One of my staples when I come to NY. This is worth the trip alone. The make my exact perfect Mazoh ball soup. I may no longer belive in God, but I still believe in Knaidlach.
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1. Dani
Is this at the 2nd Avenue Deli, by any chance? Once when I was there, the waiter dropped my latkes on my chest, then picked them off and served them to me. Gross and yet… delicious.
2. Adrian
No, it was Arties Deli on Broadway and 83rd.
You can’t beat latkes, on a plate or off a chest. Latkes rock.
3. annie
My lord, that is an ENORMOUS matzoh ball.
Mmmmmmmmatzoh ball soup…
4. Matt
What exactly is in that, ingredients wise? As in, what exactly is ‘matzoh’?
5. Adrian
That’s why Knaidlach (the real name for matzoh balls is linked above). Everyone has their own recipe. It’s basically water, eggs, a bit of spice and matzoh meal. Then boiled for a bit and served with soup.
Matzoh meal is matzoh bread that has been commercially ground into flour. Matzoh is flat unleavened bread made with flour and water. Google will explain all the finer details.
6. Matt
Cool! Nice and veggie-friendly. :-)
Kiddin’, I’m sure it’s really good. I’m still a bit unsure as to why you’d want to make flour into bread, and then grind up the bread into more flour though…?
And what’s the other stuff in the soup? Oh… Google says “4 pounds whole chicken”. Maybe not so veggie-friendly after all.
7. Adrian
You grind it into flour because you can’t have flour on Pesach.
You don’t have to have it with chicken soup, but then I can’t think of anything better to have it with either, and it is the chicken noodle soup that is the Jewish Penicillin.
8. Gordon
I love the fact the table is at an angle too.. classy looking joint.
9. Adrian
I think that’s more the photo than the table.
10. Matt
“You grind it into flour because you can’t have flour on Pesach.”
That’s the most ingenious religious thingy I think I’ve ever heard.
If you make pork into sausages can you eat that too?
JOKE.
11. Adrian
Go read the Wikipedia entry on Matzah. Their are specific rules on how to make matzoh. Once it’s made you can do anything with it. Which is why you can’t just use normal flour.
Their are loads of things in religion to get around things you can’t do. Judaism more so than other religions. But a lot of it simple things like having thin cuts of beer you fry which tastes like bacon, as any thinly fried meat tastes a lot like thinly fried meat. It’s called bacon.
12. Tot
mmm…Arties Deli. Great pastrami on rye too, about 3 inches thick.
13. Donalda Bint
‘Knaidlach (the real name for matzoh balls is linked above)’ are you sure? I would assume that ‘Knaidlach’ is the Yiddish word, as is looks Germanic, while Matzoh would be Hebrew?
Although, perhaps it is the ‘real’ name if Matzoh are just a Jewish form of Knödel? Which came first, the Knödel or the Knaidlach?
14. Adrian
Well “balls” isn’t Hebrew. Matzoh is Hebrew. I’m sure their is a Hebrew word for maztoh balls, but I’ve always called them knaidlach which as you rightly say is probably yiddish.
15. The B
Donalda, I’m tired and grumpy but you still make me laugh. I bump into you in the funniest places.
The phrase “well “balls” isn’t hebrew” makes me laugh too, though I’m not sure why…
16. Donalda Bint
Laugh?? Deep linguistic investigation, darling, I’ll have you know. Watching Nigella last night I felt SHE would know, but not a recipe in sight. But have done the research: Ashkenazi Jews (i.e. Central European / Germanic Jews) created the unleaven Knaidlach from the Knödel. This contains ground matzah is given a Yiddish name. Non-Yiddish English speakers will call them ‘mazaballs’, as that is what they ‘are’, any Yiddish speakers at all would, I take it, identify them as Knaidlich. I assume the majority of South African Jews will be Ashkenazi? That would make sense. ‘Balls isn’t Hebrew’ quite true. As you say, Mistress B., it has a certain something…
17. Ella
i had a day off today and i woke up with an almighty cold. you guessed it i made chicken soup with matzoh balls. i’m still ill mind. i’m probably not “believing” in the healing powers enough.
18. Adrian
Most South African Jews are Lithuanian, which would make them Ashkenazi.