Recipe: Bukharian Fried Fish and Stuffed Onions
Like most Jewish sub-groups, Bukharians, who lived for centuries in Central Asia, have an array of dishes they’ve carried with them through years of political upheaval and emigration. There are no shortage of Bukharian restaurants in Israel and New York—in Queens’ Rego Park neighborhood, especially—but very few true Bukharian Jewish dishes grace those menus, which are filled with the sizzling kebabs and greasy dumplings common across Central Asia.
Definition: Bukharan Jews, also Bukharian Jews or Bukhari Jews, also called the Binai Israel, are Jews from Central Asia who speak Bukhori, a dialect of the Tajik-Persian language.
Instead, authentic Bukharian cuisine, which features several unique varieties of rice pilaf, reveals itself on the Sabbath and festivals. “We always do Shabbat with Jewish food,” says Imanuel Rybakov, a professor of Bukharian culture at Queens College in New York. “On...
