"This recipe lived in our family cooking notebook for decades, passed down from one generation to the next for 40 years now. It is known as ‘the Jewish buns,’” shares cookbook author Alissa Timoshkina.

In the Ethiopian Jewish community, this lightly sweet bread called dabo is often served at Shabbat and holiday meals. As Beejhy Barhany's family walked from Ethiopia to Sudan, they stopped to make dabo.

Mitchell Davis' mother Sondra always told him that her matzah ball recipe was simply the one from the back of the box of matzah meal. But, when they made the soup together, it was clear that his mom had her own tricks.

Kubbeh, also known as kibbeh, is a style of dumpling that typically features ground meat wrapped in semolina, bulgur, or rice. It can be fried, or served in broth like it is in Pnina Shasha's Iraqi family.

For as long as Hilla Segev can remember, she’s eaten this fragrant Yemenite soup for Shabbat. It’s typically made with either chicken or beef, lots of vegetables, and a heady spice blend called hawaij.

Gondi are ubiquitous in Persian-Jewish households, but “go to 10 different houses and you’ll taste 10 different gondis,” says Nilou Ghalchi. Her rendition sports ground coriander, cumin, and turkey. Serve them as an appetizer alongside pickles and a plate of fresh herbs. 

“I always found it as comfort food for the soul,” teaching artist and educator Je’Jae Cleo Daniels says of this flavorful soup from Yemen. It’s served on Shabbat and as a cure-all in their family. 

In Nina Dahan's family, there's no Shabbat without hamod, a lemony potato soup made with celery and garlic that’s served over rice. In her family, it's also served alongside bazela (peas cooked with allspice and onions).

These seasoned fish patties from Simone Azoulay’s Moroccan family are first poached and then finished in a rich tomato sauce. You can serve this as a first course along with salads, or on its own. Be sure to have challah on hand for dipping.

When Joseph Jemal was growing up, his Syrian mother Sally would make sambusak, a Middle-Eastern pastry that she filled with a mixture of spiced meat and walnuts. After she passed, Joseph began to make them himself.

This family recipe was first written down when Evelyn Silverman Reinfeld was in the ICU. She told her daughter to fetch a notepad from the nurses station so she could dictate the recipe, ensuring it wouldn’t be lost.  

Chicken with coconut cream and bamboo shoots called spayty was part of the Shabbat table in Elli Benaiah’s childhood home. Today, he’s carrying forward Baghdadi traditions with his catering company.

“This recipe is a nod to the Ashkenazi tradition of cooking savory dishes with prunes, as well as to a common practice of those living in the Soviet Union to cook the popular Georgian dish chicken tabaka,” explains cookbook author Alissa Timoshkina.

Podcaster Nicole Enayati served this fragrant saffron roasted chicken at the first Shabbat dinner she hosted for her family. It’s very simple to make, but be sure to buy good quality saffron.

This oven-poached salmon from Wise Sons’ Evan Bloom is exceptionally easy to make and very versatile. You can use the leftovers in scrambled eggs, a sandwich, or fish salad. 

Chef Michael Solomonov’s family brisket recipe has evolved with each generation. His grandmother made hers with Heinz Chili Sauce and his mother added coffee. Michael uses espresso and dried apricots in their place.

Shulie Madnick’s family masala blend is a closely guarded secret. To make her Shabbat curry recipe, she recommends looking for Maharashtrian or Bombay curry blends, which are similar in style.

This chickpea stew traces back to Uriel Benzrihem's great-grandmother, but it was his mother Pnina who started serving it with fish and salads.

Fried chunks of potato and skinless chicken thighs come together in this rich dish spiced with the Middle Eastern spice blend baharat, whose name means “spices” in Arabic. Blends vary, but often include pepper, cardamom, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon.

Thick and rich, this mole recipe from Ilan Stavans features Oaxacan dark chocolate, which adds depth and warmth to the sauce.

Christina Whittaker learned this Jamaican recipe from her aunt. Today, it is part of her Shabbat dinner repertoire.

