Egg Kichel

"What are we making today?" is the first thing I hear as the students pile into Room 201, for our Hebrew cooking elective. They've already been reminded to "Leerchotz et ha'yadayeem eem sabon" (Wash the hands with soap), and they're pulling up their shirtsleeves, recalling how in previous sessions the dough can often get sticky and messy. When I answer, "We're making egg kichel," their blank stares made me realize that an explanation is in order.

Kichel is the Yiddish word for "little cake" (i.e. cookies). Egg kichel was a recipe first developed in Lithuania. Evidentally, Lithuanians did not have as sweet a tooth as Poles or Russians, and preferred their pastries to be only slightly sweetened. Kichel, when prepared correctly, is hollow on the inside, with no sugar in the dough and only a sprinkle or two of sugar on its top (some recipes didn't even call for the sugar at all). In fact,the pastries are so light, that they were often called "Gornishtele" (little nothings, in Yiddish). Jews in Lithuania often served it for the kiddush ceremony following Shabbat services. It seems the men enjoyed dipping it in their wine before eating it.

For our classroom purposes, we kept the recipe very simple and since we have to bake four trays of cookies at one time, the kichel didn't have a chance to rise and become hollow inside. Nevertheless, the result was tasty, and the students had an excellent opportunity to practice the Hebrew vocabulary they've been learning over the past six sessions.

La'seem et sh'loshet ha'beitzeem l'toch ha'keara (Put the three eggs into the bowl)

Leetrof et ha'beitzeem maher maher (Beat the eggs very quickly)...

 Beat them 'til they're light and frothy!

Achshav, l'hoseef et ha'kemach, shemen, v'melach  (Now, add the flour, oil, and salt)

L'arbev et ha'kol be'yachad (Stir it all together)

La'seem et ha'batzek al ha'tavneet eem kapeet  (Put the dough on the cookie sheet with a spoon)...

 ...ve'az le'taftef sookar al ha'batzek (and then sprinkle sugar on the dough)

Achshav zeh moochan la'seem ba'tanoor (Now it's ready to put in the oven)

 This session was the final one of our first round of Hebrew electives. We finished the session by having the children fill out a Hebrew elective choice form. Next week, all the fifth and sixth graders will attend a new elective for six sessions. Before we went to hafsaka, I had two more original recipes to share with the class, to see if they could identify the non-kosher ingredients - a recipe for Kashmiri Curried Lamb (yogurt and lamb together are not kosher!), and one for Chopped Liver. What a surprise for the students to learn that chopped liver was originally prepared in most European countries with pork liver and lard.

If anyone would like copies of one or more of the six recipes we prepared during these past six sessions, just contact Nathan in the office if you don't have my contact information. I'd be happy to send it (them) to you.