13-16 Adar II, 5768
March 20-23, 2008
Just a brief explanation of Purim and then the recipes begin!
The Holiday of Purim includes the fast day called Taanis Esther, the day of Purim and the day of Shushan Purim.
On Thursday, the 20th - We fast from 3 hours before daybreak until after nightfall.
On Friday the 21st Purim Day
* The Al Hanisim prayer is added in the Amida.
* Special Torah Reading
* Megilla reading
* Giving of Mishloach Manot - food gifts
* Matanot L'evyonim - Charity to the poor
* Festive meal in the afternoon after Mincha services.
Sunday, the 23rd is Shushan Purim
This day is celebrated as Purim Day in Jerusalem.
In case you're wondering Saturday is the Shabbath.
Purim (Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm "lots", related to Akkadian pūru) is a rabbinically ordained Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from Haman's plot to annihilate all of them in the ancient Persian Empire as recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther.
The Jews were in the Babylonian captivity because Babylonia had destroyed Solomon's Temple and dispersed the defeated Jews of the Kingdom of Judah. Babylonia was in turn conquered by Persia.
Purim is characterized by public recitation of the Book of Esther, giving mutual gifts of food and drink, giving charity to the poor, and a celebratory meal (Esther 9:22); other customs include drinking wine, wearing of masks and costumes, and public celebration. Queen Esther was a vegetarian.
What are hamantaschen?
Hamantaschen are 3 corner pastries with a filling.
There are two possible origins of the name. The most popular theory is that the name hamantash (המן־טאַש), which literally means "Haman's pocket," is a reference to Haman (also known as Homen), the villain of Purim, as described in the Book of Esther.
A more likely source of the name is a corruption of the Yiddish word מאן־טאשן (montashn) or the German word mohntaschen, both meaning poppyseed-filled pouches.
Over time, this name was transformed to hamantashen, likely by association with Haman. In Israel, they are called אוזני המן (Oznei Haman), Hebrew for "Haman's ears."
My mom cheats when she makes hers, she buys already made fillings. I, on the other hand, make my own, which are easy to make. There are so many different types of doughs and fillings and I will try to give a good variety.
Here's my swear by recipes.
Hamantaschen..makes 24
5oz/125g/2/3 cup caster (superfine) sugar
2 eggs (reserve a little for gilding hamantaschen)
4 fl oz/100ml/1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla essence (extract)
Grated rind of 1/2 orange
12oz/300g/3 cups flour (half plain, half self-raising) or 12 oz/300g/3 cups plain flour and 1 1/2 level tsp baking powder
Whisk eggs until thick, then whisk in the sugar, oil and seasonings.
Finally stir in enough flour to make a rollable dough.
Roll out pastry 1/4 inch thick and cut into 3 inch circles.
Put a spoonful of filling on dough, then draw up to form a triangle and pinch the edges firmly together.
Brush the tops with a little beaten egg.
Bake in a moderate oven, Gas Mark 4/350F/180C for 30 minutes.
Apple Filling
1 lb peeled, cored and sliced apples
Juice and rind of a small lemon
3 oz/75g/1/3 cup sugar
Butter a pan, put apple, sugar,and juice in layers.
Cover and cook gently until tender.
Uncover and cook longer to drive off any excess liquid.
Cool.
This is surprisingly easy to do and it is really nice.
Prune Filling
1/2 lb/200g;/1 1/4 cup tenderized prunes
3 oz/75g/1/2 cup raisins
2 oz/50g/1/2 cup walnuts
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
4 oz/100g/1/2 cup sugar
Soak prunes and raisins overnight.
Remove stones.
Chop or mince with remaining ingredients.
That's it. Add to dough.
Taken from Evelyn Rose's 'The Complete International Jewish Cookbook'.
Beans are also traditional eaten so here is my friend T's recipe for Roasted Chickpeas.
Crispy Chick peas from Tubby or Not Tubby
First, open the can, drain and rinse. The rinsing will lead to less gas and fewer embarrasing excuses that invariably involve an old and innocent family pet.
Now take an old fashioned Baggie, not the pricey kind with ziplocs, but the big old fellows that need a bag tie.
Dump the peas into the bag and throw a TBLS of oil in after them. You can use olive oil if you wish, but since the peas are going to be subjected to a lot of heat, I prefer canola oil.
