; a pair of "Mohntorte," with poppy seeds; and a "Walnut Cake (Torte)."