This Friday night, I’m hosting a Shabbat Dinner Interfeast with the NYC Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee. It's all about bringing people together to meet new people, learn about each other, and connect with new friends. In addition to the delicious meal, the evening will also include a demonstration and conversation about the traditions of holiday celebrations in our different families and cultural settings.
My design of the menu was directly related to several hopes I have for the evening. I wanted the food to reflect the culinary traditions around the table and be a starting point for memories, recollecting the old and creating the new. I wanted everyone to feel welcome and comfortable at the table. Finally, I wanted it to be scrumptious! Here is what I’ve learned so far from putting this together.
Appetizers
Challah
Homemade Pita
Hummus
Babaghanoush
Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Vegetable Samosas
Stuffed Grape Leaves
Soup
Chicken Soup
Main course
Lamb Biryani
Vegetable Biryani
Moong Dal (lentils)
Chicken Sofrito with Potatoes
Dessert
Ma'amul (date cookies)
Apple Semolina Cake
There are just a few seats left for the Interfeast! You can sign up here.
My design of the menu was directly related to several hopes I have for the evening. I wanted the food to reflect the culinary traditions around the table and be a starting point for memories, recollecting the old and creating the new. I wanted everyone to feel welcome and comfortable at the table. Finally, I wanted it to be scrumptious! Here is what I’ve learned so far from putting this together.
- When I started doing research on “Muslim food,” I found out that there isn’t really such a thing! Countries from Pakistan, Indonesia, and Morocco to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh all share a Muslim majority. But their cuisines are very different from one another.
- I often do pescatarian dinners, to be accommodating toward my vegetarian friends. But somehow, in thinking it through, I discovered that there’s something about traditional Shabbat dishes that screams CHICKEN. It’s not just a Jewish thing. Meat-dominated festive-occasion feasting seems in vogue in many parts of the world, including the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and North Africa.
- I felt strongly enough about having meat at an Interfeast that I went to pains to purchase halal meat for the comfort of our Muslim friends. Fortunately, I learned that this isn’t too difficult to do, as the halal butcher Honest Chops delivers! (Of course, I will serve vegetarian options as well.)
Appetizers
Challah
Homemade Pita
Hummus
Babaghanoush
Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Vegetable Samosas
Stuffed Grape Leaves
Soup
Chicken Soup
Main course
Lamb Biryani
Vegetable Biryani
Moong Dal (lentils)
Chicken Sofrito with Potatoes
Dessert
Ma'amul (date cookies)
Apple Semolina Cake
There are just a few seats left for the Interfeast! You can sign up here.