Brothers Noach and Israel Yitzhak offer
down-home Indian food in Tel Aviv.
By MIRIAM KRESHMa Pau restaurant(photo credit: ANATOLY MICHAELOV)
Noach and Israel Yitzhak turned to Indian home cooking when they opened Ma Pau restaurant in Tel Aviv.Noach, recently retired from years of hi-tech R&D, was seeking a second career.Israel, younger by 10 years, had formal culinary training and desired only to cook. Together, they decided to open an eatery in Tel Aviv that offers the best of Indian home cooking and street food, as they learned it from their mother in the tight-knit Bnei Israel community.“We considered opening a vegetarian restaurant, a falafel place with an Indian twist, all kinds of options,” recounts Noach. “Then I told Israel, ‘We have to cook the food we love and know.’” To honor their mother, they chose to call the eatery Ma Pau – a play on words meaning “Mom’s bread.” The name reflects an abiding sense of nostalgia for home in their parents’ house.After the British withdrew from India in 1947 and Israel declared independence the following year, most of the Bnei Israel community immigrated to Israel. The Yitzhak family made aliya in 1963 and settled in Dimona, where a large Bnei Israel community was already established. Noach was an infant of 10 months. He talked about the years of financial struggle and culture shock.“My parents paid a high price for our aliya. They came from Mumbai, a huge, cosmopolitan city, to a development town in the desert. They had no cultural outlets outside their home, not even a movie in their own language they could go to. They never got used to Israeli ways and society.”His voice tightened as he described his parents’ hardships, coming as they did from a pluralistic, tolerant society to the rough and tumble of Israel life.“For them, it was like being the dor hamidbar, the generation that wandered in the desert. They belonged and didn’t belong, and we were very poor.”He relates that the children experienced feelings of life dissonance, where within the community they behaved and spoke as Indians, but met the demands of the outside world as 100% Israelis.All the siblings served in the IDF – the men as paratroopers – and all went on to study and are successful in their fields. Perhaps their successes are due to early training. They began working at home while young.“We did everything; cleaned, did laundry, helped my parents in their shop, and cooked,” he says, in a matter- of-fact way that yet reveals a certain pride. By age 10, Noach was already preparing rice according to his mother’s exacting standards.Noach compares the Bnei Israel community to a ghetto, in the sense that they have everything they need inside.“We’re faithful to the customs we brought from India – at home, in the synagogue, and in the community at large. We pray according to our own rites in our own synagogues, shop at the stores that sell foods and spices imported from India, and celebrate everything together. For instance, when there’s a wedding or henna ceremony, nobody calls a caterer. All the women get together and cook in huge pots, on primus stoves.”India has a wealth of distinct culinary traditions. Noach explained that in his parents’ home, there were two culinary influences: one derived from the Konkan region, where fish, pulses and grains dominate, and the other from the Maharashtra state; specifically from Mumbai, the capital city. Arabic, Portuguese and British dominance each influenced Maharastrian food, which can range from spicy and hot to mild. Maharashtrian food may include fish and poultry, depending on local and family custom.In the Yitzhak family kitchen, milder flavors influenced by Western culture were preferred.“Flavors should be harmonious,” says Noach earnestly, “No one ingredient, like ginger or garlic, should dominate.” Noach, as the elder and the businessman, manages Ma Pau and sets the menus.“I leave the cooking to Israel, but taste everything and do quality control,” he says.Israel modestly says, “I don’t call myself a chef; that’s too large a description for me. I took courses at the Tadmor cooking school and did an internship at a fashionable Tel Aviv restaurant. But in the end, I turned back to our mother’s Indian cooking. We learned everything from our mother. The flavors, the spices, the methods. Here at Ma Pau, we re-create the festive foods we ate growing up, on holidays and at family events. We want people to feel like they’re in India.”“One of our sisters also cooks here.She’s as steeped in Mumbai culinary tradition as any of us. It’s a very family, personal enterprise,” adds Noach.Mrs. Yitzhak died soon after Noach and Israel opened Ma Pau.“We dedicated it to our mother while she was still alive, and now, we dedicate it to her memory, with joy and love,” concludes Israel.The brothers take meticulous care to reproduce the foods they grew up with.“For example, we still make our own paneer cheese,” says Israel. “It’s time-consuming, labor-intensive and not cheap. Friends have argued that it’s not economical, we should give it up. But we won’t. Paneer’s part of the old-fashioned foods that we want our customers to enjoy.”Ma Pau’s menu includes a few chicken dishes but focuses mostly on vegetarian options. Noach recommends that first-time customers order the thali tasting menu. The onion fritter recipe on the facing page is one of the appetizers offered; it’s accompanied by cilantro chutney and a tamarindi dip.Following the success of the present rather small eatery, the brothers intend to open a branch of Ma Pau on Hashmonaim Street that will seat up to 150 diners.Asked what advice he’d give to cooks curious to try Indian dishes, Israel said, “My advice to those who want to cook Indian food is ‘take your time.’ The way to produce layers of flavors in the mouth is through slow cooking. If you don’t have time, don’t cook Indian. It’s not fast food. Flavors develop in the cooking pot.”Onion bhaji (fritters) Makes about 10 fritters2 chili peppers, finely diced1 tsp. whole cumin seeds½ tsp. ground cumin1 cup chickpea flour¾ cup room-temperature waterA fistful of coriander leaves, chopped 3 medium-sized white onions, sliced into thin rings Oil for deep frying Salt to taste Blend the peppers, whole and ground cumin, chickpea flour, water and coriander leaves to obtain a sticky batter. Scrape the batter into a bowl. Heat the oil until it shimmers. Drop the onion rings into the bowl and drag them through the batter. Remove a fritter-sized quantity of onions with tongs – it will be sloppy and shapeless – shake salt over it, and fry it until golden. Repeat until the onions and batter are used up. You may fry several at a time, but don’t crowd the pan. (The reason the salt is added only at the last minute is to avoid drawing juice from the onions, which would thin the batter. ) Serve with coriander chutney and tamarindi dipping sauce.Ma Pau: 59 Nahalat Binyamin Street, Tel AvivNot kosherReservations: (03) 773-9797Find Ma Pau on Facebook.
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