Each chapter of her book explores the food of one the five communities, most of which share customs like the swapping of dairy for coconut milk when mixed with meat, no pork, and washing kosher meat (or opting for vegetarianism when permissible meat is unavailable). David, a member of the Bene Israel community (one of the five Jewish groups in India), is a journalist, novelist, and artist, and as the Indian Jewish population dwindles, she felt compelled to document the subculture’s culinary traditions. There are many historical accounts and theories as to how sects of Jewish people made their home in India, beginning as early as the sixth century BCE when traders from Judea settled in modern-day Kerala, but today only about 5,000 remain in the country. “Traditional Indian Jewish food is a dying art,” Esther David writes.

Each will teach you something new-and fill your kitchen with something delicious. So whether you’re getting ready for your weekly Shabbat or looking to bring a dish to your first Hanukkah celebration, pick up one (or three, or all 13) of these books for inspiration. Some are wide-reaching academic approaches to Jewish food, while others are personal explorations of how culture, time, and place influence one’s culinary point of view. While the roots of these Jewish cookbooks may come from the same tree, the category is not monolithic. You’ll encounter breakfasts of whitefish-slathered bagels and spicy tomato-poached eggs, and lots of halva (or halwa, or helva-and depending on which book you’re cooking from, the treat could be a crumbly sesame-paste candy, a carrot and semolina pudding, or a saffron-scented milk-jelly slice). In their pages you’ll find recipes for gondi, the Persian Sephardic chicken stew bobbing with chickpea-flour dumplings, as well as the Ashkenazi matzo ball soup you might buy at an appetizing store or deli counter.

Instead, I offer these 13 cookbooks, each of which dives into the myriad culinary techniques, traditions, and dishes of the Jewish diaspora. What is Jewish food? While I’ve written thousands of words on the subject, I don’t have a tidy answer.

Indian flat bread synonym