Shabbat Table
From Friday afternoon through Saturday morning, these dishes perfume the house and tell the family it is time to rest.
תְּבִית
T'beet
The overnight Shabbat masterpiece — chicken and spiced rice slow-cooked from Friday to Saturday morning.
סַמְבּוּסַק
Sambusak
Crisp crescent pastries filled with spiced chickpeas or curry paste — made every Friday morning as Shabbat approaches.
כָּאהִי
Kahi
Flaky, honey-drenched pastry served for Saturday morning breakfast with qishta clotted cream — the taste of Shabbat morning.
תְּבִית
T'beet
The great Shabbat dish of the Iraqi Jewish table — a whole chicken buried in fragrant spiced rice, slow-cooked overnight and brought to the table golden and trembling with perfume.
On Friday afternoon in every Jewish home in Baghdad, the t'beet would be assembled and placed in the oven before the Shabbat candles were lit. Through the long night it cooked — chicken, rice, baharat, and dried lime releasing their fragrance slowly into every corner of the house. By Saturday morning the rice was caramelised at the bottom, golden and crisp, while the chicken fell away from the bone in the deepest richness. This dish is Shabbat itself.
🛒 Ingredients
The Chicken
1whole chicken (3–3.5 lb), skin-on
2 tbspbaharat spice mix
1 tspground turmeric
1 tspground cumin
1 tspsalt, for rubbing
3 tbsptomato paste
The Rice
3 cupsbasmati rice, rinsed and soaked 30 min
1 largeonion, finely chopped
4 tbspvegetable oil
2 tbspbaharat spice mix
1 tspground turmeric
3 driedlimes (loomi), pierced
2 tsprosewater
1½ tspsalt
4½ cupsboiling water or light chicken stock
📜 Method
1
Prepare the chicken
Pat the chicken completely dry. Mix 2 tbsp baharat, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp salt into a paste with the tomato paste. Rub everywhere — under the skin, inside the cavity. Marinate at least 1 hour or overnight.
2
Fry the onion
In a heavy oven-safe pot large enough for the whole chicken, heat 4 tbsp oil over medium heat. Cook the onion for 15–20 minutes until deeply golden and beginning to caramelise. This patience is essential — the onion is the soul of the rice.
3
Season the rice
Add the drained rice to the pot with the golden onion. Stir in 2 tbsp baharat, 1 tsp turmeric, 1½ tsp salt. Add the pierced dried limes and rosewater. Pour in boiling water or stock. Stir once, gently.
4
Nestle the chicken
Press the marinated chicken breast-side down into the centre of the rice, pushing it in firmly so it is half-submerged. Scatter any remaining marinade over the top.
5
The long overnight cook
Bring to a boil, cover tightly with a lid sealed with foil. Transfer to an oven preheated to 225°F / 110°C. Cook for 8–10 hours — overnight is traditional.
6
The revealing
Rest with lid on for 10 minutes. Place a large platter over the pot and invert boldly. The rice emerges as a golden dome with the chicken on top, the caramelised crust now a crown. Serve with yoghurt and pickles.
✦ Linda's Notes
Baharat is the essential Iraqi spice blend — allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, cardamom, and nutmeg. Buy Iraqi baharat if you can.
Dried limes (loomi) give a smoky, haunting sourness that cannot be replaced. Find them at any Middle Eastern grocery.
The hkaka — the golden crust at the bottom — is the most prized part. If yours doesn't form, increase to 250°F for the last 30 minutes with the lid slightly ajar.
סַמְבּוּסַק
Sambusak
Crisp crescent pastries filled with spiced chickpeas or fragrant curry paste — made every Friday morning so the smell of frying dough announces that Shabbat is coming.
Every Friday morning in Baghdad the smell of sambusak frying in oil would drift into the street, a neighbourly announcement: Shabbat is being prepared in this house. The traditional chickpea filling is ancient — cumin-scented, onion-sweet. This book also carries a curry paste variation: a bolder filling inspired by the Iraqi Jewish families who passed through India and Persia.
