Cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews turmeric, and nutmeg. Holiday meals start with at least a dozen small salads. Mizrahi cuisine allows the use of kitniyot, which is forbidden amongst the Ashkenazim. Kitniyot, are legumes and some grains, which include rice and a variety of beans and pulses. Whereas charoset in Ashkenazi homes is a blend of chopped apples and nuts spiced with wine and cinnamon, Mizrahi charoset is often based on dried fruits, especially dates and is much thicker in consistency. Other Mizrahi Jewish dishes are "tebit", a chicken and rice dish, and "ingriyi", sweet and sour meat topped with aubergines, both from the cuisine
Ethnoreligious group and ancestral ties. The legal assignement what is an ethnoreligious group can differ from the above given definition. Some ethnoreligious groups' identities are reinforced by the experience of living within a larger community as a distinct minority. Ethnoreligious groups can be tied to ethnic nationalism if the ethnoreligious group possesses a historical base in a specific region. In many ethnoreligious groups emphasis is placed upon religious endogamy, and the concurrent discouragement of interfaith marriages or intercourse, as a means of preserving the stability and historical longevity of the community and culture. Prior to the Babylonian exile the Israelites had already