Items12The creator’s order
  1. 1SufganiyahSufganiyahIsrael's Hanukkah food of choice, and for good reason: Israelis eat over 18 million of these jelly doughnuts in the weeks around the holiday. Polish Jews brought them over as ponchiks, and the Histadrut, the labor federation founded in 1920, pushed them because, unlike latkes, they were a job for…0
  2. 2BuñueloBuñueloBimuelos, the Sephardic Hanukkah fritter The Sephardic answer to the jelly doughnut is older and simpler: little puffs of fried dough, drizzled with honey or dusted with powdered sugar. The pedigree is long. The first Ladino Torah translation, printed in Istanbul in 1547, described manna as…0
  3. 3SfenjSfenjSfenj, the Moroccan Jewish Hanukkah doughnut Moroccan Jewish families fry these ring-shaped doughnuts from a plain yeasted dough, then cover them in honey, sugar or both. No filling means no piping bags and no burst jelly, which makes sfenj the most forgiving doughnut on this list for a first-time…0
  4. 4ZalabiyehZalabiyehZengoula, the Iraqi Jewish funnel cake Iraqi Jews adopted these syrup-soaked funnel cakes as their Hanukkah food long ago. The batter is piped in coils straight into hot oil, then the crisp spirals are soaked in sugar syrup, which many cooks sharpen with lemon. The appeal for a host is the…0
  5. 5Frittella (doughnut)Frittella (doughnut)Frittelle di zucca, the Italian Jewish pumpkin fritters In Italy, pumpkin fritters count as a proper Hanukkah dessert, and the squash version from the Veneto is the one to know. Mashed winter squash goes into the batter, which gives a soft, almost custardy middle and a natural sweetness that needs…0
  6. 6NeyyappamNeyyappamNeyyappam, as the Cochin Jews of Kerala make them for Hanukkah The Jews of Cochin on India's southwest coast fry a whole spread for Hanukkah, built on local South Indian ingredients. These sweet fritters carry coconut, dried fruit, nuts and spices, so they taste nothing like anything else on a…0
  7. 7Keftes (Sephardic)Keftes (Sephardic)Keftes de prasa, Sephardic leek fritters When a guest wants something savory and crisp that is not a latke, these are the answer. Sephardic Jews in Turkey, Greece and Romania fry patties of cooked leeks bound with egg, and the result is tender, a little sweet from the leeks and very hard to stop…0
  8. 8SamosaSamosaSambusak b'tawa, the Iraqi Jewish chickpea turnover Iraqi Jews often make these for Hanukkah: half-moon pastries stuffed with spiced chickpeas and fried until crisp. They are the samosa's cousin, and anyone who likes a good hand pie will be back for a second. For a host they solve the problem of…0
  9. 9Fried chickenFried chickenPollo fritto per Hanucca, Italian Jewish fried chicken Italian Jews have a fried chicken made just for Hanukkah. The pieces marinate in lemon, garlic and spices, sometimes overnight, before a dip in batter and a fry in olive oil, which ties the dish straight back to the oil of the holiday story.…0
  10. 10Brisket (Jewish dish)Brisket (Jewish dish)Brisket is not a Hanukkah invention. It is the Ashkenazi feast dish for nearly every holiday, a cheap, tough cut that turns tender after hours of slow braising. That is exactly why it belongs at a Hanukkah party: everything else on the menu wants your attention at the stove, and brisket wants…0