🛒 Ingredients
The Dough
3 cupsall-purpose flour
½ tspfine salt
¾ cupwarm water
½ cupneutral oil (plus more for frying)
Choose Your Filling
2 canschickpeas (400g each), drained
2 largeonions, finely chopped
4 tbspolive oil
2 tspground cumin
1 tspground allspice
½ tspcayenne pepper
1 tspsalt
¼ cupfresh parsley, finely chopped
2 canschickpeas (400g each), drained
2 largeonions, finely chopped
4 tbspolive oil
2 tbspmild curry paste (Madras or yellow Thai)
1 tspsalt
2 tbspfresh lemon juice
¼ cupfresh cilantro, finely chopped
📜 Method
1
Make the dough
Combine flour and salt. Mix warm water and oil together, pour into flour. Mix until a smooth, pliable dough forms. Knead 3–4 minutes. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
2
Make the filling
Heat oil, fry onions 20 minutes until deeply golden. Traditional: Add cumin, allspice, cayenne; stir 1 min. Add chickpeas, crush roughly, season with salt, stir in parsley. Curry: Add curry paste to golden onions, fry 2 minutes, add chickpeas, crush, season, finish with lemon and cilantro. Cool completely.
3
Roll and cut
Roll dough to 2–3mm thick. Cut 3-inch circles with a glass. Re-roll scraps. Should yield approximately 30 circles.
4
Fill and seal
Place a generous teaspoon of filling in the centre. Fold into a half-moon. Crimp edges firmly with pleats or a fork. Must be tightly sealed.
5
Fry to golden
Heat 2 inches of oil to 350°F / 175°C. Fry in batches of 4–5 for 3–4 minutes per side until deep golden. Drain on paper towels.
✦ Linda's Notes
Use mild curry paste — the spice should be warm background, not overwhelming. The lemon at the end is essential.
Mark curry sambusak with a sesame seed on top so guests can tell them apart on a mixed tray.
Assemble and freeze unbaked. Fry directly from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes.
כָּאהִי
Kahi
Gossamer-thin layers of flaky pastry, soaked in honey and clarified butter, served warm with qishta — the thick clotted cream that is the glory of the Iraqi Jewish Shabbat morning table.
On Saturday morning in Baghdad, after synagogue, the family would gather for breakfast — and kahi was the centrepiece. Shatteringly crisp, dripping with honey and clarified butter, each piece pulled apart to reveal its countless flaky layers. Eaten with a spoonful of qishta — the thick, ivory clotted cream — it is one of the most purely pleasurable things in Iraqi Jewish cooking.
🛒 Ingredients
The Pastry
2 cupsall-purpose flour
½ tspsalt
¾ cupwarm water
¼ cupvegetable oil, for the dough
½ cupclarified butter (ghee), melted
2 tbspall-purpose flour, for laminating
To Serve
⅓ cuprunny honey (Iraqi or other floral)
4 tbspclarified butter, extra
1 cupqishta (clotted cream or thick crème fraîche)
📜 Method
1
Make the dough
Mix flour and salt. Add warm water and oil, knead until a very smooth, elastic dough forms — 8–10 minutes. The dough should be softer than bread dough. Cover and rest 45 minutes. This long rest is essential for a dough that stretches without tearing.
2
Divide and rest
Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Place on an oiled surface, brush each with ghee, and cover. Rest 20 more minutes.
3
Stretch and laminate
Working one ball at a time on a lightly oiled surface, stretch and roll the dough as thin as you can — nearly translucent, like strudel dough. Brush the entire surface generously with melted ghee and dust lightly with flour. Fold into thirds (like a letter), then in thirds again to make a small square. You now have multiple layers of butter and dough.
4
Rest again
Place the folded squares on a baking tray, brush with more ghee, cover and refrigerate 20 minutes. This firms the butter and creates cleaner layers.
5
Bake
Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C. Roll each square slightly larger on a floured surface. Bake on a greased tray for 18–22 minutes until shatteringly golden. They should look like a rough, rustic puff pastry — deeply golden, blistered, and layered.
