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From time to time we’d all go to eat out; there was this family-run Jewish restaurant, very good, right near the Jewish Theater on Dzielna [2], in the direction of Karmelicka Street. I remember we went there from time to time, and they also had good chulent. During the war, well, I probably didn’t even remember there had ever been a thing called chulent. After the war, there still were some Jewish restaurants. If I went to one, I’d always order chulent. Before 1968 [3], you could get chulent at the Amika on Kredytowa Street. After 1968, the [Amika] staff all left. And in those Jewish restaurants of today, the new ones, it’s not the same thing at all. It neither looks nor tastes anywhere near like the old chulent. I can’t make chulent myself, even though my friends tried to teach me.
And, in Pinsk, there was one more dish that I’ve never seen around here. For dinner they served not potatoes, but potato cake, baked in those Russian ovens as well. It was called teigachtz. I loved it, I could eat it cold between the meals, rush into the kitchen, grab a slice and run back to play. It didn’t have to be hot. I don’t know how they made it, but it could have been grated potatoes mixed with boiled potatoes. I’ve tried to order it in several places, but it’s not the same.
And one more thing: cabbage with raisins. It’s also very good, and I often served it at my home in adult life. I made it from memory only, as I never saw a recipe anywhere. You prepare it more or less like Christmas Eve cabbage, and then it’s only a matter of adding raisins and sugar. The flavor should be sweet-and-sour. You can also make it with sauerkraut. So if I cooked sauerkraut for Christmas, I’d leave some for bigos [Polish traditional food, similar to Irish stew] and some for the cabbage with raisins.
And, in Pinsk, there was one more dish that I’ve never seen around here. For dinner they served not potatoes, but potato cake, baked in those Russian ovens as well. It was called teigachtz. I loved it, I could eat it cold between the meals, rush into the kitchen, grab a slice and run back to play. It didn’t have to be hot. I don’t know how they made it, but it could have been grated potatoes mixed with boiled potatoes. I’ve tried to order it in several places, but it’s not the same.
And one more thing: cabbage with raisins. It’s also very good, and I often served it at my home in adult life. I made it from memory only, as I never saw a recipe anywhere. You prepare it more or less like Christmas Eve cabbage, and then it’s only a matter of adding raisins and sugar. The flavor should be sweet-and-sour. You can also make it with sauerkraut. So if I cooked sauerkraut for Christmas, I’d leave some for bigos [Polish traditional food, similar to Irish stew] and some for the cabbage with raisins.
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Interview
Estera Migdalska
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