By the time I reached my late teens, my family became very health conscious. We decreased our meat intake, ate more fruits and vegetables, had less portions at mealtime, and healthy snacks were encouraged. But it was the fried food that was totally obliterated from the menu, both at home and abroad. Today, unfortunately, I’m not as diligent as I was – with the exception of fried food. There are a number of foods that I missed and occasionally the craving for them is unbearable.
Every time when Purim arrived, Mom would make samuseh puryaih (meat and onions wrapped in this delicious dough – deep fried), which would require napkins. Purim is not the same without it. But I must warn you; it’s definitely not a mishloach manot item (traditional special treats put into a nice basket and presented to friends).
Another item that is missed is fried whiting (fish) served Friday night at the Shabbat table. Today our families bake the fish and it tastes just as good. According to our sages, it’s important to have fish Friday night. The reason is because G-d rewarded Noach and his family for taking care of the animals in the ark, by giving them the ability to eat meat and chicken. But the fish did not take residence in the ark. Therefore, man was forbidden to eat fish. However, as a reward for receiving the Torah, which was given on Shabbat, fish became permissible for consumption from then on.
Another delicacy that is missed is chushcelik served at Bukharian yartzeit dinners. The sweet, soft, fried, thin rounded dough with confectioners’ sugar on top that melts in your mouth, is out of this world. The rounded large Slinky-like shape represents the continuous circle in which G-d runs the world; one life begins and another ends.
Another fried food star is falafel. The aroma of falafel is very mesmerizing and therefore hard to resist. I’m sure there are many places to get good falafel. There are a few that come to mind. Moshe’s Falafel on 45th St and Ave of the Americas in New York City is very good. This establishment operates out of a cart. Another highly regarded and famous falafel place is Shlomo’s in Jerusalem. Shlomo also operates out of a cart and one can find him in the Bukarian quarters near Kikar Malchei Yisrael in Geula. The falafel is so good at Shlomo’s that people come from all over Jerusalem go to eat there. Don’t forget to bring reading material because the lines are long!
In many Yeshiva high schools, there is an extended Thursday-night program that is mandatory. When I was in Yeshiva, there were not many people who had an interest – as evidenced by the attendance, and the school had a hard time enforcing this rule. But in my junior year, changes were made. The school decided to serve delicious breaded fried chicken with potato salad for a side dish, resulting in an escalation in attendance by 98%. After a few months, some students got smart; they wanted the best of both worlds, and decided to leave through the back way after dinner. But the administration anticipated this move. The principal himself was guarding the front door, while the assistant principal guarded the back. Eat and run doesn’t apply here.
We learned last week that if one is in the middle of a meal (after saying the blessing on the bread), and cake is brought on the table, a blessing is required only if he’s eating it as a dessert. If he’s eating it for satisfaction, a bracha is not necessary. In general, if enough cake is eaten to satisfy your hunger, a hamotzi is required. There is an exception to this rule – if the bread was fried. According to Jewish law, frying the bread changes its form and structure, and will lose any potential of raising its status to bread. One can consume as many jelly doughnuts as he wants and the blessing will always be mezonot. |
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