Israeli food: discover traditional cuisine

PITA – slightly leavened flatbread.

LAFA – larger than pita, soft flatbread used to roll up shawarma or falafel filling.

MATZO – unleavened crispy flatbread of Jewish cuisine and an integral element of the Passover festival.

CHALLAH – a traditional braided bread, typically made with wheat flour, eaten on Shabbat and holidays.

MALAWACH – a flaky, fried bread made from dough, often served with hard-boiled eggs, grated tomatoes, and schug.

MATZO BALL SOUP – matzo meal (ground matzo) formed into dumplings and served in broth.

PTITIM / ISRAELI COUSCOUS – small, toasted pasta-like balls made from wheat, often served as a side dish.

MEJADRA – rice and lentil dish seasoned with cumin and topped with fried onions.

KNEIDLAH – matzah balls, soup morsels made from a mixture of matzah meal, eggs, water, and oil or chicken fat, used as bread dumplings for soup.

BOUREKAS – pastries made from phyllo dough or puff pastry, filled with cheese, potatoes, or spinach.

SAMBOUSAK – crispy pastry stuffed with meat, cheese, peas, or potatoes and deep fried.

LENTIL SOUP – slow-cooked lentils, carrots, tomato juice, celery, leeks, and potatoes soup flavored with onion, cumin, paprika, oregano, and chili pepper.

FALAFEL – crispy ground fried or baked balls made from fava beans or chickpeas ground with parsley, scallions, cumin, and coriander. Often served in pita bread with salads and tahini.

HUMMUS – a creamy spread from mashed chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil. The Israeli version is extra smooth, served with whole chickpeas, paprika, parsley, and olive oil.

MSABBAHA – is a runnier version of hummus made with whole chickpeas and tahini. It differs from hummus in texture—the chickpeas remain whole.

ISRAELI SALAD – chopped tomato, cucumber, onion, and bell pepper salad with olive oil, parsley, and lemon juice.

SABICH SALAD – Pitta bread stuffed with eggplant, boiled eggs, tahini, Israeli salad, potato, parsley, and amba sauce.

TABBOULEH – Levantine salad of tomatoes, bulgur, parsley, mint, onion, olive oil and lemon juice. Some Israeli variations use pomegranate seeds instead of tomatoes.

SALAT HATZILIM – grilled and mashed eggplant, tahini, olive oil, lemon, garlic and parsley, a version with mayonnaise is also widely available.

MOLOKHYIA – traditional soup made of broth, jute leaves, garlic, coriander, onions, sumac, rice, and ghee. It may also be cooked with meats.

KUGEL – A baked pudding, which can be either sweet (like noodle kugel) or savory (like potato kugel).

LATKES – fried potato pancakes served with sour cream or applesauce.

TZIMMES – A sweet stew made with carrots, sweet potatoes, and often dried fruits like prunes or apricots, sometimes with honey or cinnamon.

CHAROSET – sweet, dark paste made from figs, dates and raisins and eaten during Passover holiday (other variations of ingredients is also available).

CHOLENT / HAMIN – a slow-cooked Shabbat stew of meat, beans, potatoes, and sometimes barley, kept warm overnight to comply with Shabbat restrictions on cooking.

BRISKET – a very traditional and iconic kosher dish, where meat is slow braised till tender, served with potato or other non-dairy kugel or latkes for Jewish holidays.

SHAWARMA – thinly sliced succulent turkey, chicken, or beef cooked on a rotating spit, served in pita or lavash with veggies.

JEWISH PENICILIN – a hearty and soothing chicken soup with matzo balls, chicken broth, carrots, celery and eggs.

KREPLACH – dumplings filled with chicken or ground beef and herbs or cheese, served with broth or alone with sour cream.

SCHNITZEL – breaded and fried breast, usually turkey or chicken, served with hummus, tahini and salad.

PARGIYOT – skewered chicken marinated in onions, parsley, garlic, and harissa or amba marinade. Grilled on a spike and served for Israel Independence Day.

STUFFED CHICKEN – usually stuffed with rice, meat (lamb or beef), parsley, dried fruits, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice, and baked in the oven.

MANSAF – spiced lamb with rice or bulgur cooked in fermented dried yogurt sauce.

JERUSALEM MIXED GRILL – an offal dish, chicken hearts, spleens, and liver mixed with bits of lamb cooked on a flat grill, seasoned with onion, garlic, pepper, cumin, turmeric, olive, oil, and coriander.

PASTRAMI – An American Jewish dish rooted in Eastern European Jewish cuisine, particularly from Romania, where a similar meat preservation was popular. Made of beef brisket, cured, smoked, and seasoned with spices. While pastrami is not originally an Israeli dish, it is enjoyed in Israel today, often as part of sandwiches or deli-style meals.

GEFILTE FISH – A classic Ashkenazi fish preparation – either a delicacy or something strangely disgusting. This poached and mashed fish, mixed with herbs, vegetables, breadcrumbs, eggs, and matzo meal, used to be stuffed back into the skin of whole fish – and then again baked or poached. Later, for the sake of simplicity, it turned out to just poached oval-shaped patties. It’s served at Shabbat, or Passover, and accompanied by radish or sweet sauce.

HRAIME – spicy fish simmered with thick tomatoes, peppers, and chili sauce.

FISH KUFTA – fried fish balls flavored with onions, garlic, parsley, and mint served with yogurt sauce or tahini.

VORSCHMACK – chopped herring with hard-boiled eggs, onions, apple, sugar, pepper, and vinegar.

PICKLED HERRING – traditional Ashkenazi dish, salted and brined herring in vinegar, salt, and sugar solution with peppercorns, bay leaves, and onions.

LABNEH – strained yogurt dish, creamy and smooth.

SHAKSHOUKA – poached eggs in tomato and pepper sauce, olive oil, onion, garlic, spiced with cumin, and cayenne. In Israel, it often includes feta cheese, may use paprika for flavor and color, and sometimes is served with tahini.

SUFGANIYOT – round jelly deep-fried doughnut, powdered with sugar, a classic Hannukah delight.

HALVA – a sweet and dense confection made from sesame paste tahini or nuts, mixed with sugar or honey, and flavored with different extracts.

RUGELACH –rolled triangle from sour cream or cream cheese dough with raisins, nuts, chocolate, marzipan, poppy seed, or preserved fruit filling (s).

HAMANTASCH – triangular filled-pocket pastry, filling made from poppy seed paste, fruit jams, vanilla cream, and many others (s).

KUNAFAH – traditional Middle Eastern dessert, made with kataifi pastry, soaked in a sweet syrup, and layered with cheese or clotted cream, pistachio, or nuts.

BAKLAVA – crispy phyllo filled with pistachios or walnuts, soaked in honey syrup more frequently than sugar or fruit syrup.