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Camp Newman Challah

This challah was perfected by longtime Newman camper and staff member Levi Gettleman, who is now in rabbinic school at Hebrew Union College.
Ingredients:
4 ½ - 5 c. Bread Flour
1 tsp. Salt
½ c. + 1 tsp. Sugar
½ c. Sunflower or Vegetable Oil
1 c. Water (divided)
2 Eggs
2 ¼ tsp. Active Dry Yeast
1-2 Eggs for egg wash

Hamin Kharshuf

I invented this stew to highlight one of my favorite winter vegetables in Israel. Cardoon (kharshuf in Hebrew) looks like a prehistoric celery.
Ingredients:
1 medium cardoon, or 1¼ lbs. frozen artichoke bottoms (see note) Lemon juice
3 cups wheat berries
15 oz. can of chickpeas
1¼ lbs. lamb or fatty beef, cut into chunks
12 whole cloves of garlic
3 Tbsp. za’atar
1 Tbsp. sumac
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
6 whole eggs

Cochini Hamin

This chicken and rice stew originated with the Cochini Jews in Kerala, India.
Ingredients:
3 large onions, chopped
3 Tbsp. oil
5 cardamom pods, or 1 tsp. ground cardamom
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. turmeric
1½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
4 medium carrots, grated
2” ginger, grated
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 medium chicken, cut into 8-10 pieces
2 cups brown lentils or split peas
2 cups long grain rice
6 whole eggs

Persian (Shirazi) Khalebibi

This stew originates in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz, and its name is one of the more interesting ones among the world’s Shabbat stews.
Ingredients:
½ cup medium grain rice
½ cup kidney beans
⅓ cup pinto beans
⅓ cup brown lentils
⅓ cup mung beans
1¼ lbs. stew beef, cut into chunks
2-3 marrow bones
1 large onion, diced into ½” pieces
1 large turnip, peeled and diced into ½” pieces
1½ cups red cabbage, chopped into ½” pieces
1½ cups white cabbage, chopped into ½” pieces
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1 Tbsp. turmeric
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For serving:
1 sliced lemon

Basic Vegetarian Hamin

This recipe mixes various influences from the Sephardi diaspora while avoiding meat. It works well on its own, but is even better as a base for experimenting with different flavors.
Ingredients:
2-3 medium, roughly chopped onions
2 Tbsp. olive oil (or more as needed)
2-4 sliced cloves of garlic
1 large or 2 small diced green chili peppers with seeds and membranes removed
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. turmeric
1 tsp. cardamom
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 cups mixed beans, soaked overnight
1 cup brown lentils
1 cup wheat berries
1 large handful of dried wild mushrooms, pre-soaked in hot water
3 medium potatoes cut into chunks
1 large sweet potato cut into chunks
6 whole eggs
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Optional add-ins:
One large chopped carrot or turnip
Seitan strips
Vegetarian sausages
Swap in 1 cup of thoroughly rinsed, long grain rice or pearl barley for the wheat.
For a spicier flavor, leave in some of the chili seeds and membranes and/or add 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper.
For a different flavor profile, leave out the cumin, turmeric, and cardamom, replacing them with 1 tsp. each of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground cloves.