Hanukkah food Clarissa Hyman Those with a fear of frying need read no further. Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, is celebrated with gifts, games - and fried foods galore.

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Hanukkah celebrations Food and drink traditions

Latkes Recipes

'Tis the season to turn off the smoke alarms, light the lights and burn, bubeleh, burn. Well, perhaps not literally, although a few carbonised offerings are a natural hazard of frying potato latkes, doughnuts and fritters, the traditional dishes of the Jewish winter festival of Hanukkah.

The date of the festival is based on the lunar calendar but usually falls near enough to Christmas for the festivities to dovetail to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the secular/religious inclinations of individual households. In 2008, Hanukkah begins on 21 December.

Although Hanukkah is not one of the main Jewish holidays, it's a time of family celebration with gifts and games. It recalls the heroic, three-year struggle by the Maccabees in Judea to defeat the tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes. The story goes that when the former came to rededicate the Temple in 165 BC, only enough pure olive oil could be found to burn in the sacred menorah (candelabrum) for one day. Miraculously this small amount continued to burn for eight days and nights until fresh supplies were pressed and consecrated.

Ever since, Jews all over the world light candles on a nine-branched menorah, or burn small cups of oil, in increasing numbers each night, eat a variety of fried foods and argue about whether the festival of lights commemorates military victory and national self-assertion or a religious miracle of hope and faith.

One of the most colourful traditions used to take place in Russia. In the Flaming Tea Ceremony, glasses of tea were served along with brandy and large sugar lumps chipped from the cone. The sugar was dipped into the alcohol, and placed on a spoon. As the lights were dimmed, the sugar was set alight with a taper passed from person to person, and dropped into the waiting glasses.

More commonly, Sephardic Jews specialise in a variety of desserts and sweetmeats, based on a theme of yeasty puffs, rounds or fritters dipped in sugar syrup scented with rose or orange-flower water or drizzled with honey, from the Greek loukomades to the Persian and Iraqui coiled zelib, Moroccan beignets and the little Libyan sfenz. Jews of Spanish and Portuguese descent favour bimuelos sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

In Israel, the whole country goes sufganiyot-mad. We're talking great balls of oil and sugar. These golden-brown, jam doughnut siblings are sold everywhere; you can practically smell the haze of fried oil seeping through the crisp winter air as everyone queues up to purchase them by the dozen.

In the Eastern European Ashkenazi tradition, however, the definitive Hanukkah food is fried potato latkes (pancakes). Although eaten year-round, conspicuous consumption peaks at this time. It's a mixed blessing for the Jewish cook as the ritual of peeling, grating, mixing and slinging spoonfuls of batter into hot, spluttering oil is truly a labour of love.

As all latkologists know, the test of a good latke is the returnability factor - are they so good you want to return for more?

You emerge from the kitchen shiny, sweaty and limp. Your knuckles are raw and bloody from grating the potatoes, eyes reddened by onion tears. Recipients then traditionally offer a point-by-point analysis on whether the latkes are too big/too small; too thin/too thick; too crisp/not crisp enough; too stodgy/too soggy. But, as all latkologists know, the test of a good latke is the returnability factor - are they so good you want to return for more? With such pressing need for second opinions, one batch is never enough.

No one argues over the best accompaniments to a latke - sour cream (of course) and apple sauce - which is a relief as we are all hungry again and ready for another batch.

Latkes can be made with any variety of vegetable from beetroot to courgettes and carrots. For traditionalists, however, the potato will always be at the heart of things. Whichever way you make them, the latkes and doughnuts are edible reminders of the miracle of survival. Which is why everyone's frying at Hanukkah.

Clarissa Hyman is the author of The Jewish Kitchen (Conran Octopus).

Get frying with these recipes, in celebration of Hanukkah or at any time of the year.

• Sfenz (Libyan Hanukkah doughnuts) by Clarissa Hyman from The Jewish Kitchen
• Potato latkes (Potato pancakes) by Clarissa Hyman from The Jewish Kitchen
• Pineapple fritters à la Célestine by Clarissa Hyman from The Jewish Kitchen

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