Malida
Ingredients
- 2 cups Flattened rice Poha
- 2-3 tsp of sugar or to taste
- A pinch of salt
- 4-5 chopped dates
- 8-10 raisins
- Half a cup of chopped almonds walnuts, pistachios
- 3-4 cardamom remove seeds from pod and powder them
- Half a cup of fresh grated coconut (frozen coconut can be thawed and used
Instructions
- Put the flattened rice in a colander and run cold tap water over it, fluff it with a fork, shake and flip the rice till it is coated and wet. Shake off extra water, fluff the rice with a fork again, and let the rice rest in the colander. The flakes should be separate and not get too clumped, but it they do, that’s fine—it will still taste good..
- Prepare all the ingredients. Put the rice in a large bowl, sprinkle the salt, sugar, and cardamom powder over it. Fluff and mix, then add all the dry fruits and nuts and toss. (If you like, pile it up in a heap on a flat platter). Finally, sprinkle the grated coconut over the top, and a little sugar.
- More or less dried fruit, nuts, sugar, and cardamom, can be used to your preferred taste.
Notes
In the Malida ceremony of the Bene Israel, which is a thanksgiving ritual for the Prophet Elijah, (thanks may be given for any occasion such as the birth of a child, a marriage, the entering fo a new house, etc.) the quantity of all the ingredients is increased in proportion to feed a larger number of people, and fresh fruits like apples, bananas, and any seasonal fruits are added, rose petals and cloves are also sprinkled around the dish for fragrance, and a special prayer is chanted for the occasion. More information at: https://www.yahelisrael.com/single-post/2019/04/23/malida-a-bene-israel-community-indian-tradition
I’m sharing my poem about a dish called malida that Bene Israel Jews from India make for different occasion. This is a simple form that we made at home, and I always honor my mother and my ancestors when I read this poem. Thank you for reading it. The recipe follows below, and a description of the Malida ceremony as well. I hope you will try this easy and delightful dish and celebrate my culture!
Sweet Malida
By Zilka Joseph Sweet malida.
A mix of water-softened
flattened rice, sugar,
dried fruits and nuts,
was a dish made for Shabbath, or for breaking
our fasts. Cooling, light
on the palate, and
to the body and the spirit,
it was welcome in the heat
of day or night. We, like
our Muslim, Christian and Hindu
neighbors and friends,
had many foods in common,
and we often celebrated together
their festivals or ours. I relished particularly fresh coconut,
the regional staple, its milk
or its flesh added to almost
every dish. But this was to me
the best way to eat it,
finely grated
by my mother’s hands, left unsweetened
and sprinkled haphazardly
on the malida, juicy threads
with a fleck of stubborn
brown kernel here and there
that sometimes crunched
in your teeth like sand,
and you winced and swallowed it, knowing that there was no
simpler or purer
or truer form than that. http://mayapplepress.com/sweet-malida-memories-of-a-bene-israel-woman-zilka-joseph/
By Zilka Joseph Sweet malida.
A mix of water-softened
flattened rice, sugar,
dried fruits and nuts,
was a dish made for Shabbath, or for breaking
our fasts. Cooling, light
on the palate, and
to the body and the spirit,
it was welcome in the heat
of day or night. We, like
our Muslim, Christian and Hindu
neighbors and friends,
had many foods in common,
and we often celebrated together
their festivals or ours. I relished particularly fresh coconut,
the regional staple, its milk
or its flesh added to almost
every dish. But this was to me
the best way to eat it,
finely grated
by my mother’s hands, left unsweetened
and sprinkled haphazardly
on the malida, juicy threads
with a fleck of stubborn
brown kernel here and there
that sometimes crunched
in your teeth like sand,
and you winced and swallowed it, knowing that there was no
simpler or purer
or truer form than that. http://mayapplepress.com/sweet-malida-memories-of-a-bene-israel-woman-zilka-joseph/
Malida
Ingredients
- 2 cups Flattened rice Poha
- 2-3 tsp of sugar or to taste
- A pinch of salt
- 4-5 chopped dates
- 8-10 raisins
- Half a cup of chopped almonds walnuts, pistachios
- 3-4 cardamom remove seeds from pod and powder them
- Half a cup of fresh grated coconut (frozen coconut can be thawed and used
Instructions
- Put the flattened rice in a colander and run cold tap water over it, fluff it with a fork, shake and flip the rice till it is coated and wet. Shake off extra water, fluff the rice with a fork again, and let the rice rest in the colander. The flakes should be separate and not get too clumped, but it they do, that’s fine—it will still taste good..
