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A Persian Shabbat Tradition Simmers on Long Island

A Persian Shabbat Tradition Simmers on Long Island


Shared by Sogol Somekh Mesznik and Akhtar Somekh
Recipe Roots: Isfahan, Iran > Tehran > Great Neck, NY

When Sogol Somekh Mesznik’s family moved from Tehran to New York in 1986, she was just four-years old, too young to clearly recall the challenging transition her older brother and sister faced when they started school in a new language or the difficulties her parents experienced as they navigated a new world.   

Everything outside of the house was different, explains her mother Akhtar, but inside it was just like living in Iran. Sogol’s grandparents and uncle lived nearby and they visited often, sharing meals together.  

In Tehran, Sogol’s father David sold Persian rugs, first door to door on a bicycle and later at a store he opened, often selling to Americans or European customers. At first, after the Iranian Revolution, little in the family changed. While much of Iran’s remaining Jewish population left, Sogol’s family stayed for a time. “But, every year, [it] became worse and worse,” explains Ahktar, particularly for her girls. Sogol’s older sister was forced to cover her hair with a scarf in elementary school. When she was 10, Akhtar gave her a boy’s haircut so outside of school, she “was able to go out — not having a scarf on — walking like a boy in the society,” Akhtar says. 

Akhtar and David Somekh’s wedding in Tehran, December 26, 1973.

When the family decided to leave Iran four years after the revolution, they weren’t allowed to depart together. It took a few more years to leave, but using connections from David’s business, they obtained visas and Akhtar took the three kids who were 12, 10, and 4, by bus to Istanbul, a journey that took them four days and five nights. From there, they were able to fly to London and finally to New York where David met them. Afraid of revealing to neighbors that they weren't coming back, the family left nearly everything behind, packing as if they were going on a family trip. 

In New York, they gathered every Friday for Shabbat dinner with family that lived nearby. The meals always started in the living room with everyone snacking on chickpea-flour dumplings called gondi, pickles, and plates of sabzi khordan filled with fresh watercress, scallions, radishes, and herbs. The gondi recipe, which is unique to the Jewish community, is one Akhtar’s family picked up when they moved from Isfahan to Tehran in the early 1950s. 

At the table, there was always chicken soup, which Akhtar points to as an equalizer among Persian Jewish families she knows. Even if a family couldn’t afford to make more elaborate stews or buy expensive cuts of meat generations ago, there was chicken soup called abgoosht. In her family, it’s made by cooking a whole bird stuffed with rice in water and spices, yielding the chicken, as well as a rich broth with chickpeas. 

Today, the family menu has changed slightly, with hummus and a salad sometimes joining the lineup, but the sentiment hasn’t. Ahktar hosts her children and grandchildren like her mother did before. “The door is always open,” says Sogol. Her husband will ask her what the plan is for Friday night. She responds: “The plan is always, if we want to come, we can come — it’s not really a phone call I need to make.”

Gondi (Chickpea Dumplings) and Abgoosht (Chicken and Chickpea Soup)

Abgoosht is a Jewish Persian chicken soup with chickpeas. Similar to many families, Sogol’s family cooks their gondi in the abgoosht. 

Makes: 8 servings
Total Time: Overnight soaking + 3 hours

Ingredients
For the gondi meatballs:
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast or ground chicken breast
½ pound ground turkey (dark meat)
1 ½ cups chickpea flour
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt 
¼ teaspoons ground white or black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon ground turmeric

For the abgoosht soup:
3 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight and drained 
1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds or ground
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and left whole

For the chicken stuffing: 
⅓ cup basmati rice, washed 
⅛ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground dried Persian lime 

Special equipment:
Food processor
Sewing needle and thread

Preparation
1. Make the gondi mixture: Place the onions into a food processor with an “S” blade. Pulse about 10 times until the onion is finely ground. Add the chicken and grind until the chicken is finely ground (if starting with whole chicken breasts), about 2 minutes. If using ground chicken, pulse a few times until the chicken is incorporated with the onions. Add the turkey and pulse until combined, about 10 times. Add the chickpea flour, oil, salt, pepper, cardamom, water and turmeric into the mixture. Grind until the mixture is combined and unified, about 2 minutes. Once combined, the mixture should not be too dry or too wet and sticky. If it is, add chickpea flour and/or water 1 teaspoon at a time to get the right consistency. Put the mixture in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigeration for 2 hours.

2. Make the abgoosht: Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Carefully place the chicken into the boiling water and boil for 1 minute. Transfer the pot off the heat. Drain the water. Rinse the pot and rinse the chicken and set it aside on a plate. This process will help result in a clear broth. Fill the pot halfway with water. Add the chickpeas, turmeric, cumin, salt and pepper, and whole onion. Place the pot over high heat and bring it to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid and reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook over a simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, stuff, sew and cook the chicken: Place the rice, turmeric, salt, pepper, cumin and lime in a small bowl and mix well until the rice is evenly coated. Using a spoon carefully stuff all the rice into the cavity of the chicken. Use your hand to hold together the 2 edges of the chicken cavity. Using a needle and thread, start at the top of the cavity, placing the needle into one edge and sewing it through the other edge of the cavity to create a horizontal loop with the thread. Continue threading down the cavity to seal the cavity. Once you reach the end of the cavity and it is sealed, remove the needle from the thread and use the extra thread to tie the two drumsticks together. Do what you can to close up the chicken cavity completely. Gently place the chicken into the simmering pot of water, spices and chickpeas. Cook the chicken with the pot covered for about 1 hour or until it is completely cooked. Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the whole chicken from the broth. Reserve the chicken on a plate. 

4. Cook the gondi: Transfer the gondi mixture from the refrigerator. Dip your hands into some water and take 2 teaspoons of the mixture, shaping it into a ball. Gently place the gondi ball into the simmering pot of abgoosht with chickpeas. Continue shaping the rest of the mixture into gondi balls and placing them into the simmering abgoosht, increasing the heat of the abgoosht if needed to keep a simmer. The gondi will expand during cooking. Cook the gondi balls in the water for 1-2 hours or until the balls are fully cooked and tender. 

5. Serve the gondi hot as an hor d'oeuvre with a side of cilantro, parsley and watercress.

6. Fifteen minutes before serving the abgoosht soup and chicken. Place the chicken into the abgoosht and simmer the soup for about 10 minutes. To serve, transfer the chicken out of the soup and cut the thread and pull the thread out of the chicken. To serve, put the whole chicken on a serving plate. Serve the abgoosht soup in a separate bowl over a bit of white rice. 

Cook’s note: You can cook the gondi balls in simmering water or store-bought chicken broth if you are looking to prepare gondi on its own without the abgoosht.

Photography buy Lauren Volo, Food Styling by Mariana Velasquez

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