ELANA BENJAMIN

ELANA BENJAMINELANA BENJAMINELANA BENJAMIN
  • Indian-Jewish Food
  • Bio
  • Media
  • Selected Articles
  • Spice Cupboard
  • Contact
  • More
    • Indian-Jewish Food
    • Bio
    • Media
    • Selected Articles
    • Spice Cupboard
    • Contact

ELANA BENJAMIN

ELANA BENJAMINELANA BENJAMINELANA BENJAMIN
  • Indian-Jewish Food
  • Bio
  • Media
  • Selected Articles
  • Spice Cupboard
  • Contact



BUY THE BOOK

PRAISE FOR 'INDIAN-JEWISH FOOD'

‘An alluring, beautifully-spiced and mouthwatering journey, sharing a unique Jewish culture.’

         - LISA GOLDBERG, MONDAY MORNING COOKING CLUB



'Full of robustly researched and beautifully written memories and explorations of Jewish cuisine in the subcontinent.'

         - ALICE ZASLAVSKY, award-winning author of IN PRAISE OF VEG                                                                                                                                                     

About 'Indian-Jewish Food'

India was home to three Jewish communities, including one which originated in Iraq: the Baghdadi Jews. By incorporating Indian spices into traditional Iraqi dishes and following the Jewish dietary laws – which prohibit the mixing of meat and dairy – India’s Baghdadi Jews created a delicious cuisine that isn’t quite typical Indian.


Baghdadi Jews from India, mostly Bombay and Calcutta, began arriving in Australia in the late 1940s. Many settled in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, especially Bondi. This was well before the end of the White Australia Policy, well before the first trickle of Indian immigrants to Australia in the 1960s.


Indian-Jewish Food: A Book of Recipes and Stories from the Back Streets of Bondi captures the spectacular – but little-known – cuisine of India’s Baghdadi Jews who immigrated to Australia in the 1950s and '60s. 


The collection of recipes is divided into five sections: Sides, Vegetarian, Fish & Chicken, Meat, and Sweet. Recipes include chakla bakla (pickled vegetables), cheese samoosas (cheese-filled pastries), chittarnee (tomato-based chicken curry) and chatpatay (chickpeas and potatoes in tamarind sauce). 


The book also tells the story of Eze Moses’ legendary Bondi spice shop. Eze Moses was a Baghdadi Jew from India, and for many years, his shop was the only place fresh spices could be bought in Sydney, making it a magnet for all Indian immigrants – Jewish and otherwise.

BUY The BOOK

$39.99

($12.95 shipping)

Pay with PayPal or a debit/credit card

$12.95 shipping within Australia only.  


FOR INTERNATIONAL ORDERS:  buy online from Books for Cooks or Gertrude and Alice

OR BUY IN-STORE FROM THESE BOOKSELLERS

Abode Homewares & Gifts, Bondi Beach (Sydney)

https://www.abodebondi.com.au/

Gertrude & Alice, Bondi Beach (Sydney)

https://www.gertrudeandalice.com.au/

Golds Sydney, Bondi (Sydney)

https://www.goldssydney.com.au/

Harry Hartog, Bondi Junction (Sydney)

https://www.harryhartog.com.au/pages/harry-hartog-bondi-junction

Sydney Jewish Museum Bookshop (online only)

https://sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/product-category/products/

National Library of Australia bookshop (Canberra)

https://www.library.gov.au/visit/bookshop

The Antique Silver Co, Balaclava (Melbourne)

https://thesilverco.com/

Avenue Bookstore, Elsternwick (Melbourne)

https://avenuebookstore.com.au/pages/1337-About

Books for Cooks, Queen Victoria Market (Melbourne)

https://www.booksforcooks.com.au/

Jeffreys Books, Malvern (Melbourne)

https://www.jeffreysbooks.com.au/

Jewish Museum of Australia (Melbourne)

https://www.jewishmuseum.com.au/

Indian-Jewish Food is published by the Sydney Jewish Museum and was made possible with support from Waverley Council.

Photography and styling by Shibani Mishra.

Design by Kimberly Tukana.


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