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Indian-Jewish Food
Recipes and stories from the backstreets of Bondi
By Elana Benjamin
Photography by Shibani Mishra
Published by The Sydney Jewish Museum
ISBN 9780645977011
I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the combination of Indian and Jewish food and, equally so, to see this cookbook.
Browsing through, I immediately saw some interesting recipes with appealing photographs.
Reading the introduction, with the rich cultural mix of family memories from the author's childhood years is quite a treat as she recalls their large family gatherings with an array of foods in the Sydney suburb of Bondi.
Elana Benjamin recalls these events and shares the rich cultural heritage of her family who lived in Bombay as part of the Baghdadi Jewish Community. In the early part of the 18th century they had fled Iraq for the safety of British ruled India giving the roots to this unique Sephardi and Indian cookery. There are stories about the first Indian spice shop from the 1940s, founded by Eze Moses in Bondi, which was so popular people would travel from as far away as Newcastle and even Adelaide to buy their supplies.
It is worth obtaining the book just to read the marvellous stories in the introduction. As expected, there is an explanation of what Indian-Jewish food is, with information about the combination of three different Jewish communities that came together and how these recipes were collected for this book.
People who don't like or cannot tolerate hot spicy food will appreciate the section on how to use the recipes with suggestions for options, using the herbs and spices and the notes. There are a few vegetarian recipes and some can be made as vegan. Likewise the cooking notes are a helpful addition.
Included are a good variety, although not many recipes for breads, side dishes, fish, chicken, meat and desserts with clear instructions and helpful tips and a short introduction for each one.
Not surprisingly, I found the dishes made from a recipe in this book, different to what we would expect to find in an Indian restaurant such as the bhaji. I made the mushroom bhaji. The bhajis are not the typical fried bhaji usually eaten as an entree, but rather a delicious side dish. This dish would be a good vegtarian option served with the pilau rice.
Some dishes can be made for either suppers or weekend breakfasts which is rather handy. You may find there are some fragrant spices used in recipes, that may not be in your pantry, but I found it was worthwhile purchasing them to get that authentic flavour. If you eat low carb food like I do, there are ways around this adding your own touch.
Published with a durable hardcover, I found it helpful that the book opens flat, making it easy to refer to while cooking.
Buy Indian-Jewish Food from Elana Benjamin
The Author
Elana Benjamin is a Jewish-Australian writer of Indian-Iraqi heritage. Elana's articles have been published in the Good Weekend, Sunday Life, the Sydney Morning Herald, SBS Voices, The Jewish Independent(formerly Plus61J Media), Kveller, Tablet Magazine, Debrief Daily, Essential Kids and the Jewish Book Council blog. Elana is a contributor to Growing Up Indian in Australia (2024, Black Inc.). She is also the author of MyMother's Spice Cupboard:A Journey from Baghdad to Bombay to Bondi (2012, Hybrid Publishers), a memoir-history which traces her family's migration from Iraq to India to Australia. Elana is a co-founder of Sephardi Mizrahi Voices Australia, an organisation which seeks to raise awareness of the traditions, culture and history of Jews from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North African and Iran. Elana holds an Arts/Law degree with a history major from the University of New South Wales. She lives in Sydney with her husband and their two children.
This is an independent review, I am not paid by the book publishers, so.If you Liked this review - please Buy me a coffee
