Cholent (from Eastern European Yiddish טשאָלנט tsholnt, tshoulent) or shalet (from Western European Yiddish שאלעט shalet), a food of Ashkenazi Jews, is a type of stew (or stewing) that has simmered over a very low flame or inside a slow oven (set to a low-heat temperature) or crock pot for many hours (often up to 24 hours or more) before being served on plates or in bowls on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath). The Sephardi Jews' equivalent of cholent is known as chamin ("hot s").In the Polish shtetls, the uncooked cholent was brought to the local baker before sunset on Fridays. He would put the mixture in his oven, which he always kept fired, and families would come by to pick up their baked cholent Saturday mornings.Cholent is usually the hot (meaning "heated") main course of the Shabbat lunch meal served (on Saturdays after synagogue services in the morning) in very traditional Jewish homes, especially among the Orthodox. Cholent is also often served on Shabbat in synagogues at a kiddush celebration after the conclusion of the Shabbat services. It is often served at a bar or bat mitzvah reception on Shabbat or at the celebratory reception following an aufruf on Shabbat when a Jewish groom is called up to the Torah reading on the Shabbat prior to the week during which he will be married.