6
The honey bath
While the kahi are still hot from the oven, warm the honey gently with the extra clarified butter in a small pan until liquid. Pour or spoon this mixture generously over each piece. Serve immediately with a large spoonful of cold qishta on the side — the contrast of hot, buttery pastry and cold cream is everything.
✦ Linda's Notes
Qishta — the Iraqi clotted cream — can be made by gently heating whole milk with a little cream until a skin forms, then cooling. Alternatively, good-quality clotted cream from a British shop or thick crème fraîche works beautifully.
The more ghee you use, the flakier the result. This is not a recipe for restraint.
Kahi is best eaten within 30 minutes of baking. The honey soaks in and the layers soften over time — still delicious, but the shatter is gone.
Some Iraqi families add a pinch of ground cardamom to the honey for extra perfume.
Holiday Table
Each holiday calls its own flavours into being. These are the dishes that mark the turning of the Jewish year.
קוּבֶּה חַמְדָּה
Kubbeh Hamda
Silky semolina shells filled with spiced lamb, floating in a sour golden broth — the great celebration soup.
תִּמַּן זַעְפְּרָן
Timman Z'affran
Golden saffron rice with caramelised onions and toasted almonds — the rice of every celebration and lifecycle event.
מַסְגוּף
Masgouf
The legendary fish of the Tigris — slow-grilled open over tamarind-spiced coals. The soul of Baghdad on a plate.
קוּבֶּה חַמְדָּה
Kubbeh Hamda
Semolina dumplings filled with spiced lamb, swimming in a sour-sweet golden broth perfumed with celery, lemon, and dried limes.
Hamda means "sour" in Arabic — and this golden trembling broth is the most beloved of all Iraqi Jewish soups. The dumplings take time and skill; rolling the thin semolina shell around its spiced lamb filling is a craft learned at a grandmother's side. This is the dish people dream of when they dream of their mother's cooking.
🛒 Ingredients
The Kubbeh Shell
2 cupsfine semolina (not coarse)
½ cupall-purpose flour
1 tspsalt
¾ cupwarm water (approximately)
The Lamb Filling
1 lbground lamb (or beef)
1 largeonion, very finely minced
½ cupflat-leaf parsley, minced
1 tspbaharat
½ tspallspice
1 tspsalt
The Hamda Broth
10 cupschicken or vegetable stock
4 stalkscelery with leaves, sliced
½ cupfresh lemon juice (3–4 lemons)
2 tbspsugar
3 driedlimes (loomi), pierced
1 tspturmeric
📜 Method
1
Make the filling first
Mix the ground lamb with minced onion, parsley, baharat, allspice, and salt until well combined. Refrigerate — it is much easier to work with cold filling.
2
Mix the semolina dough
Combine semolina, flour, and salt. Add warm water gradually, kneading as you go, until you have a smooth, firm dough — similar to firm Play-Doh. Cover and rest 20 minutes.
3
Shape the kubbeh
Take a golf-ball-sized piece of dough. Flatten in your palm into a 3-inch disc. Place a tablespoon of cold filling in the centre. Cup your hand and gently work the dough upward around the filling, sealing the top into a smooth oval. The shell should be 3–4mm thick. Aim for a smooth, sealed football shape.
4
Build the hamda broth
Bring stock to a gentle simmer. Add celery, pierced dried limes, turmeric, lemon juice, and sugar. The broth should be noticeably sour and just barely sweet. Season with salt. Simmer 15 minutes.
5
Cook at a gentle simmer
Lower the heat to a barely-trembling simmer — never a rolling boil. Lower the kubbeh one by one. Cook 25–30 minutes. They are done when they float and the semolina shell is silky.
6
Serve
Ladle broth into deep bowls, 2–3 kubbeh per bowl. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon, chopped parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil.
✦ Linda's Notes
Kubbeh-making is traditionally communal. Invite daughters, sisters, or friends — the work is meditative and conversation flows.
Shaped uncooked kubbeh freeze beautifully. Cook directly from frozen, adding 10 minutes.
