Jachnun or Jahnun (, , ) is a Jewish pastry, originating from the

Adeni Jews Adeni Jews (), or Adenite Jews are the historical Jewish community which resided in the port city of Aden. Adenite culture became distinct from other Yemenite Jewish culture due to British control of the city and Indo-Iraqi Jewish influence as ...

, and traditionally served on ''

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

'' morning, with

resek agvaniyot ''Resek agvaniyot'', or ''resek'' (), is an Israeli condiment made of grated tomatoes that is traditionally served with malawach, jachnun, bourekas, kubaneh, and other dishes. It is frequently paired with zhug, and is also commonly served as pa ...

(a freshly grated tomato dip),

hard-boiled eggs Boiled eggs are typically from a chicken, and are cooked with their shells unbroken, usually by immersion in boiling water. Hard-boiled or hard-cooked eggs are cooked so that the egg white and egg yolk both solidify, while soft-boiled eggs may l ...

, and

zhug Sahawiq (Yemeni Arabic: , IPA: aħaːwiq, is a hot sauce originating in Yemeni cuisine. In other countries of the Arabian Peninsula it is also called mabooj (), and bisbaas. In Israel, it is commonly known as zhoug or zhug (from Judeo-Yemenit ...

(a type of spicy green herbal condiment). Jachnun has become popular in

Israeli cuisine Israeli cuisine primarily comprises dishes brought from the Jewish diaspora, and has more recently been defined by the development of a notable fusion cuisine characterized by the mixing of Jewish cuisine and Arab cuisine.Gold, Rozann''A Region's ...

, where it is served in homes (usually on Shabbat), as

fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...

at roadside stalls, and in restaurants, events, and dining halls.

Preparation

Jahnun is prepared from

dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

which is rolled out thinly and brushed with (traditionally) '' samneh'', which is clarified butter spiced with 'hilbe' (

fenugreek Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small Glossary_of_leaf_morphology#Leaf_and_leaflet_shapes, obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiar ...

) and aged in a smoked vessel, traditionally using smoke from the wood of a specific tree, the tree (presumably ''

Dodonaea viscosa ''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the ''Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in Tropics, tropical, Subtropics, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa ...

'', ''sheth'' in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

), though regular clarified butter or shortening can be used. A little honey is sometimes added when the dough is rolled up before cooking. It is traditionally cooked overnight on a 'Shabbat

hotplate A hot plate or hotplate is a heated flat surface on a stove or electric cooker on which food may be cooked, either built into an electric cooker or kitchen stove, or portable, plugged into an electric outlet. Hot plates can also be used as a h ...

' at a very low temperature, starting the cooking process on the Friday (usually in the morning), to be taken out and eaten on ''Shabbat'' (Saturday) morning, as it is forbidden by Jewish custom to start cooking or turn electrical implements on/off during the Shabbat. The jahnun pieces are baked/steamed in a lidded pot (trapping moisture and preventing drying and burning). This cooking process turns the dough a dark amber, endowing it with a deep, sweet, caramelized taste. The dough used for jachnun is the same as that used for

malawach Malawach or Melawwaḥ (Hebrew: מלוואח), is a Yemenite Jews, Jewish Yemenite flatbread that is traditional in Yemeni cuisine as well as Israeli cuisine. The name of the dish comes from the Arabic "ملوح", literally “board-like bread� ...

History

The idea of slow-cooking food in a way that conforms with Shabbat restrictions is ancient, originating with

cholent Cholent or Schalet () is a traditional slow-simmering Sabbath stew in Jewish cuisine that was developed by Ashkenazi Jews first in France and later Germany, and is first mentioned in the 12th century.Rabbi Yitzahk ben Moishe or "Zaruah" in his ...

, or hamin, a slow-cooked stew that originated in

ancient Israel The history of ancient Israel and Judah spans from the Israelite highland settlement, early appearance of the Israelites in Canaan's hill country during the late second millennium BCE, to the establishment and subsequent downfall of the two ...

. Jachnun and its pan-fried cousin

probably originated as variations of

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

puff pastry, brought to Yemen by Jews expelled from Spain, according to

Gil Marks Gilbert Stanley Marks (; May 30, 1952 – December 5, 2014) was an American food writer and historian noted for his reference and cookbooks on the subject of Jewish food. He was the founding editor of ''Kosher Gourmet'' magazine. He moved to Isra ...

References

External links

Jachnun recipe
{{pastries Jews and Judaism in Aden Israeli pastries Shabbat food Jewish baked goods Middle Eastern cuisine Mizrahi Jewish cuisine Yemeni cuisine

Preparation

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links