A *Non-Doughnut* Fried Food to Eat During Hanukkah

I can’t stop thinking about zengoula.

Centuries ago, Iraqi Jews adopted funnel cakes, the crispy golden coils and squiggles of deep fried dough known in the Middle East as zengoula (or jalabi), to celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah: that enough oil to light the menorah in the temple in Jerusalem for a single night lasted, instead, for 8 days.

This is the reason we light candles on Hanukkah for eight days and have permission to eat as many delicious latkes, doughnuts, and other foods fried in oil as we like!

For weeks, I’ve been cooking from one of the best new books this year, The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen, by the gifted cook and writer (and my dear friend) Amelia Saltsman. Amelia is a native Californian whose Iraqi father and Romanian mother met and married in Israel before immigrating to Los Angeles. She's captured a world of Jewish food through the lens of her diverse family traditions and her own intuitive cooking style, and the result is food that we want to eat now—fresh and modern yet somehow still authentic and comforting.

Zengoula with Lemon Syrup is a great example of a traditional dish with a little twist that makes a big difference. Instead of plain sugar syrup, the pastries are soaked in fresh lemon syrup. The results are easy to imagine: more fragrant and wonderful and, I have to say it, “zingier” zengoula.

You don’t have to leave your latkes or ditch your doughnuts. But do add these tempting lemon-drenched pastries to the eight-day Hanukkah lineup. (You may also enjoy saying the word “zengoula” as much as I do.)

Zengoula with Lemon Syrup (Iraqi Funnel Cakes)

View Recipe

Ingredients

For the syrup:

2 to 3	lemons
1/2	cup (120 milliliters) water
1	cup (200 grams) sugar

2 to 3	lemons
1/2	cup (120 milliliters) water

1	cup (200 grams) sugar

For the dough and for frying:

1 1/8	teaspoons (1/2 package) active dry yeast
1 1/4	cups (300 milliliters) warm water (100° F to 110° F), divided
1	cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4	cup (95 grams) cornstarch
	Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
2	quarts mild oil with medium-high smoke point, such as grapeseed, sunflower, or avocado, for deep-frying

1 1/8	teaspoons (1/2 package) active dry yeast
1 1/4	cups (300 milliliters) warm water (100° F to 110° F), divided
1	cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour

3/4	cup (95 grams) cornstarch
	Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
2	quarts mild oil with medium-high smoke point, such as grapeseed, sunflower, or avocado, for deep-frying