The word Cholent (from Eastern Yiddish טשאָלנט tsholnt) or shalet (from Western Yiddish שאלעט shalet) refers to a number of dishes from Ashkenazi Jewish cooking, which can be braised on a very low flame for many hours.

Jewish Cooking: Cholent Recipes

Their existence is due to the Jewish Sabbath laws, which do not allow a practicing Jew to light a fire on the Sabbath. However, an existing and covered fire may be used. Therefore, Jewish cooking incorporates a lot of dishes that can slowly braise from late Friday afternoon to noon on the Sabbath. There are many variations containing meat, potatoes, cereals, beans, or vegetables as well as combinations from dumplings and dried fruit. The word cholent is thought by some to be derived from the French words chaud 'hot' and lent 'slow', and by others to be derived from the Latin calientem — a term documented with this exact meaning in the Spanish form caliente in the Late Middle Ages.

The historic origin of cholent is the Mishnaic חַמִּין. Similar dishes exist in many Sephardi groups. The most known of these dishes is probably the Iberian and Moroccan Sephardi dish.