The Sephardic Cholent is the Sephardic version of Cholent, also called Hamin.
Cholent or Schalet (Yiddish: טשאָלנט, romanized: tsholnt) is a traditional Sabbath stew, slow-cooked, in Jewish cuisine, developed by Ashkenazi Jews first in France and then in Germany.
Hamin (or dafina) is the Sabbath stew made with whole grains, meat, chickpeas or beans, onion, and cumin that emerged in Iberia among Sephardic Jews.
The dish developed when Jewish chefs, possibly the first in Iberia, began adding chickpeas or fava beans and more water to harisa, a Middle Eastern porridge of cracked durum wheat grains and meat, to create a more liquid stew.
It was sometimes also called “trasnochado” (“passed the night” in Spanish).
With the Reconquista, followed by a series of edicts (1499-1526) forcing the conversion of local Muslims and Jews in Spain, the Iberian Jews hid their pots of hamin under the embers of the fire to avoid persecution for displaying Jewish practices, renaming the dish: dafina (Arabic: دفينة), which means buried.
During the Spanish Inquisition, hamin was the most incriminating dish for Iberian Jews. Some conversos (the descendants of Jews converted to Christianity, who still secretly practiced Judaism) replaced mutton with pork to consume hamin without risking arrest.
This led to the creation of two classic Spanish dishes: cocido madrileño and olla podrida.
After the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, hamin adapted to other local ingredients and seasonings, incorporating spices like cinnamon, paprika, saffron, and turmeric.
The influx of new ingredients from South America in the 16th century meanwhile led to white beans often replacing fava beans and white potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and red peppers being added to some recipes.
In much of these derivations from the Sephardic recipe, one of its distinctive elements must also be remembered, namely the eggs.
Added whole to the stew before the overnight rest, in 12 hours of cooking these absorb the aromas of meats and vegetables, transforming into huevos haminados*.
In the Sephardic version of cholent, rice is used as a grain, chickpeas much more often than beans, chicken (but I used lamb) and the huevos haminados.
I prepared the recipe with my crockpot.
The Sephardic Cholent is dedicated to the film “The Brutalist” nominated for 10 Oscars 2025 including best film, for the Oscar Menu.
The film tells three decades of life of the Jewish architect László Tóth, who emigrated to the United States in 1947 after being detained in German concentration camps.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6People
- Cooking methods: Other, Slow cooking
- Cuisine: Jewish
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 lbs lamb (ribs or leg or shoulder)
- 3 onions
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 potatoes (cut into 4)
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup chickpeas
- 1 cup long grain rice
- to taste spices (cinnamon, paprika, turmeric, cumin)
- to taste salt and pepper
Tools
- 1 Pot crockpot
Steps
If using lamb ribs, remove the bones.
With dry chickpeas, soak them first.
Sear the meat in a pan with oil and chopped onions for a few minutes. Then add everything to the crockpot, with the rest of the ingredients (except the rice and the chickpeas if using canned), including the eggs with the shell. Cover with water, but be careful not to add too much, it should not reach the edge.
Adjust salt and pepper.
Set to HIGH mode for 6 hours.
After 2 hours, add the rice.
Peel the eggs, return them to the pot, and cook for another 30 minutes on HIGH mode. If using canned chickpeas, add them now.
Cholent and Hamin: the Sabbath stews
The Sabbath stew has been developed over centuries to comply with Jewish laws prohibiting cooking during the Sabbath.
The Sabbath stew has been developed over centuries to comply with Jewish laws prohibiting cooking during the Sabbath.
The pot is brought to a boil on Friday before the start of the Sabbath and sometimes kept on a hot plate, or left in an oven or electric pot, until the following day.
Two of the most well-known stews are: hamin, the Sephardic dish that emerged in Spain, and cholent the Ashkenazi dish derived from hamin that emerged later in France.
Two of the most well-known stews are: hamin, the Sephardic dish that emerged in Spain, and cholent the Ashkenazi dish derived from hamin that emerged later in France.