Puff out the bag so it resembles a balloon. Twist the top to keep the peas from escaping and shake the life out of it.
Stop shaking when every pea is coated with oil. Sample one or two to be sure; now stop snacking and add more oil if needed and resume shaking.
Now stare into your spice cupboard scratching your head until inspiration strikes. You may settle for (yawn) salt. I chose the Mrs Dash spice blend. Go crazy here and share your discovery.
Take a tsp or two of your selected salt/spice and throw it into the baggie. Sample again and add more to taste.
Shake up any peas that still remain after your wanton snacking and sampling. Shake till they're speckled with spicing.
Cover the pan with a sheet of foil. I like Release because nothing sticks to it. These likely won't stick to ordinary foil anyway, unless you like a lot of spice and totally cover up the film of oil on the individual peas, in which case,you're pretty well on your own...
Put the pan on the lower rack of an oven preheated to 400 degrees. If you've used the Release and precoated the peas you won't have to turn them.
When the first peas start turning black, don't panic. There are always a handful of wimpy chickpeas in every can that will discolor before their canmates. This is their futile bid to escape being eaten. At my place it doesn't work. Eat the suckers anyway and teach 'em a lesson.
Now put the other chickpeas back in till a few more start to blacken.
The remainder should be more or less uniform in their goldenness.
And every last one will be crisp.
I mention this to emphasize that, while chickpeas may seem to be dull and insensitive creatures --no doubt resulting from their identity crisis -- they're never quite sure if they're chickpeas, garbanzos or cicis -- they are in fact extremely sensitive and often appear to have a mind of their own.
They will demand your full attention during the latter stages of cookery. You'll know you have it right when you sink your teeth into one and it snaps in two like a peanut. If it's the least bit chewy, it's undercooked.
I should also add that these were canned peas. The procedure may or may not work as well with dried and soaked chickpeas. These things are just so damned tasty that I prefer to limit myself to the fixed quantities in the can.
Besides nibbling on them I add them to salads.
This is my favorite challah recipe, also taken from Evelyn's cookbook.
Easy Challah Recipe (Evelyn Rose)
It makes 1 very large plait or 2 medium plaits
1lb (4 cups) 'bread' flour
2 level tsp salt
3 level tsp superfine sugar
2 tbsp oil
1/2 oz fresh yeast or 2 level tsp dried yeast
1 large egg plus 1 yolk; or 2 standard eggs
8fl oz warm water
Heat the water until it feels as warm as a baby's bottom. Put into mixer bowl.
Add one third of the flour, all the sugar, and the yeast.
Mix until smooth, cover with a tea towel and leave for 20 minutes until it looks frothy.
Now add all the remaining flour, the salt, oil, and egg (saving the yolk or half of one standard egg for glazing the bread)
Mix with the dough hook at minimum speed until a dough forms then knead with the hook at low speed or 3 minutes.
Tip the dough on to a floured board and knead with the hands for 30 seconds to shape a ball - it should have a scone texture. (By hand alone, the dough should be kneaded 5-6 minutes or until smooth)
Put this ball into a greased bag(large enough for the dough to double in size). Fasten bag loosely.
To rise:
Put the dough at the bottom of the refigerator for 12-24 hours, whichever is more convenient.
To shape:
Take the risen dough from the fridge and leave in the kitchen for about half an hour or until it loses its chill.
To make one large plait:
Divide the dough into 3 or 6 pieces. Knead each piece into a round, then roll into a sausage about 12 inches. Press the strands firmly together at one end, then plait tightly (the 6 strand plait makes a better shape). Put the plait on a greased tray.
To make 2 medium plaits:
Divide the dough in 2 and work on each half in exactly the same way.
Then;
Put the loaves into a greased plastic bag and leave until they regain their lightness, springing back when touched with a floured finger - about half an hour in the kitchen. Brush over with the reserved egg, diluted with 1 tsp water and 1 tsp salt. Scatter with poppy seeds.
To bake:
Put in a hot oven 475F degrees for 15 minutes, then turn down to 375F for a further 30 minutes for the small loaves and a further 45 minutes for the large loaves.
To test:
When the loaves are cooked, they will be a rich brown and will sound hollow when the base is tapped.
To make rolls:
The risen dough can be used to make approximately 16 rolls, depending on the size. When at room temperature, divide into 16 pieces.
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