Chanukah time is a special time of year. To celebrate the miracle of the lights, cooking food in oil has always been a tradition. In the US, it is customary to have latkes (potato pancakes) while in Israel the fried jelly doughnuts are the rage.
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 tbls. margarine, melted
Oil for frying
Powdered sugar for frosting
Jam for filling
Activate yeast with warm water and sugar.
Mix in flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and margarine.
Knead dough on floured surface for 5 minutes.
Let rise 1 1/2 hours.
Roll out dough and cut into circles.
Let dough rise 15 minutes and heat oil.
Deep fry, turning a couple of times, until golden brown (about a minute on each side).
Remove with slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels.
While warm, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Coat both sides.
Inject each doughnut with jelly.
Eat.
To inject the doughnuts with the Jelly, I used a syringe that I keep in my messy, everything else, kitchen drawer. It was much easier to use than poking each doughnut with the nozzle of a pastry bag, and a lot less messy.
This recipe makes about 20 sufganiot, depending on the size cup you use. Mine was about 2 inches in diameter.
I know that I said that each doughnut has few calories than their bigger brothers, but be careful. Make sure to have other people around to eat them with you because they can be addictive.