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Should You Get Dressed Up as an Israeli Soldier This Purim?
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Because the miracles of Purim were “hidden”, we prepare dishes that represent this “hiddenness,” including kreplach, stuffed cabbage, knishes, hamentaschen, and meatballs.
Purim is the unique holiday when it was revealed to us that “natural events” are truly miraculous. Our celebration of Purim testifies to our sincere belief that God is behind everything that occurs in our lives. The more we come to perceive everything good that seems “hidden” behind the challenges we face, the more we can discern the kindness in the midst of the concealment, the more our lives will be transformed in positive ways.
Because the miracles of Purim were “hidden”, we have a custom to prepare dishes that represent this “hiddenness,” including kreplach, stuffed cabbage, knishes, hamentaschen, and meatballs.
Other Purim customs regarding the festive meal include preparing poppy seed cake and nuts and seeds that remind us of how Queen Esther survived on these, as her way of keeping kosher in the palace of Achashverosh.
Here are some of our family favorites.
Wash, check and steam the cabbage leaves for about 7-10 minutes, so they are soft enough to easily fold over the filling.
Meat Filling
Veggie Filling
Sauce
Mix filling ingredients and divide into the separate cabbage leaves. Gently roll each one up and place in a large pan. Cover with sauce and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Purim Knishes
Knish Fillings
Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Then add and mix the mushrooms, spices, flour and flavored water in one bowl.
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add oil, water and eggs and knead into dough.
Roll out the dough and spread the knish filling on one side of the dough. Gently roll the other side of the dough over the mixture. Or you can make individual knishes by cutting rectangle shapes out of the rolled out dough.
Other knish fillings include: Mixing 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes or potatoes with the sautéed onions and garlic.
Bake in the oven at 350 F. (180 C.) for 30-40 minutes.
Slice all the vegetables into chunk pieces and add to a large soup pot with the chicken and enough water to cover the chicken and vegetables. Simmer for 2 hours
Kreplach
Dough
Combine dough ingredients and knead together. Roll out thin and then cut out 3 inch squares (or 4 inch for bigger kreplach). You can also use the top of a glass to make circles.
Filling
Mix the ingredients and then place about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in each square (or circle). Fold over to make triangle shaped kreplach, or “half-moon” shaped kreplach.
Kreplach can then be added to the boiling soup and float to the top of the soup when they are done (about 10 minutes). Leave them in the soup to absorb the flavor. You may want to add more water and spices after the kreplach have absorbed some of the broth.
They can be served separately at the seudah or in the soup.
The same soup can be made without chicken and the kreplach can be filled with mashed potatoes that have a grated onion added.
Directions: sauté onion, garlic and celery in oil or water for about ten minutes, then add the meat, two cups of water, spices and cubed vegetables. Simmer for 2 to 3 hours.
Sauce
Mix meatballs ingredients in a large bowl and shape into meatballs.
Simmer in a large pot with the sauce, for about two hours or until done.
The seudah can include a large variety of kugels, hot vegetable dishes and colorful salads.
*Beet leaves/Swiss chard greens can be substituted for spinach
Mix the first seven ingredients together and pour into a large oven tray. Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake at 350 F. degrees (180 C. degrees) for about an hour until the pie appears firm.
Baked beets are incredibly sweet.
Cut beets into quarters.
Bake for 60-80 minutes at 350 degrees (180 Centigrade)
Decorate baked beets with sliced scallions and parsley.
Sauté the onions and garlic in 1-2 Tbs. of olive oil
Add string beans and sesame seeds, a bit of water (about ¼ cup) to prevent burning, and continue cooking for about 20 minutes.
*Additional dark green lettuces can be added or used into of the kale.
Toss the greens and the pomegranate seeds in a large bowl. Decorate with all the nuts and seeds.
Salad dressing can be made separately and added to each individual’s serving.
Dressing
Place all dressing ingredients in a jar, cover and shake well until well mixed.
A special cake!
Simmer the milk and poppy seeds together for about ten minutes on a low temperature (not boiling). Then turn off the fire and let the seeds soak.
Mix the coconut oil, sugar and apple sauce.
Whisk the eggs and then add them to the sugar mix.
Add and mix together the dry ingredients, vanilla and lemon juice.
Pour into a 9” x 14” inch baking tray, and bake in a 350 F. degree oven (180 C. degree) for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick test comes out dry.
Hamentaschen Fillings have many possibilities, from traditional prune jam, chopped dates, apricots, or a honey with poppy seed mixture, as well as more exotic pineapple, papaya, mango, and raspberry jams, and carob and chocolate spreads Mix all ingredients to form a dough. Then roll out to very thin and cut out 3-4 inch circles (with a cookie cutter or the top of a drinking glass). Spread the filling within each circle and then fold over into triangular shapes, and pinch the sides together. Place on a large oven tray and bake for about 20 minutes at 350 F. degrees (180 C.)
I’lui nishmas Avraham ben Yitzchak Isaac, z”l