Hanukkah Recipe Wars: Persia vs. The Pale

The holidays are finally upon us — as the rest of the bay strings up its Christmas lights, I'm lighting candles for Hanukkah, which began last Wednesday and ends Thursday.

It's is not my favorite holiday. Purim's tale of post-biblical near extinction is more of a nail-biter (plus, there are costumes); Passover boasts the Bible's best story, recounted over a huge family meal and followed by a week of carnivals; and nearly all our religious heavies are in the autumn.

The best things to come out of Hanukkah — our lone winter festival that celebrates the miraculous longevity of some holy oil, and, like nearly all of our holidays, the survival-against-all-odds-yet-again of the Jewish people — are two divergent traditions of equally oily and delicious foods.

In the blue corner, latkes, potato pancakes of Eastern European extraction, served with applesauce and sour cream.

And in the red corner, sufganiyot (soov-gan-YOE-t), the small, cakey jelly donuts favored by Jews in Israel and the Middle East. 

If you've never had either — and I do hope you'll try the recipes below — let me help you imagine the difference. If they had theme songs, this is roughly how latkes would sound, whereas sufganiyot would sound like this. You can see maybe how they wouldn't get along.

My people are Russians, pure Pale of Settlement. My fiance is equal parts Poland and Iran but shares his coloring and gastronomy with his mother's side in the Middle East. A hundred years ago that might have kept us apart—nowadays the only place it causes problems is the kitchen. 

I've learned to make a passable version of their New Year's feast, and he's finally embraced my incurable love of beets. But come Hanukkah, we diverge in an unusual way: he loves my food and I love his.

This year, in the spirit of cross-cultural understanding, we decided to take the Pale of Settlement and the Persian Empire head-to-head in a no-holds-barred holiday cook-off/cage-match. Latkes vs. sufganiyot—you be the judge.

HANUKKAH POTATO LATKES 

You'll need a pound of potatoes, one large yellow onion (we use about half), one large beaten egg, salt to taste and oil for frying. Vegetable works well, but most any will do. 

Wash the potatoes and grate them, peel on, into a large bowl. Many people will soak the gratings in cold water for a few minutes and then drain before adding the onions, but it's not strictly necessary. Grate in about half of your onion and combine. Add beaten egg and salt—about half a teaspoon, if you want to get really specific about it.  

Meanwhile, heat a half cup of oil in a heavy skillet. Shape thin, palm-sized pancakes from the above mixture and fry, turning to brown on both sides. 

Latkes traditionally are enjoyed with applesauce and sour cream. 

HANUKKAH SUFGANIYOT 

Warning: I got this one from Chabad, whose recipes frequently make enough to feed an armada. First-timers might want to halve it.

You'll need:

two packages yeast

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup orange juice

1/3 cup margarine

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 or 5 cups of flour

3 egg yolks

jelly of your choice for filling

powdered sugar 

(You see, already this is much harder.)

Mix water, sugar, juice and yeast. Let stand 10 minutes. Melt margarine and add to yeast mixture. Beat in eggs and salt. Add flour, mixing and kneading by hand to form a soft dough. Let rise 1-1/2 hours. Roll dough 1/4 inch thick and cut circles (about 2 inches). Let circles rise 1/2 hour.

Deep fry at 400° F about three minutes, turning once. Pipe in jelly and roll in powdered sugar.  

Tal and I still haven't settled whose holiday treats are better, but we hope both will make it from our kitchen to yours, with great affection and good wishes this holiday season!