Living spiritually, parenting proactively, cooking kosher
Several readers have expressed interest in pesticide-free etrogs for cooking.
Today, I spoke with a friend of ours, who grows etrogs up in the Galilee. He told me that they stop applying pesticides after picking the fruit for Sukkot, so etrogs that will ripen in the winter (around November – December) will grow without being sprayed.
If you are interested, drop me a line (my email appears in the About section) and I’ll give you his phone number.
Our family’s love affair with Bukharian cuisine began over 60 years ago during WWII, when my grandmother was evacuated from Ukraine to Central Asia. She returned home after getting to know dozens of Bukharian-Jewish families and learning about their favorite dishes. Although I got my hands on a whole treasure trove of authentic recipes while translating a Bukharian cookbook last year, my favorite pilav recipe still comes from my mother.
Pilav – a rice and meat dish – is the cornerstone of Bukharian cuisine. There are some 70 different varieties of pilav. Traditionally it is made with lamb and lamb fat. That’s a little too heavy for us, so I usually use chicken together with brown rice, which adds another 20 minutes to cooking time.
If you are looking for something simple yet different, check out my Chicken Pilav recipe here.