The sour-sweet balance is everything. Taste the broth repeatedly and adjust lemon and sugar until it sings.
תִּמַּן זַעְפְּרָן
Timman Z'affran
The golden rice of Iraqi Jewish celebration — each grain stained amber with saffron, scented with cardamom and rosewater, crowned with deeply caramelised onions, toasted almonds, and plump raisins.
No wedding, no bar mitzvah, no Rosh Hashanah, no Passover seder in an Iraqi Jewish home was complete without the Timman Z'affran at the centre of the table. The saffron gives it its colour and its honour — saffron was expensive, precious, and used to say: tonight is a night that deserves our finest. The slow caramelisation of the onion garnish, the handful of toasted almonds and golden raisins, the breath of rosewater — this is the rice of celebration.
🛒 Ingredients
The Rice
3 cupsbasmati rice, rinsed and soaked 30 min
1 tspgood saffron threads
3 tbsphot water, for blooming saffron
4 tbspclarified butter (ghee) or vegetable oil
½ tspground cardamom
2 tsprosewater
1½ tspsalt
5 cupsboiling water or light stock
The Garnish
2 largeonions, thinly sliced into rings
4 tbspclarified butter or vegetable oil
½ cupslivered almonds
⅓ cupgolden raisins
1 pinchextra saffron, for the garnish
📜 Method
1
Bloom the saffron
Lightly crush the saffron threads between your fingers into a small bowl. Pour 3 tbsp of very hot (not boiling) water over them. Stir gently and leave to steep for at least 15 minutes. The water should turn a deep burnished gold. This blooming step is essential — it extracts the full colour and flavour.
2
Caramelise the onion garnish
Heat 4 tbsp butter in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onion rings and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, for 30–40 minutes until they are a deep mahogany brown — not burnt, but truly caramelised. Season with a pinch of salt. In the last 5 minutes add the slivered almonds and let them toast golden. Add the raisins for the final minute. Set aside.
3
Cook the rice
Heat 4 tbsp butter in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the drained rice and stir to coat in the butter for 2 minutes. Add the bloomed saffron water (including the threads), cardamom, rosewater, and salt. Pour in the boiling water or stock. Bring to a vigorous boil, stir once, then reduce heat to very low.
4
Steam the rice
Place a clean folded tea towel under the lid to absorb steam. Cook on the lowest possible heat for 18 minutes. Do not lift the lid. After 18 minutes, turn off the heat and let it rest, still covered, for 10 minutes. The towel method produces perfectly separate, fluffy grains every time.
5
Assemble and serve
Fluff the rice gently with a fork. Mound it on a large platter. Scatter the caramelised onions, toasted almonds, and golden raisins generously over the top. For extra colour, dissolve a pinch of saffron in a teaspoon of rosewater and drizzle over the finished dish.
✦ Linda's Notes
The quality of the saffron matters enormously here. Use good Iranian or Spanish saffron — supermarket saffron often gives colour without flavour.
The onion garnish can be made a day ahead and reheated. In fact it deepens in flavour overnight.
Timman Z'affran is the natural companion to T'beet, Kubbeh Hamda, and any slow-braised meat. It is also perfect alongside simple grilled fish at Rosh Hashanah.
For Passover, substitute the boiling water with chicken stock for extra depth, and omit the rosewater if serving with meat.
מַסְגוּף
Masgouf
The legendary river fish of the Tigris — butterflied open and slow-grilled over tamarind-scented coals until the skin is crackling and the flesh is smoky, rich, and falling apart. The most ancient dish of Baghdad.
Along the banks of the Tigris in Baghdad, for centuries, fishermen would grill masgouf on wooden stakes over open fires by the river. Jewish families would gather there on Fridays before Shabbat — the smell of fish and tamarind smoke drifting across the water. Masgouf is one of the oldest continuously prepared dishes in human history. To eat it is to sit beside the Tigris.
