Israeli

Israeli food is an assortment of the cuisines of East and West. The culinary traditions of Israel are unique and fresh fruits and salads are the main constituents of Israeli cuisine. The Jewish immigrants from all over the world have a major role in contributing to Israeli recipes. Israeli food can be divided into three main categories as per the cooking styles; Mizrahi, Ashkenazi and Mediterranean cooking. Mizrahi cuisine mainly comprises grilled meats, rice, stuffed vegetables and salads. Ashkenazi cooking includes chicken soups, kugel, geflite fish and schnitzel while the Mediterranean is known for usage of olives, chickpeas, fish, vegetables and fruits as ingredients.

Historical And Cultural Influences On Israeli Cuisine

The Israeli cuisine shares a lot of similarities with Middle East, North African and Mediterranean cooking. The Iranians culinary traditions are used till date by people of Israel. The recipes of assorting meat with fruits, and lentils belong to Iranian cuisine and are used by people of Israel. Lebanon way of making fish with paprika can be witnessed in Israeli food. Similarly, the kebabs are from Jordan and Kubbeh belongs to Syria. The cuisine of Israel is also influenced by Yemen cuisine when it comes to the combination of spices used for food preparation.

The Israeli cuisine also has a slight influence of Greek and Turkish cuisines. The baklava pastries and Moussaka of Turkey are relished all over Israel. The other countries who have influenced Israeli cooking are Russia, Poland, Hungary, Ethiopia and India.

 Israeli Everyday Food

The people of Israel have three meals a day. The breakfast mainly consists of salads, soft cheese, scrambled eggs and breads along with orange juice, tea or coffee. The lunch is mostly heavy and has three courses:

• Appetizers which include soup or salads
• Main course of rice, breads, vegetables and meat 
• Dessert -fruit ice cream, or cake.

The dinners are usually light and consumed at 7- 8 pm.

Popular Israeli Foods

• Cholent- It is a stew made of beans, beef, barley and potatoes and is cooked slowly. This Israeli food is usually eaten during winters.
• Jachnun – This Israeli food is a filling dish which is prepared overnight and makes use of flour.
• Laban – It is a tangy yogurt which pairs well with all foods. It is also eaten as a spread on breads.
• Pita bread- It is the most common bread of Israel and also referred to as national bread of Israel.
• Hummus - hummus bi tahini, also spelt as hummous, hummos, hommos, homos, hamos, houmous, is an extremely popular traditional Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dipping spread made of chickpeas( also popularly known as the Garbanzo bean).
• Falafel -Falafel is  a deep-fried chickpea patty belonging to the Mid Eastern cuisine.