Skip to main content

Azura, Jerusalem


Azura, an eatery in the Machane Yechuda market was opened by Ezra, nicknamed "Azura" in 1952 after he emigrated from Turkish Kurdistan. These days, Azura, run by Ezra's nine children, has a cult-like status, and the crowds to prove it.





Azura is not easy to find and your best bet is to enter it from the Iraqi part of the Machane Yechuda market.  It is almost impossible to find it from the street.


The restaurant is located on a small square filled with older man playing backgammon and sipping tea, which just adds richness to the already wonderful atmosphere.




The food is cooked slowly in these large pots over gas burners.


The menu was so packed with delicacies, we had a difficult time choosing just a few dishes.

We started our lunch with this wonderfully creamy hummus with warm mushrooms and onion, a combination which has always been my favorite.


The tomato, cucumber, and onion salad came garnished with parsley and a healthy dose of tahini.  I fell in love with the rice and noodle dish that is pictured in the background.


This is Azura - Turkish eggplant filled with ground beef, pine nuts, bathed in a special sauce with cinnamon.


Kima - kebab, eggplant with potato and spinach leaves.


Moussaka - stuffed eggplant in a tomato-piquant sauce.



Beef Sofrito - Beef with potatoes.

 Okra with tomato.




The meat was spectacular and tender.


Azura
Ha Eshkol Street 4

Sunday - Friday - 8 -4pm
Saturday - closed

Joanna


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bordier Butter - The Best Butter in France

France is in the midst of a butter shortage!  Due to a decrease in milk production and a substantial demand for French pastries all over the world (mainly China and the Middle East), the price of butter has increased by 60% in one year.  The French are stocking up and thus creating shortages.  French newspapers are publishing articles titled "A guide to cooking without butter".  So, with hopes that the shortages are temporary, here is my ode to the best butter in the world.  I'm not kidding.  The. Best. Butter. In. The. World. Mr. Bordier, a grandson and a son of cheese mongers, became a butter artisan in 1985.  He acquired a creamery originally founded in 1927.  The supreme taste of the Bordier butter was first recognized by a chef from the Plaza Athenee while vacationing in Brittany, a beautiful region in northwestern France. Bordier is the lone butter master to still use the old method of kneading the butter according to the 19th century t...
4 comments
Read more

A. Lacroix Patisserie, Paris

My visits to Paris are usually carefully planned out; practically every meal is decided far in advance, and same goes for pastries, ice cream and macaron.  While I have not visited every pastry shop in Paris, that would be almost impossible given their numbers, I am aware of most of them.  Imagine my happiness when I came across a brand new patisserie, one that is barely a year old!   A. Lacroix is a lovely tea room/patisserie opened by an American woman and a Parisian pastry chef.  Jackie, the founder, is originally from Ohio but has been living in Paris for nine years.  She left her job in the telecom industry in order to pursue a dream of opening a tea salon.  I'm so glad she did!   This is a charming patisserie/tea salon with beautiful stone walls, wooden beams, plenty of seating space, and location that just can't be beat.  One side of the place looks at the Notre-Dame Cathedral! A. Lacroix is not just a pastry sho...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian Accent, NYC

Often when a question arises as to what to eat for dinner, I think of Indian food.  I am a very happy gal with chicken makhani, basmati rice, an onion kulcha or a nan laid out in front of me.  I have heard some very good things about Indian Accent, a relatively new restaurant in midtown Manhattan, adjacent to the Parker Hotel. The décor here is unlike most Indian restaurants I have visited; no boldly colored fabrics, beautiful tapestries, intricately carved wood, or lanterns.  Indian Accent restaurant looks like something that Daniel Boulud would envision.  There are about fifteen wooden tables and a few small booths, fabric covered modern chairs, a lit bar with glass shelves and golden accents throughout, and large glass vases filled with flowering branches. The menu is complicated, however, our terrific waiter took his time and explained each dish and even made some wonderful suggestions.  Actually, everyone at the restaurant was really professiona...
2 comments
Read more