The World That Was - Ashishim (Israelite Red Lentil Pancakes)

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was!

Today, we'll be taking a step West of Mesopotamia - over to the Levant! I'll be making some ashishim - a savoury lentil dish eaten by the populations present in Israel and Judah in antiquity. There’s no explicit source for this, other than passing references and the word ashishim, so I’ll be attempting to reconstruct what these dishes may have been like!

Follow along with my YouTube recipe above, and let's take a look at The World That Was!

Ingredients

2 cups red split lentils 1 cup flour 2 eggs 1 cup sesame seeds olive oil for frying honey (optional)

Method

1 - Prepare the Lentils

To begin with, we need to rinse our red split lentils until the water runs clear. When it's clear, go toss them into a pot. Pour about four cups of water (or chicken stock) into this, so the lentils are covered by water. Place this onto medium-high heat and let them cook them for about 15-20 minutes. Stir this periodically, so nothing gets stuck on the bottom of the pot. When they're done, go strain them into a bowl and let them cool a little.

2 - Mash the Lentils

When your lentils are cooled, mash them up using a wooden spoon - or a food processor - into a fairly smooth paste, before placing them into a large bowl. Lentils turn very soft when cooked, so you could skip this step if you want a different texture for your ashishim. 

3 - Mix the Ingredients 

Toss about a cup's worth of flour on top of your lentils, mixing it well into a smooth batter. You can add about a half a cup of sesame seeds to improve the texture at this point too. Either way, mix this together.

Then, crack one egg into it and mix it thoroughly, making sure that there are no more streaks of egg remaining in the mixture before cracking your second egg into it. Mix this batter together into a bowl, until it is well combined. 

I'm using chicken eggs here, which may have been what was used in antiquity, but the original iterations of this dish probably used dove or even duck eggs. The batter should be very wet, but not so liquid that it can't stay on a spoon! If yours is too wet, add a little flour to make it firmer.

3 - Prepare the Pan

In any case, when your mix is done, go oil up a frying pan. Pour a large amount of oil into your pan, so that it covers the bottom of the pan. I used olive oil, because it was probably used in this area of the Near East, but also I feel that it would suit the taste of the finished dish. Either way, put this onto medium-high heat until the oil starts to shimmer.

4 - Pour your Batter

Using two spoons, scoop up a lump of your batter. Scrape this onto your hot pan using your second spoon. Form your mixture into small rounds, about the size of your palm, and about as thick as your finger. Decorate the top sides of these with sesame seeds now. These seeds will get toasted when you flip them over. Let this cook, untouched for a few minutes, before flipping it over and letting the other side cook for the same amount of time.Do not overcrowd the pan - I find that 2-3 rounds can fit in my pan, but yours might fit more or less!

When they're done, turn them out onto a plate, and stack them up so they remain warm. It is believed that honey (or a honey-like syrup) was used to sweeten these before eating, so if you're not too keen on the taste, you can drizzle some honey over them before eating!

Ashishim are simple, very light, but quite filling! They're quite savoury, but sources claim that honey drizzled over them compliments this well! It's a very easy thing to make, and doesn't take that long, honestly - about a half hour in total. Lentils and sesame seeds were a staple of the Levant for centuries, and this is an excellent example of one use for these resources in antiquity.