Sufganiyot means Donuts

Mmmmm, donuts. Ah, Homer Simpson knows a good thing when he eats it. Nothing like a donut, especially one homemade for Hanukkah. Traditionally, Jews eat fried foods at Hanukkah, with latkes (potato pancakes) being the savory dish of choice, and sufganiyot being the sweet. Sufganiyot, pronounced Soof-gun-e-ot, are an Israeli tradition for Hanukkah that has grown very popular in the diaspora. When I was a girl, we didn't have Sufganiyot, but I learned to love them when I lived in Israel. Now I make them at home, and I'm passing my recipes along to you lucky readers. So get frying!

SUFGANIYOT

Here is Joan Nathan's recipe for Sufganiyot from The Jewish Holiday Kitchen and after the recipe is her note on the history of the Sufganiyot.

Makes 30 - 35

* 2 tablespoons dry yeast
* 3-1/2 tablespoons sugar
* 3/4 cup lukewarm milk
* 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 egg yolks
* Pinch of salt
* Pinch of cinnamon
* 1-1/2 tablespoons softened margarine
* Plum or strawberry preserves
* Vegetable oil for deep-frying
* Granulated sugar

1. Dissolve the yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar in the milk.

2. Sift the flour. Place it on a board and make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture, the egg yolks, salt, cinnamon, and the remaining sugar. Knead well. Add the margarine and knead until the dough is elastic.

3. Cover and let rise 2 hours.

4. Sprinkle flour on the board. Roll the dough out thin. Cut out with a glass into rounds about 2 inches in diameter. Cover and let rise 15 minutes more.

5. Pour 2 inches of oil into a heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees.

6. Drop the doughnuts in the oil, 4 - 5 at a time, turning when brown. Drain on paper towels.

7. With a tiny spoon, take some jam and fill the sufganiyot. Insert the spoon in the top of the doughnut, revolve it inside the doughnut, and remove it from the same hole made on entering.

8. Roll in granulated sugar and serve. You can make larger sufganiyot if you like. Whatever you decide, eat them immediately!

Modern Israel's legacy to Hanukkah is sufganiyot, jelly doughnuts rolled in sugar. Sufganiyot are descended from one of the oldest sweets known to mankind .... the Greek loukomades, a sweet fritter dipped in honey-and-sugar syrup. Loukomades were originally wheatcakes fried on an iron grill, then covered with grape-derived molasses. The honey syrup used today as a coating was borrowed form the Turks; the cooking method has changed to deep-frying. This Israeli holiday fare reflects the melding of East and West. The fritter is of Sephardic origin, and the jelly filling and granulated-sugar coating replacing the honey syrup come from Western immigrants, most probably Germans, who ate an apricot-filled glazed doughnut on Hanukkah.

APPLE-CIDER DOUGHNUTS WITH MAPLE GLAZE

Yield: 12 servings

* 3 tablespoons sugar, for preparing pans
* 2 cups flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 2/3 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 cup apple butter
* 1/3 cup maple syrup
* 1/3 cup apple cider
* 1/3 cup nonfat yogurt
* 3 tablespoons canola oil

Maple glaze:

* 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Coat the molds of a mini-Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray or oil. Sprinkle with white sugar, shaking out the excess.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside. In another bowl, whisk together egg, brown sugar, apple butter, maple syrup, cider, yogurt and oil. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Divide half the batter among the prepared molds, spooning about 2 generous tablespoonfuls of batter into each mold.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched lightly. Loosen the edges and turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool. Clean the mini-Bundt pan, then recoat it with cooking spray or oil and sugar. Repeat with the remaining batter.

To make maple glaze:

In a bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Gradually whisk in enough maple syrup to make a coating consistency. Dip the fluted side of the "doughnuts" in the glaze to coat. Then set them glazed side up on a wire rack over waxed paper for a few minutes until the glaze has set.

CHOCOLATE SUFGANIYOT (ISRAELI DOUGHNUTS)

Source: LA TIMES, 12/17/97 Cocoa Puffs by Judy Ziedler

Yield: 24 sufganiyot

* Oil
* 3 cups sugar
* 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
* 3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
* 1/4 cup cocoa
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup buttermilk

Combine 1/4 cup oil, 1 cup sugar, eggs and egg yolk in bowl and beat with electric mixer until fluffy.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir into oil mixture alternately with buttermilk.

Heat 2 to 3 inches oil in heavy deep skillet to 340 degrees. Drop batter by tablespoons into hot oil and cook in batches until doughnuts are evenly fried, 2 or 3 minutes per side. Do not crowd pan.

Drain on paper towels. Roll in remaining 2 cups sugar.

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