🛒 Ingredients
The Fish
2 wholecarp, sea bass, or trout (2–3 lb each), butterflied open
2 tspcoarse salt
1 tspground turmeric
1 tspground cumin
The Tamarind Marinade
3 tbsptamarind paste
3 tbspolive oil
2 clovesgarlic, crushed
1 tspground cumin
½ tspblack pepper
1 tbsptomato paste
2 tbspfresh lemon juice
To Serve
2tomatoes, halved and grilled
2lemons, halved
1flatbread (samoon or pita) per person
½ cupfresh parsley and green onion, chopped
📜 Method
1
Butterfly the fish
Ask your fishmonger to butterfly the fish — cut open along the back so it lies flat, skin-side down, with the head and tail intact. Score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern. Rub the flesh generously with coarse salt, turmeric, and cumin. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2
Make the tamarind marinade
Whisk together tamarind paste, olive oil, crushed garlic, cumin, black pepper, tomato paste, and lemon juice into a smooth, fragrant paste. Brush this generously over the flesh side of the fish. Reserve a little for basting during cooking.
3
Prepare the grill
Build a charcoal fire or heat a gas grill to medium. For the authentic masgouf experience, add a few chunks of hardwood (oak or fruitwood) to the coals for smoke. The traditional method uses low, steady heat — not the screaming high heat used for steaks. The fish should cook slowly, for 45–60 minutes.
4
The slow grill
Place the fish skin-side down on the grill — do not move it. Cook slowly, basting the flesh periodically with the reserved marinade. The fish is ready when the flesh is completely opaque and pulls away easily from the bone, and the skin is charred and crisp. This takes patience — resist the urge to rush it.
5
The home oven method
If grilling is not possible: preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C. Place the marinated fish skin-side down on a foil-lined baking tray. Roast 25–30 minutes, then finish under a hot broiler for 5–8 minutes to char and crisp the top. Not identical to the grill but very good.
6
Serve traditionally
Serve the whole fish on a large board or platter. Set grilled tomato halves and lemon wedges alongside. Scatter chopped parsley and green onion over the top. Eat with warm flatbread, tearing pieces of fish with your hands and rolling them into the bread with tomato and herbs — the only correct way.
✦ Linda's Notes
Carp is the most traditional fish — it has the right fat content for slow grilling. Sea bass or striped bass work beautifully and are easier to find in the US.
Tamarind paste, not tamarind concentrate — the concentrate is more intense and should be used in smaller quantities.
Masgouf is traditionally eaten outdoors, communally, standing around the grill. The informality is part of its joy.
Iraqi pickle (turshi) on the side — the acidity cuts through the rich fish perfectly. Find it at any Middle Eastern grocery.
Everyday Table
The quiet meals of a week — Tuesday soups, Thursday stews, the dishes that need no occasion because love is reason enough.
חַמּוּסְטָה
Hamusta
The everyday sour soup — a sharp lemony broth with Swiss chard, meatballs, and the haunting note of dried lime.
בָּאמְיָה
Bamia
Slow-braised lamb with okra in a deep tomato-tamarind sauce — one of the great comfort dishes of the Iraqi Jewish kitchen.
סָלָטָה עִרַאקִית
Iraqi Salata
The essential Iraqi salad — finely diced tomato, cucumber, and herbs dressed with lemon and sumac, served at every meal.
חַמּוּסְטָה
Hamusta
The everyday sour soup of the Iraqi Jewish kitchen — a bright, lemony broth with Swiss chard, tender meatballs, and the deep background note of dried lime that makes this soup unmistakably Iraqi.
If the kubbeh hamda is the grand celebration soup, the hamusta is the soup of Tuesday evenings — the one that appears without ceremony because the family was hungry and there was chard in the kitchen. Sharp with lemon, fragrant with dried lime, it is one of those soups that tastes like it took all day but can be on the table in an hour. The meatballs are optional, but beloved.
