Celebrating Hanucah with Tunisian fritters

 Tunisian beignets or bamboulini for Hanucah

The Jewish festival of Hanucah begins tonight: it celebrates the victory of the Macabees over the Greeks in the 2nd century before the Christian era. It is customary to eat foods fried in oil. These commemorate the miracle of Hanucah: there was only enough oil to light the Eternal Light in the Temple for one day, but it lasted eight days. Hence, Hanucah is celebrated for eight days. 

 A HAPPY HANUCAH to all our readers!

Here is a Tunisian recipe for fritters:   

Makes 15 to 20 fritters.

500g of flour
15 gr of baker's yeast
1 cup of warm water
1 tsp salt
oil for frying



Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix all the ingredients: flour, yeast and salt. The dough should be soft and elastic. Add half a cup of water or as much as you need to knead it. Cover with a cloth and leave for at least three hours.

To fry: heat the oil.
Knead again. With greased hands, shape the dough into little balls. Make a hole in the middle and shape like a crown or ring.
Plunge into boiling oil
Fry the fritter on both sides and serve hot with icing sugar or honey.