Chanukah Donuts

Sufganya is the Hebrew word for Chanukah Donut!

Chanukah is the feast of Dedication which is celebrated every December. This year it starts next Friday evening.

It last for 8 days.

At the heart of this feast is the true story the Syrians taking over the Jewish Temple, a small group of Jewish fighters that over-powered the Syrian army, re-claimed the Temple and then cleaned and re-dedicated it to the LORD.

The holy oil that was to burn constantly above the ark of the LORD, was just about out. Only a tiny bit remained.

It would be over a week until more could be brought to Jerusalem.

But, somehow, remarkably...this tiny bit of oil lasted for 8 days, until the new oil could arrive.

So, at Chanukah time, we eat foods fried in oil to remind us of that special miracle. The most popular fried food, this time of year, is the sufganya. They are special donuts...that rival a paczki which is the special donut eaten on Fat Tuesday in the U.S.

Sufganyot (the plural of sufganya) come in every possible variety you can imagine. They are round, about the size of a fist and have various fillings and toppings.

They are only made during this season (starting after Sukkot - the feast of Tabernacles and running until the end of Chanukah)

Each bakery and restaurant has their own different style of Sufganyot...so far here are my favorites this year:

1) a jelly-filled sufganya from a stand inside the Shuk ha Carmel (Carmel Market) - it was fried so well, it was crispy...and had powdered sugar on top. (eaten with my friends Sha'ul and Rivka)

2) 2 smaller sufganyot from Mazzarine cafe on Gordon Street in Tel Aviv. 1 was pistachio flavored with pistachio cream inside and ground pistachio on top. the other was sort of a yummy white chocolate inside with more white chocolate on top. (shared with my friend Sarah)

3) a carmel sufganya at 'Bagels and Coffee' on Dizengoff street. it had carmel inside and carmel on top with slivered almonds. the carmel tasted like what you find on a carmel apple. (puchased for me by my friends Ashley and Beto)

4) mini white chocolate and jelly filled sufganyot from my favorite bakery in all of tel aviv next to the Shufersal Market on Ben Yehuda Street between Mapu and Gordon. these were not nearly my favorite, which is surprising since they have the best ruggalach on the planet!

other mentions: the first sufganyot i had of the season at the gas station on Hamasger street in Tel Aviv. note, never by sufganyot at a gas station. we were just so excited to see them out, that my friends and i bought some.

2 more weeks of sufganyot left...so more to come!

UPDATE ON 12/8/09: I have a new #2 favorite so far this year, it is from 'Bakery' near HaMasger Street in Tel Aviv. Today I had an amazing sufganya with sugar on top and carmel inside. Everything they make there is great...so I'm not surprised their sufganya are so good!


(this photo taken last year enjoying a sufganya at Sambooki Bakery in Jerusalem)