In this Ethiopian Shabbat classic, chicken and eggs are coated with a rich tomato sauce spiced with ginger and berbere. Just before serving, black cardamom is sprinkled on top. Serve it with Ethiopian flatbread called injera.

Ilanit’s grandmother used to start her cooking for Shabbat early on Friday morning, perfuming her house with dishes like this spicy tender beef stew that’s made with turmeric, ginger, and coriander.

This lemon chicken with olives is the dish that anchors Shabbats in Julia Mande’s memory — it’s her mother Lydia Hassiba’s signature, adapted from a version Julia’s grandmother made in Casablanca. It's tangy and fragrant.

If cookbook author Shannon Sarna is serving potato kugel, there’s a good chance she's made a beef chuck roast to go with it. After a long braise, the beef turns tender and the sauce becomes rich and deeply flavorful.

Remi Attia’s grandmother Judie would often make lamb, roasting a generous leg or a shoulder cut on a bed of vegetables with wine. Once the lamb finished cooking, she’d blend all of the vegetables, onions, and wine from the pan, creating a smooth, creamy sauce to serve with the lamb.

Christina Whittaker learned this Jamaican recipe from her aunt. Today, it is part of her Shabbat dinner repertoire.

Ground potatoes help fill out these meatballs that are cooked in an onion sauce. Since the recipe calls for matzo meal instead of flour, you can also make these boulettes during Passover. 

Dishes like this one from the Iraqi-Indian Jewish community are a hybrid of traditions. Aloo means potato in Hindi, while makala is an old Iraqi Arabic word for friend, explains Elli Benaiah.

This recipe comes from cookbook author Chanie Apfelbaum’s father who grew up in Jerusalem, where this dish, known as kugel Yerushalmi in Hebrew, is a staple. It's sweet and peppery.

While many yapsuk (also spelled yapchik) recipes call for meat, this rendition from David Glick's family is entirely vegan. Think of it as a large latke that's baked instead of fried.

This stunning rice with potato tahdig comes from food writer Andrea Strong's family. Be sure to rinse the rice well before you start cooking it to remove any excess starch.

After tasting this dish on a trip to Ghana, it became part of Jackie Jonas’s culinary repertoire. She serves it on Shabbat and prepared it for a synagogue fundraiser where guests discussed the intersection of race and religion.  

This bright, refreshing salad from Julia Mande’s Moroccan family combines crisp fennel, juicy orange, and a cumin-spiced lemon dressing. A handful of herbs adds freshness. Let it sit before serving so the flavors can meld.

Remi Attia grandmother Judie used to bake squash with honey, then blend it up into a sauce with nutmeg and caramelized onions and toss it with pasta. “I still love making it for Shabbat,” Remi says.

Among the things Rabbi Arielle Stein inherited from the women of her family are silk scarves from her grandmother Sara’s collection, a love of fashion, and this spice cake recipe.

This traditional compote recipe comes from Benjamin Lesser’s grandfather who lived in Mukatch, Hungary before the Holocaust. His home was “on a major street called Sugar — an appropriate name for that sweet home,” Benjamin explains.

“My maternal grandmother has a weekly pre-Shabbat tradition of serving her famous apple crumble, ka’ak, and coffee to everyone who stops by,” shares Sylvia Fallas.

Olive oil adds a sophisticated touch to this mandel bread recipe from Pineapple Collaborative’s Atarah Bernstein. You can serve the cookies for dessert, or follow her family's tradition and enjoy them at Shabbat breakfast. 

Nearly all of the written recipes from Ian Boden's grandmother Pauline were lost in a house fire. The only recipe to survive was this one for apple cake. It's made with a bit of apple cider or orange juice to help keep it moist. 

When pastry chef Caroline Schiff was little, she thought prune pastries "were for the old Yentas," she writes in her cookbook “Daily Dessert: Treats on Repeat.” But, she's come to love them and their nod to tradition.

Lyuba Sheynin uses an old baking trick to aerate her poppyseed cake batter: a dash of baking soda and splash of vinegar and your cake will be light and fluffy!