Purim 2010

February 28, 2010 - 10:25 AM by Jessica · 1 Comment
Filed under: Food, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life, design

If I had my act together, would be delivering the Indian mishloach manot in tiffin boxes, but it'll have to be alternative packaging

Purim’s approaching for the Jerusalemites — we’ve got ‘walled city’ status because of the Old City walls — so we celebrate on Shushan Purim, which is tonight and tomorrow, and not last night and today, like the rest of the country. But in any case, the signs are all around. People are already posting their Purim costume revelry on Facebook, local restaurants are advertising various Purim seudah deals, the paper goods stores are packed as folks prepare their mishloach manot packages and I’m about to start on my mishloach manot cooking.

I tend to focus on mishoach manot on Purim, rather than a specific costume or a Purim seudah, the festive meal that’s served on the day of Purim, which is more of an Israel thing, given that the whole country has the day off. (Even the banks are closed, which has my mother wondering if her automatic payments for various bills will happen tomorrow, March 1, or on Tuesday, when the banks reopen.) Anyway, I’ve had a wide variety of themes over the years, from homemade gnocchi and sauce, which I prepared with my friend Clare to molten chocolate cakes and whipped cream or homemade Devil Dogs, painstakingly prepared with my stepdaughters. It’s also always fun to see what everyone else is delivering, and we’ve gotten some great selections, from chocolate milk and rolls at six a.m., bagels, lox and OJ to, one of my personal faves, a container of a very special cucumber salad made by one of my sister’s good friends and for which I had repeatedly requested the recipe from my sister, but never received. Needless to say, I now have the recipe.

I’m on my own this year — Daniel tends to focus more on costumes, less on mishloach manot (except for handling most of the deliveries) — as the girls are older and doing their own thing, and I’ve decided to go with an Indian theme, given our newfound love for cooking Indian food this year.

Without revealing everything, I’ll just say that each mishloach manot package will contain three Indian meal elements, including chapati, which are flatbreads made with whole wheat flour and fried — without oil or butter — in a griddle pan. They don’t necessarily come out perfectly round the first few times you make them, but they are incredibly easy to make. Really.

Here’s one recipe, and I’m adding a note at the bottom:

Whole Wheat Flat Breads

Mix together:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
about 3/4 cup warm water (enough for a kneadable dough)

Knead the dough, cover, and leave aside for at least 1/2 hour or, ideally, up to 2 hours. After about 1 hour (or right before rolling out), punch the dough and knead again without any more water.
Make 10-12 1 1/2″ balls and roll out into thin, 6″ circles. Place a flat, ungreased griddle on the stove at medium-high heat. When hot, place a rolled-out chapati “right side” down on the griddle. (The “right side” is the one facing you when you roll it.) When bubbles are visible, turn over and cook until tiny brown spots appear on the side facing the griddle.
If you have a gas stove, hold the chapati with a pair of tongs, and place it directly over the burner flame for a few seconds, until the chapati puffs up. Turn and repeat on the other side. (NOTE: This is much easier than it sounds, and offers the right finishing touch. — JS)
If you have an electric stove, keep the chapati on the griddle. With a wadded up paper towel to protect your fingers, press gently all around the chapati. Flip the chapati and press gently around the other side. This procedure should make the chapati puff up. (If you press too hard, the chapati will become too crunchy.)
Remove the chapati from the heat, and buter with ghee on the “right side.” (NOTE: Tastes great, but you don’t have to add the butter.)

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Tags: chapati, Indian cooking, mishloach manot, Old City, purim, seudah, Shushan Purim

Green Your Mitzvahs for the Jewish Holiday of Purim

March 9, 2009 - 12:11 AM by Karin Kloosterman · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Environment, History and Culture, Holidays

purim-schpiel

Purim, the Jewish holiday coming up this week, is a time for Jews to cut loose.

Some people will drink until there is no tomorrow (until you have no idea of how drunk you really are). But lot of people forget that there are to-do mitzvahs (good deeds) associated with the Purim holiday. Green Prophet decided to put together a small resource guide to give you some greener ideas for your Purim celebrations.

Let’s start with the basic mitzvahs.

They are:

1. The Reading of the Megillah (Mikra Megillah)
2. The Festive Purim Meal (Seudat Purim)
3. Sending Gifts (Mishloach Manot)
4. Gifts to the poor (Matanot l’Evyonim)

Megillah Reading
It’s permitted to work and drive on Purim, but how about you go to your friend’s house or synagogue by foot to read the Megillah? There is also the bus.

Also, we suggest if you are going to buy your own Book of Esther, consider buying one at a second-hand shop. I have one from the early 1900s, and it is simply a pleasure to read, because it looks and feels like it is from an ancient time, like the story of Queen Esther.

Festive Meal
Organic and fair trade food is a plenty over here in Israel. Consider a pot luck with some of your friends, or vegewarianism, proposed by Green Prophet’s Daniella. And while plastic dishes seem like the way too convenient way to go, please try and use real dishes that you can wash.

Getting Drunk:
While the getting drunk aspect of Purim is a custom and not obligatory, if you’re going to drink, you might as well do it in a sustainable manner. How about buying beer from the Dancing Camel brewery in Tel Aviv?

How about organic wine? Because after all, wine is supposed to be best.

Sending Gifts
Reusable baskets, but not the cheap plastic kind that everybody throws out, are a good vehicle for sending your gifts, traditionally ready-to-eat foodstuffs. Now is your chance to practice baking some of the recipes that Hamutal has provided for us. (It’s recommended to give 2 food items to at least 2 different people.)

Recipe Ideas:
Winter Applesauce Muffins
Make Biscuits With All That Whey
A Tomato Confit Recipe

Try some more ideas on eco-friendly baskets from the Jew and the Carrot. Or Loli Organic Sweets.

Gifts to the poor:
This basic mitzvah is sustainable by design. You can give money to a local food charity, to your synagogue or directly to a person in need. It’s advised to give to 2 or more people before Purim.

More Purim Resources:
Have a Healthy Sustainable Purim
Eating Organic Food At Reasonable Prices
Quick Eco-Purim Tips
Dancing Camel Brewery Activities
Winter Applesauce Muffins Recipe
Be a Vegewarian Instead of a Vegetarian
What’s In Your Mischloach Manot Basket?

[Image Credit: muchnikarts]

(This post first appeared on Green Prophet)

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