Friday, February 22, 2013

Symbolic Purim Foods: The Yiddish Chefs Show That It's More Than Hamantaschen


What food is most closely associated with the holiday of Purim? Hamantaschen, of course. But it's not the only symbolic food that's prepared for Purim, at least in some households where there's an equally strong tradition to prepare kreplach, also known as varenikes and pirogen, for the joyous holiday.

In today's video, the Jewish Daily Forward's Yiddish-speaking chefs give the reason for the popularity of kreplach on Purim, and take us through all the steps to produce these tasty dumplings for the holiday. Why the one English word dumpling suffices, but we need three Yiddish synonyms, God only knows.

What's the reason? A major Purim theme is God's hidden role in saving the Jewish people from the evil plans of Haman. Nowhere in the Megillah is God even mentioned, but He is always there in the background, guiding the actions of Esther and Mordecai. Just as God's role in the story is hidden, so are the fillings of the kreplach/varenikes/pirogen. The complete recipe follows the video.

Enjoy and have a Happy Purim!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)  




2 comments:

  1. Instead of eating these with sour cream, fry-up a little sauerkraut in butter and mix this with the dumplings. My Hungarian grandmother called these "hitch-koshen" and they were wonderful. The sour mixes with the dumplings very well!
    S E Y M O U R

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  2. recipe for meat kreplach ??????

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