🛒 Ingredients
The Meatballs
¾ lbground beef or lamb
1 smallonion, grated
2 tbspuncooked rice or breadcrumbs
½ tspbaharat
½ tspsalt
The Soup
8 cupschicken or vegetable stock
1 bunchSwiss chard, stems removed, leaves chopped
2 driedlimes (loomi), pierced
⅓ cupfresh lemon juice
1 tspturmeric
1 tbspsugar
1 tspsalt
2 tbspolive oil
3 clovesgarlic, sliced thin
📜 Method
1
Form the meatballs
Mix ground meat with grated onion, rice or breadcrumbs, baharat, and salt. Roll into small balls — about the size of a large marble. Keep them small; they cook faster and distribute better through the soup. Refrigerate until needed.
2
Build the base
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Fry the sliced garlic for 2 minutes until just golden. Add stock, pierced dried limes, turmeric, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer.
3
Add meatballs and chard
Drop the meatballs gently into the simmering broth one by one. Add the chopped Swiss chard. Simmer gently for 25 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the chard is completely tender.
4
Season the hamusta
Add the lemon juice and sugar. Taste — the soup should be distinctly sour, with the sugar just balancing it. Adjust with more lemon or sugar. The dried lime gives a background sourness that is different from the fresh lemon; both are essential. Season with salt.
5
Serve
Ladle into bowls. The soup should be a beautiful golden colour. Serve with good bread and a small bowl of plain rice on the side if you like.
✦ Linda's Notes
The soup is even better the next day. Make a large batch — it keeps beautifully for 3 days in the refrigerator.
For a vegetarian version, simply omit the meatballs. The broth and chard alone are deeply satisfying.
Celery can be added alongside the chard for extra body.
בָּאמְיָה
Bamia
Slow-braised lamb with baby okra in a deep, rich sauce of tomatoes, tamarind, and warm spices — one of the most deeply comforting dishes in the Iraqi Jewish repertoire.
Bamia is one of those dishes that announces itself from the moment it begins to cook — the smell of lamb and onion and tomato fills the house and stays there. It is Thursday-evening food, weekday-evening food, the kind of stew that improves every time you reheat it. The tamarind is the secret — it gives the sauce a gentle sourness that cuts through the richness of the lamb and keeps every bite from becoming heavy.
🛒 Ingredients
The Stew
2 lblamb shoulder or neck, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 lbbaby okra (fresh or frozen), trimmed
2 largeonions, finely chopped
4 tbspvegetable oil
1 cancrushed tomatoes (400g)
3 tbsptomato paste
2 tbsptamarind paste
1 tspbaharat
1 tspground cumin
½ tspground cinnamon
1½ tspsalt
2 cupswater or light stock
½ tspsugar
📜 Method
1
Brown the lamb
Heat 4 tbsp oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Season the lamb pieces with salt. Brown in batches — do not crowd — for 3–4 minutes per side until a deep mahogany crust forms. Remove and set aside. Do not skip this step; the browning is the flavour.
2
Build the sauce
In the same pot, reduce heat to medium. Cook the onions in the remaining fat for 15 minutes until golden. Add baharat, cumin, and cinnamon; stir 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir another 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, tamarind paste, water, and sugar. Stir well.
3
Braise the lamb
Return the browned lamb to the pot. The sauce should come about halfway up the meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to the lowest possible simmer. Cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
4
Add the okra
After the lamb has cooked 1 hour and is beginning to become tender, add the okra. Stir gently to incorporate. Do not over-stir from this point — okra breaks apart if stirred too aggressively. Continue cooking uncovered for 30 minutes until the okra is tender and the sauce has thickened.
5
Finish and serve
Taste the sauce — it should be rich, deep, and gently sour from the tamarind. Adjust salt. Serve with generous amounts of plain rice or saffron rice.
✦ Linda's Notes
Frozen baby okra works well — thaw and pat dry before using. Fresh okra that has been refrigerated uncovered overnight (to dry slightly) resists sliminess best.
This stew is significantly better the next day. Make it ahead — the tamarind and spices deepen wonderfully overnight.
Beef can substitute for lamb — use chuck or short ribs for the best result.
A handful of dried apricots added with the okra gives a lovely sweet note — a Persian influence that Iraqi Jewish cooks sometimes used.
