anna of morsels & musings downunder in australia has kindly invited me to participate in this year's festive food fair — a celebration of food from around the world for the upcoming holiday season. if you want to participate, click on her link and get your submission in by dec 1st!
thanks for all your hard work, anna.
here are my submissions:
traditionally, most goodies for hannukah are cooked in oil to commemorate the holiday. potato latkes are traditional ashkenazi fare whereas sweetened pieces of dough, deep fried and then either bathed in syrup or stuffed with a filling are the sephardic tradition.
lokma (bimuelos)
see my post called, lokma lessons, and read it before starting this to get a visual idea of what you will be doing. this version does not use eggs or honey and is suitable for vegans.
ingredients:
2 to 2 1/4 c AP flour
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast [like fleischmann's reg or *rapidrise]
2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 c (up to 2 c) water [warm]
1 tbsp margarine melted
1 tsp lemon juice
1 - 2 tsp orange flower or rose water [optional]
orange or lemon zest [optional - add to dough]
3 c sugar
1 1/2 c water
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 -2 tbsp orange flower or rose water [optional]
finely ground or chopped pistachios
lemon or orange zest
method:
dissolve the yeast in 1/2 c water with 1 tsp sugar. when proved, add the rest [3/4 c] of the water, salt and sugar to the yeast and then the lemon juice and the flour and melted margarine. start with 2 c of flour. if it is too thin you may add the rest of the flour. mix well to make a thickish batter. add enough water to make a thick pancake like batter. let this rise for about an hour to an hour and a half. it needs to double.
*if you're using the rapid rise yeast, put all the dry ingredients together and add the wet ones. then continue recipe.
while that doubles, make the syrup. add sugar, water and lemon juice to a pot. put on medium heat and stir until all is dissolved. bring to a small boil and let syrup cooking WITHOUT STIRRING for about 10 to 15 minutes. if you stir you may seed/crystallize the sugar and ruin it. test after 10 minutes if it is thick enough. it should be a thin syrup but not too thin. sort of like maple syrup. add the orange or rose waters at the end, if using. keep aside as you make the lokma.
after the batter doubles, heat oil for deep frying. be careful!
put some oil in a small cup about a 1/4 c. with a tablespoon. coat the spoon with oil and dip into the batter and carefully add to the oil. we make small — think quail egg size — balls. re-dip the spoon every few times. fry the balls until golden about 3 minutes or so. turn them in the oil to make sure both sides brown. place them on a paper towel to absorb the oil. make sure that the oil is at the correct temperature — too low and they fry too long, absorb a lot of oil and become very hard and too hot, they will fry too quickly, taste raw and burn.
when they are all fried, rewarm the syrup and dip the pastries in it. the rule of thumb is always hot pastry to cold syrup or cold pastry to hot syrup to aid in absorption.
place on a platter and serve extra syrup to drizzle.
garnish with the lemon or orange zest and pistachios.
you may want to halve the recipe to try it out or if you are not serving many people.
enjoy!
biscuits bretons
thanks for all your hard work, anna.
here are my submissions:
traditionally, most goodies for hannukah are cooked in oil to commemorate the holiday. potato latkes are traditional ashkenazi fare whereas sweetened pieces of dough, deep fried and then either bathed in syrup or stuffed with a filling are the sephardic tradition.
also known in greek as loukoumades, lokma are addictive .... we eat platefuls of these at hanukkah and other holidays like purim.
deep-fried deliciousness!
deep-fried deliciousness!
lokma (bimuelos)
makes a lot. i suggest cutting the recipe in half if it is just for a few people or a small family. they can be made a few hours ahead and are meant to be served at room temperature. do not cover with plastic wrap or they will stick to it! use tin foil. they will be good the next day, too .... if there are any left!
see my post called, lokma lessons, and read it before starting this to get a visual idea of what you will be doing. this version does not use eggs or honey and is suitable for vegans.
ingredients:
2 to 2 1/4 c AP flour
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast [like fleischmann's reg or *rapidrise]
2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 c (up to 2 c) water [warm]
1 tbsp margarine melted
1 tsp lemon juice
1 - 2 tsp orange flower or rose water [optional]
orange or lemon zest [optional - add to dough]
3 c sugar
1 1/2 c water
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 -2 tbsp orange flower or rose water [optional]
finely ground or chopped pistachios
lemon or orange zest
method:
dissolve the yeast in 1/2 c water with 1 tsp sugar. when proved, add the rest [3/4 c] of the water, salt and sugar to the yeast and then the lemon juice and the flour and melted margarine. start with 2 c of flour. if it is too thin you may add the rest of the flour. mix well to make a thickish batter. add enough water to make a thick pancake like batter. let this rise for about an hour to an hour and a half. it needs to double.