@viaggiandomangiando ✡️Stufato dal Sabbath: hamin (versione safardita) in #crockpot 👉Ricetta sul blog. Sul profilo di @cucinare_per_te trovate il Cholent stufato ashkenazita. #sabbath #hamin #stufato #saphardicrecipe #viaggiandomangiando
♬ Sabbath – Fiona Luray
@viaggiandomangiando ✡️Stufato dal Sabbath: hamin (versione safardita) in #crockpot 👉Ricetta sul blog. Sul profilo di @cucinare_per_te trovate il Cholent stufato ashkenazita. #sabbath #hamin #stufato #saphardicrecipe #viaggiandomangiando
♬ Sabbath – Fiona Luray
@viaggiandomangiando ✡️Stufato dal Sabbath: hamin (versione safardita) in #crockpot 👉Ricetta sul blog. Sul profilo di @cucinare_per_te trovate il Cholent stufato ashkenazita. #sabbath #hamin #stufato #saphardicrecipe #viaggiandomangiando
♬ Sabbath – Fiona Luray
Both dishes are based on a mixture of whole grains, meat, legumes, and potatoes.
Both dishes are based on a mixture of whole grains, meat, legumes, and potatoes.
Both dishes are based on a mixture of whole grains, meat, legumes, and potatoes.
There are many variations in both Ashkenazi and Sephardic cuisines and among other communities.
There are many variations in both Ashkenazi and Sephardic cuisines and among other communities.
The basic ingredients of the cholent are meat, potatoes, beans, and barley, although all Sabbath stews contain some type of grain and prominent meat or vegetable.
The overnight slow cooking allows the flavors of the various ingredients to permeate and produce the distinctive taste of each local stew.
In traditional Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi families, the stew is the main hot dish of the Sabbath midday meal served on Saturday, usually after the morning synagogue services for practicing Jews.
In traditional Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi families, the stew is the main hot dish of the Sabbath midday meal served on Saturday, usually after the morning synagogue services for practicing Jews.
Secular Jewish families also serve stews like cholent or eat them in Israeli restaurants.
Secular Jewish families also serve stews like cholent or eat them in Israeli restaurants.
For practicing Jews, lighting a fire and cooking food are among the activities prohibited during the Sabbath by the written Torah, therefore, cooked Sabbath food must be prepared before the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, which is at sunset on Friday evening.
For practicing Jews, lighting a fire and cooking food are among the activities prohibited during the Sabbath by the written Torah, therefore, cooked Sabbath food must be prepared before the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, which is at sunset on Friday evening.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What are the variations of Hamin?
With the dispersion of Sephardic Jews, both the form and name of hamin changed.
The Sephardic Jews who went to Syria and India retained the name hamin, while those in the Balkans and Turkey adopted new names.
Italian Jews prepared hamin with fava beans and alternatively lamb, beef steaks, beef brisket, chicken or beef meatballs and beet or chard leaves.
The Romaniot Jews used large cuts of beef, onions, and pligouri, a type of cracked bulgur wheat, while in Jerusalem, Jewish cooks added both potatoes and rice to the dish.
The Indians added garam masala and ginger.
When Sephardic Jews arrived in North Africa, hamin merged with native tajines, creating variants that incorporated veal trotters or kouclas, a type of dumpling, served with couscous. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger all became common spices in Moroccan variants, along with the addition of dates, honey, or quince jam.
These stews also contained whole eggs, or huevos haminados, slowly cooked in their shells.
The Moroccan dish sakhina/S’hina/skhena (سخينة), meaning “spicy,” is also a variant of hamin.
During the Sabbath Beraisheet, the Saturday after Sukkot, some communities prepare a seven-layer hamin with rice between each layer and other special ingredients, including prunes, raisins, pumpkins, spinach, and vine leaves.Who are the Sephardim?
The Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardic Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsula Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).
The term, which derives from the Hebrew “Sepharad” can also refer to Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, who were also strongly influenced by Sephardic law and customs.
Many exiled Iberian Jewish families later sought refuge in those Jewish communities, resulting in ethnic and cultural integration with those communities over many centuries.
Most Sephardim live in Israel.*What are “huevos haminados”?
Haminados, also known as huevos haminados, chaminados, or braised eggs, is a traditional Sephardic Jewish dish popular in Israel.
The eggs are cooked for a long time, resulting in red-brown whites and dark yolks, typically prepared alone or as part of the Sephardic Sabbath stew.
The name derives from the Hebrew word “ham,” meaning “hot,” reflecting the dish’s preparation method, plus the suffix “-ados” (passive perfect, masculine plural), thus “made hot, warmed.”
Awaiting the DVD release, the soundtrack of “The Brutalist” is already available.