סָלָטָה עִרַאקִית
Iraqi Salata
The essential Iraqi salad — everything cut small, dressed simply with lemon juice and the fruity tang of sumac, present at every meal from breakfast to the last course of a celebration dinner.
The Iraqi salad is defined by its knife work — everything cut as fine as you can manage, so small that each forkful gets every flavour at once. There is no dressing beyond lemon juice, a little oil, salt, and sumac — the deep burgundy spice that gives the salad its distinctive note. It appears at every meal, eaten alongside everything, refreshing the palate between bites of rich slow-cooked food.
🛒 Ingredients
The Salad
4 mediumripe tomatoes, finely diced
2 smallPersian cucumbers, finely diced
1 smallwhite onion, very finely minced
½ cupflat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
3 tbspfresh mint leaves, finely chopped
4green onions, sliced thin
The Dressing
3 tbspfresh lemon juice
2 tbspgood olive oil
1 tspsumac
½ tspsalt
¼ tspblack pepper
📜 Method
1
Cut everything small
The secret of Iraqi salata is the knife work. Cut the tomatoes and cucumbers into small, uniform dice — no larger than ½ inch, preferably smaller. Mince the white onion very fine; it should be almost invisible in the salad. Finely chop the parsley and mint.
2
Drain the tomatoes
After dicing, place the tomatoes in a colander for 5 minutes to drain off excess liquid. This keeps the salad from becoming watery and diluting the dressing.
3
Dress and serve immediately
Combine all vegetables in a bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine and taste for seasoning. Serve immediately — the salt will draw water from the vegetables and soften everything if it sits more than 10 minutes.
✦ Linda's Notes
Sumac is the defining flavour here — the fruity, slightly astringent note that makes this distinctly Iraqi rather than a generic chopped salad. Find it at any Middle Eastern store.
Some Iraqi families add a little pomegranate molasses to the dressing for a sweeter note — lovely in autumn and winter.
This is the salad that goes with everything. Serve it alongside T'beet, Bamia, Masgouf, and any grilled meat.
Add Your Own Recipe
Your family's recipes belong in this book too. Write them down here — for yourself, and for every generation after you.
Recipe Details
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Linda's Notes (optional)
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Our Kitchen
A word about where these recipes come from, and why they matter.
The Jewish community of Baghdad was one of the oldest in the world — present on the banks of the Tigris since the Babylonian exile of 586 BCE, more than 2,600 years ago. At its height, Jews made up more than a third of Baghdad's population, and the city's culture, commerce, and intellectual life were inseparable from their presence.
Iraqi Jewish cooking is a cuisine shaped by that deep history — by Babylonian and Persian influences, by the Ottoman spice routes, by the particular rhythms of a life governed by Shabbat and the Jewish calendar. It is a cuisine of dried limes and rosewater, of baharat and saffron, of slow-cooked overnight dishes and soups that simmer for hours. It is generous, fragrant, and built for feeding people you love.
On Preservation
Between 1948 and 1952, nearly the entire Jewish community of Iraq — some 130,000 people — left or was expelled. They brought almost nothing with them. What they carried, they carried in memory: the names of streets and families, the words of prayers sung in particular melodies, and the recipes that had defined their kitchens for generations.
These recipes are acts of preservation. They are the taste of a world that no longer exists except in the hands and memories of those who remember. Writing them down is a way of saying: this happened, this mattered, this is yours.
A Note on Ingredients
Several ingredients appear again and again in Iraqi Jewish cooking. Loomi (dried limes) give soups and stews their haunting sourness — available at any Middle Eastern grocery. Baharat is the warm spice blend at the heart of every meat dish; buy the Iraqi version if you can. Rosewater gives the rice dishes their floral perfume. Tamarind paste brings the complex sourness to fish and stews. With these four ingredients, you are most of the way to Baghdad.
✦ ✡ ✦
This book is dedicated to every Iraqi Jewish grandmother whose hands knew these recipes by heart, and to every grandchild learning them now for the first time.