The Bukharan & Calcutta Jews stuff onions each w/their own preferred & native seasonings. The Afghan has a stuffing sweetened w/prunes & cooked slowly - quite different from the others. The Afghans believe that onions are effective for strengthening the teeth. I cannot dispute this, but the stuffed onions in that case will provide 2 reasons for preparation, the excellence of the flavor & as a health inducement.

1. Make a 1/2-inch deep incision into side of each onion. Bring water & salt to a boil over moderate heat & drop in onions. Cook for 2 mins, turning them w/slotted spoon during that time. Remove onions & peel off each layer until you reach center. Set aside onion layers & centers.

2. Put beef into a bowl w/rice, salt, pepper, & cuminseed and mix well. Take 1 heaping ts beef mixture & half of 1 prune. Stuff 1 cooked onion layer & roll it up. Do this w/all stuffing & onion layers.

3. Oil a skillet & lay stuffed onions & centers in it, cover, and cook over very low heat for 2 hours. The onions will become quite dark but not, of course, burned. This is top-of-the-stove cooking.

Another method is to put stuffed onions into a baking dish, cover tightly, & bake in preheated, 250f. Oven for 2 hrs. Serve warm. Serves 6 w/other dishes.

skillet & cook, covered, over moderate heat for 1 hour. All liquid will evaporate & onions will be browned.

Recipe: "Sephardic Cooking" by Copeland Mark -- 600 Recipes Created in

by Donald I. Fine, Inc., New York, N.Y. David Pileggi

Per serving: 946 Calories (kcal); 88g Total Fat; (83% calories from fat); 38g Protein; trace Carbohydrate; 193mg Cholesterol; 4446mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 5 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 14 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates