My Aunt Daisy’s Ajja J’bin
Over the years, whenever we would stay with my Aunt Daisy, she would fry delectable Ajja J’bin for our breakfast.
Whenever we visit Israel, we always spend at least a few nights with my aunt Daisy. My children have the fondest memories of staying in her high-rise apartment in the Marom Naveh area of Ramat Gan. It overlooks a huge lush green garden and the views of the Gush Dan skyline are breathtaking.
My children have fond memories of playing in the park downstairs with cousins and splashing in the stately fountains. They remember hanging out at the Kinyon (mall) with the kiddie rides, arcade games and candy shop and shopping at SuperSal, Superpharm and Steimatsky. They savor the special meals they ate at Cafe Joe, Cafe Cafe, Roladin and Burger Ranch and drinking date and banana smoothies at Rebar.
But mostly, they remember how kind and loving and nurturing my Aunt Daisy has always been.
Her parents (my grandparents) Rafi and Rosa lived in a large house in the new neighborhood of Kerrada on the Tigris River. (Unlike the majority of Jews in Baghdad who lived in the densely populated Jewish Quarter.)
While my father and his brothers attended Massouda Sultan, a Jewish school in Baghdad, my aunt Daisy went to a local girls school. Her friends were Jewish, Muslim and Christian. Whenever the teachers gave a class on the Koran, Daisy and her Jewish friends were excused.
In 1951, when she was 17 years old, Daisy and her younger brother Eliyahu flew to Israel. She joined my father, her older sister Toya and brothers Moshe, Shlomo and Naim, who had all escaped Iraq illegally. Her parents arrived a little later and when the dust settled, Daisy married Mordechai, a fellow Iraqi emigre. Like all good Iraqi Jews, he was an accountant and he bought her this beautiful apartment in Marom Naveh. Unfortunately, he passed away just before they were to move in.
Of course, my aunt Daisy is the best cook and a prolific baker, a guardian of my Savta Rosa’s recipes. She makes incredible t’bit (slow-cooked Shabbat Iraqi chicken and rice dish), delicious meatballs with apricots and perfect Kubbah—different ones with shells made from semolina, rice or bulgur stuffed with ground beef or shredded chicken breast. Some Kubbah are served in a stew, others are fried to serve to guests as part of a Mezze.
This week we had the privilege of staying in her airy apartment and enjoying her wonderful food. And while we can no longer visit the old stone house of my paternal grandparents in Iraq, being in her kitchen allows me to imagine the rhythms of their life. In this one week alone, she had made a huge batch of Kubbah B’ral (bulgur), she had made dried apricot fruit leather and huge jars of fresh apricot jam and she had pickled vast quantities of cucumbers and other vegetables.
Knowing how much my brothers and my nieces and nephews love her ba’ba tamar, she also baked many trays. My husband Alan, tasked with bringing the heavy bags of ba’ba back to Los Angeles, was seriously worried that his luggage would be overweight.
Over the years, whenever we would stay with my Aunt Daisy, she would fry delectable Ajja J’bin for our breakfast. This week she made these yummy cheese omelettes and they were as delicious as we remembered.
The recipe is beyond simple. She mashes a white cheese like feta or bulgarit, blends in some flour and beats in the eggs and then she deep fries it in a small frypan. The result is the most delectable egg fritter. Light, fluffy, crispy. Absolutely irresistible.
The recipe is beyond simple. She mashes a white cheese like feta or bulgarit, blends in some flour and beats in the eggs and then she deep fries it in a small frypan. The result is the most delectable egg fritter. Light, fluffy, crispy. Absolutely irresistible.
— Sharon
Ajja J’bin Recipe
8 oz Feta or other salty white cheese
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Avocado oil or vegetable oil for frying
In a medium bowl, mash the cheese.
Mix in the flour.
Add eggs and beat until mixture is thoroughly blended.
In a small frypan, warm oil over medium high heat.
When oil is hot, pour in half the egg mixture.
When the bottom of the omelette is golden brown, flip and fry the other side.
Remove omelette.
Repeat with remaining egg mixture.
Serve hot or cold.
Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. The Sephardic Spice Girls project has grown from their collaboration on events for the Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem. Follow them
on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food.
