Dan Illouz hosts an annual sfinj party in Jerusalem. (Courtesy of Illouz)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Illouz puts on Moroccan music, and when the sun sets, he and his guests light the menorah candles. While sfinj are of course at the center of the celebration, Illouz also serves sweet couscous and store-bought Moroccan cookies and beverages. Needless to say, sufganiyot, plural for sufganiyah, are not on the menu.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not ideologically opposed to sufganiyot,\u201d he explained, \u201cbut I do prefer sfinjim. They\u2019re just simpler, and they\u2019re not quite as unhealthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Illouz said his sfinj party is an expression of both Moroccan and Israeli pride, a duality that has become easier to reconcile in recent years. While Mizrahi Jews, or those with roots in North Africa and the Middle East, were long a socioeconomic underclass that faced systemic discrimination in Israel, their culture has lately experienced something of a renaissance.<\/p>\n
Illouz said the new hipness of Moroccan traditions is probably part of what draws so many people to his sfinj parties.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s definitely an element of that in the fact that people get excited about the party. People want to have a taste of this culture,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat I think is really beautiful is that all Israelis are able to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
About half of Israelis are now of Mizrahi descent, though the numbers are becoming blurred by marriage with Asheknazi, or European Jews, and others. Mizrahi music dominates the Israeli airwaves, with some musicians even singing in Arabic. Mizrahi cuisine is not only popular street food, but is also celebrated at high-end restaurants and on popular cooking TV shows. And Mizrahi celebrations, like the post-Passover Mimouna feast and the henna pre-wedding bridal shower, have been embraced by the mainstream.<\/p>\n
Of course, Mizrahi Jews have been contributing to Israeli culture for decades, whether or not it was always appreciated. Some credit them with bringing the tradition of Chanukah doughnuts to the Jews of Palestine in the first place. According to this theory, sfinjim were then largely superseded by deep-fried Eastern European jelly doughnuts similar to today\u2019s sufganiyot. (The oil is a nod to the Chanukah legend in which the ancient Temple’s menorah stayed lit for eight days on a one-day supply of lamp oil.) The Arabic word \u201csfinj,\u201d meaning sponge, was replaced by \u201csufganiyah,\u201d a Hebrew word sharing the same root.<\/p>\n
Some Ashkenazi Jews have also started making sfinjim at home, often inspired by Mizrahi friends and family.<\/p>\n
Uri Scheft, a co-owner and chef at the high-end bakery chain Lehamim, learned to make the doughnuts from his wife, whose mother immigrated to Israel from Morocco. He included a sfinj recipe in his 2016 cookbook \u201cBreaking Breads: A New World of Israeli Baking,\u201d which celebrates the cuisines produced by the “melting pot” of Israeli society.<\/p>\n
Scheft said he has planned for many years to serve sfinjim at his bakeries. But he would first want to set up a prep area so he could serve them fresh to customers.<\/p>\n
“The character and the structure of sfinjim is very light, which make them very tasty, but only if they are eaten right away,” he said. “I think this is why bakeries shy away from serving them.”<\/p>\n
While it is hard to find a hot sfinj for sale in Israel, it is not impossible.<\/p>\n
Keren Kadosh, a pastry chef with a Moroccan background, occasionally serves them at her bustling downtown Jerusalem bakery, Caf\u00e9 Kadosh — often in response to requests. At the same time, her lifetime of eating the doughnuts has shaped the way her bakery prepares sufganiyot, which it serves at a rate of a 1,000 day during Chanukah.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the the sufganiyot come out of the fryer, we roll it in sugar, and we get that exact same crunch, sweetness and texture,” she explained. “So in a way, we’re participating in the Moroccan culture of blessing each other, which has also become Israeli culture.”<\/p>\n
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