- Prepare all the ingredients. Put the rice in a large bowl, sprinkle the salt, sugar, and cardamom powder over it. Fluff and mix, then add all the dry fruits and nuts and toss. (If you like, pile it up in a heap on a flat platter). Finally, sprinkle the grated coconut over the top, and a little sugar.
- More or less dried fruit, nuts, sugar, and cardamom, can be used to your preferred taste.
Notes
In the Malida ceremony of the Bene Israel, which is a thanksgiving ritual for the Prophet Elijah, (thanks may be given for any occasion such as the birth of a child, a marriage, the entering fo a new house, etc.) the quantity of all the ingredients is increased in proportion to feed a larger number of people, and fresh fruits like apples, bananas, and any seasonal fruits are added, rose petals and cloves are also sprinkled around the dish for fragrance, and a special prayer is chanted for the occasion. More information at: https://www.yahelisrael.com/single-post/2019/04/23/malida-a-bene-israel-community-indian-tradition
I’m sharing my poem about a dish called malida that Bene Israel Jews from India make for different occasion. This is a simple form that we made at home, and I always honor my mother and my ancestors when I read this poem. Thank you for reading it. The recipe follows below, and a description of the Malida ceremony as well. I hope you will try this easy and delightful dish and celebrate my culture!
Sweet Malida
By Zilka Joseph Sweet malida.
A mix of water-softened
flattened rice, sugar,
dried fruits and nuts,
was a dish made for Shabbath, or for breaking
our fasts. Cooling, light
on the palate, and
to the body and the spirit,
it was welcome in the heat
of day or night. We, like
our Muslim, Christian and Hindu
neighbors and friends,
had many foods in common,
and we often celebrated together
their festivals or ours. I relished particularly fresh coconut,
the regional staple, its milk
or its flesh added to almost
every dish. But this was to me
the best way to eat it,
finely grated
by my mother’s hands, left unsweetened
and sprinkled haphazardly
on the malida, juicy threads
with a fleck of stubborn
brown kernel here and there
that sometimes crunched
in your teeth like sand,
and you winced and swallowed it, knowing that there was no
simpler or purer
or truer form than that. http://mayapplepress.com/sweet-malida-memories-of-a-bene-israel-woman-zilka-joseph/
By Zilka Joseph Sweet malida.
A mix of water-softened
flattened rice, sugar,
dried fruits and nuts,
was a dish made for Shabbath, or for breaking
our fasts. Cooling, light
on the palate, and
to the body and the spirit,
it was welcome in the heat
of day or night. We, like
our Muslim, Christian and Hindu
neighbors and friends,
had many foods in common,
and we often celebrated together
their festivals or ours. I relished particularly fresh coconut,
the regional staple, its milk
or its flesh added to almost
every dish. But this was to me
the best way to eat it,
finely grated
by my mother’s hands, left unsweetened
and sprinkled haphazardly
on the malida, juicy threads
with a fleck of stubborn
brown kernel here and there
that sometimes crunched
in your teeth like sand,
and you winced and swallowed it, knowing that there was no
simpler or purer
or truer form than that. http://mayapplepress.com/sweet-malida-memories-of-a-bene-israel-woman-zilka-joseph/