*if you're using the rapid rise yeast, put all the dry ingredients together and add the wet ones. then continue recipe.
while that doubles, make the syrup. add sugar, water and lemon juice to a pot. put on medium heat and stir until all is dissolved. bring to a small boil and let syrup cooking WITHOUT STIRRING for about 10 to 15 minutes. if you stir you may seed/crystallize the sugar and ruin it. test after 10 minutes if it is thick enough. it should be a thin syrup but not too thin. sort of like maple syrup. add the orange or rose waters at the end, if using. keep aside as you make the lokma.
after the batter doubles, heat oil for deep frying. be careful!
put some oil in a small cup about a 1/4 c. with a tablespoon. coat the spoon with oil and dip into the batter and carefully add to the oil. we make small — think quail egg size — balls. re-dip the spoon every few times. fry the balls until golden about 3 minutes or so. turn them in the oil to make sure both sides brown. place them on a paper towel to absorb the oil. make sure that the oil is at the correct temperature — too low and they fry too long, absorb a lot of oil and become very hard and too hot, they will fry too quickly, taste raw and burn.
when they are all fried, rewarm the syrup and dip the pastries in it. the rule of thumb is always hot pastry to cold syrup or cold pastry to hot syrup to aid in absorption.
place on a platter and serve extra syrup to drizzle.
garnish with the lemon or orange zest and pistachios.
you may want to halve the recipe to try it out or if you are not serving many people.
enjoy!
* * * * *
biscuits bretons
butter cookies from brittany
picture to come soon!
ingredients:
1 1/2 c (3 sticks or 12 oz) unsalted butter, @ room temperature
1 1/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 extra large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 c cake flour
3 tbsps whole milk, for "wash"
method:
with an electric mixer on slow speed, cream the butter, sugar and salt together.
slowly add the egg and vanilla, continuing to beat on slow speed.
add the flour all at once and mix, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl once.
turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and pat into a 1/2-inch rectangle.
cover completely with the wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, or until firm.
preheat oven to 35o°F. line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until 1/4-inch thick.
with a 2-inch diameter, fluted round cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place one inch apart on prepared sheets.
gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out again.
take a skewer or with the back of a knife score a tic-tac-toe design on the cookies. brush them with milk and bake for 10-15 minutes until a light golden color.
cool on a wire rack.
makes approximately 40 cookies. store in an airtight container.
picture to come soon!
ingredients:
1 1/2 c (3 sticks or 12 oz) unsalted butter, @ room temperature
1 1/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 extra large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 c cake flour
3 tbsps whole milk, for "wash"
method:
with an electric mixer on slow speed, cream the butter, sugar and salt together.
slowly add the egg and vanilla, continuing to beat on slow speed.
add the flour all at once and mix, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl once.
turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and pat into a 1/2-inch rectangle.
cover completely with the wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, or until firm.
preheat oven to 35o°F. line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until 1/4-inch thick.
with a 2-inch diameter, fluted round cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place one inch apart on prepared sheets.
gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out again.
take a skewer or with the back of a knife score a tic-tac-toe design on the cookies. brush them with milk and bake for 10-15 minutes until a light golden color.
cool on a wire rack.
makes approximately 40 cookies. store in an airtight container.
whichever festival or tradition you celebrate,
happy holidays!
happy holidays!
I just want to know lol are you married?? and if not how come?
ReplyDeleteokay am just joking.. but this looks so delicious I wish I was your nieghbour..
These recipes do look absolutely wonderful. I love potato latkes. I must try the lokma as well. If you ever want to swap Indian recipes for traditional Jewish fair....I'm game!!! Then again, you live in Canada, so Indian food is probably old hat! :) Are you familiar with Guyanese cuisine?
ReplyDeleteOh, and thanks for visiting my blog. Sounds like you had a horrid time with night terrors as a kid. Glad you were able to overcome it!
princess - that's quite the compliment. thank you! as for the question, well, i have to keep some secrets, don't i?! LOL. all i can say is whoever it is won't starve! ;-P
ReplyDeletebeenzz - potato latkes are something i love also but really only make them around hanukkah due to, well... calories and the oil smell. i make them 2 or 3 times during the 8 day holiday so that's enough to last me. i'd never turn one down the rest of the year!
i am always ready to swap recipes with you. that would be fun. we do have many indians here. i am not however very familiar with guyanese food. would be fun to explore. (lol, trying to get p-j to cook something guyanese for her blog!) says she can't cook.
and yes, i am glad those night terrors are long gone. interesting studies though going on these days in field of sleep research.
Lokma looks delicious
ReplyDeletehey krithika - thank you! they are a welcome holiday treat ;-p
ReplyDeletethanks for stopping by!