serves 4 generously

Ingredients:

Olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot (plenty, to compensate for fatless turkey)

2 onions, sliced thickly

2 large bay leaves

1/2 head of garlic, or an entire one of the cloves are small - washed but not peeled.

1 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon salt

Black pepper to taste - I grind about 6 turns over the pot.

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 small chillie pepper or 4 black peppercorns (in which case don't use any ground pepper).

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 tsp. dried thyme or sage

1 kilo - 2 lbs. - of skinless dark turkey meat. Best to use large pieces.

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into halves. No smaller, or they will disintegrate.

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into thirds.

3/4 cup of pearl barley, rinsed

3 - 5 whole eggs, shells rinsed

Water to cover everything.

Optional and very good: use all red wine instead of water, or half wine, half water. Or add beer to the water.

Method:

1. Over a low flame, heat the olive oil in the cooking pot. Add all the dry spices except salt and ground black pepper.

2. Heat the spices gently for 1 minute. Add the sliced onions.

3. Fry the onions till soft, turning them over a few times.

4. Add the turkey meat. Raise the flame to medium and let the turkey brown on all sides. Add the soy sauce.

5. Add the potatoes.

6. Add the barley.

7. Add the salt and pepper.

8. Add water/wine to cover the meat and barley. The potatoes will stick out - that's fine. They'll develop a delicious chewy crust overnight. Poke around the stew to make sure that the liquid drains down. Stop adding liquid when it covers the meat and barley by an inch.

9. Nestle the eggs in around the meat and potatoes.

10. Cover the pot and bring the cholent to a low boil. Allow it to cook for 30 minutes. The cholent is now ready to be placed on a hot-plate to continue cooking overnight. It won't hurt to keep it simmering for several hours either. It has to be hot when you put it on the hot-plate, though.

The old-country way is to put the pot, tightly covered, in a low oven all night. I prefer it this way myself. The flavor is finer when the cholent is baked instead of steamed all night.

When serving, put the meat in a platter and the soupy potatoes and barley in a deep bowl. Eggs should also have their own bowl. Some people like to put the whole pot on the table and serve that way, but this way everybody gets only what they like.

Always serve a colorful leafy salad  with vinaigrette dressing (lettuce, aragula, cherry tomatoes, sliced bell peppers), to lighten and balance the meal. A refreshing side dish is sliced cucumbers with no dressing but a sprinkling of salt.