Jews have lived in India for ages. The three main factions of the Jewish population in India are the Bene Israel, Cochin Jews, and Baghdadi Jews, who have adapted their original cuisines to local products and influences while maintaining kosher regulations. The result is a delectable confluence.
The Jews of Cochin, India’s oldest Jewish community, who settled in Kerala and have been here for at least a millennium, demonstrate this strange mingling of cuisines. Because coconut and coconut oil are readily available in the area, they are frequently used in the community’s daily cuisine.
The Cochin Jewish aromatic coconut rice is one of their signature dishes. It’s made by combining cooked rice with thinly shredded coconut meat and spices, or by boiling the rice in coconut milk and then adding spices.
Chicken breasts are dipped in eggs, coated in crumbs, and deep-fried in the Cochin Jewish cutlet, which is similar to schnitzel. Signature meals include Hubba, which is akin to Arabic kibbeh, Dalia, onion, and minced meat croquettes, Spethi, or stewed beef, and the Rosh Hashanah delicacy, Cochin Jewish cake, which is prepared with semolina, eggs, and sugar.
