Sfenj

History

Sfenj originated in Al-Andalus, otherwise known as Muslim Spain. According to legend, sfenj was created by mistake, when a baker accidentally dropped a ball of dough into a pan of hot oil. Sfenj was an important part of Andalusi culture, whose role was best summarized by a verse from a contemporary poet: "The sfenj bakers are worth as much as kings" ("سفاجين تحسبهم ملوكا").

It is unclear how sfenj first spread to the Maghreb, although it is said that it was well known to the Banumarin Dynasty who originated in the Aurès region of Algeria and who ruled Morocco from 1270 to 1465. It also spread to France during the 13th century, where it inspired beignets.

Though sfenj comes from Al-Andalus, most bakers and sellers of sfenj in the Maghreb have traditionally been Amazigh (Berbers). The nomadic Amazigh are thought to have spread sfenj throughout the Maghreb aided in that by merchants who traveled across the region.

Dedicated sfenj bakers, called sufnāj (سفناج), soon appeared throughout the Maghreb, attesting to the dessert's popularity. Sufnājeen (plural of sufnāj) became central figures in the social life of Maghrebi neighborhoods, as they interacted with almost every household in their community every morning, and working as a sufnāj was considered a respectable career. In a traditional sfenj bakery, the sufnāj (and their large circular fryer) sit on an elevated platform, raised slightly above the rest of the bakery, which is already raised more than a meter off the ground. Customers surround this platform and try to catch the sufnāj's attention to place their orders by raising their hand at him or her in a manner reminiscent of the Nazi salute and shouting. For this reason, sufnājeen are often nicknamed "Hitler" (هتلر).

Traditional sufnājeen are quickly going extinct in the modern Maghreb, as a result of the rise of industrial bakeries and the proliferation of sfenj recipes over the Internet.

Sfenj were only sweetened with sugar starting in the 18th century, even though sugarcane has been widely cultivated in the Arab world since the 8th century. Before that, they were sweetened with honey or syrup, or simply served plain.

Sfenj in Israel

Sfenj entered Israeli culture before 1948, as Maghrebian Jews brought it with them when they immigrated to Mandatory Palestine. Sfenj quickly became popular for Hanukkah, as it is easy to prepare at home. However, sfenj's ease of preparation contributed to its loss of popularity in Israel. During the late 1920s, the Histadrut, Israel's national labor union, pushed to make the jelly-filled sufganiyah the traditional food of Hanukkah. Making sufganiyot well can only be done by professional bakers, and the Histadrut wanted sufganiyot to supplant easyly home-made latkes (potato pancakes) in order to secure jobs for Jewish bakers. Their effort was successful: by 2016, Israel's 7 million Jews were eating 20 million sufganiyot per year, while few Israelis of non-Moroccan origin eat sfenj. More Israeli Jews report eating sufganiyot for Hanukkah than fasting for Yom Kippur.

Varieties

In addition to ordinary sfenj, there are two special varieties of sfenj, not counting the different toppings (honey, syrup, and sugar) sfenj can have:

• Sfenj matifiyya (السفنج المطفية), sfenj that is pounded flat and then fried a second time.
• Sfenj matifiyya bil-baydh (السفنجة المطفية بالبيض), sfenj matifiyya with an egg added before refrying.

In language

Sfenj's importance to Moroccan culture is reflected in several idioms in Moroccan Arabic, including:

• "Give someone a sfenj and he'll say it's ugly" (صاب سفنجة وقال عوجة), meaning "do not judge a book by its cover" or "do not bite the hand that feeds you."
• "As if hitting a dog with a sfenj" (ابحال إلى ضربتي كلب باسفنجة), meaning a futile or Sisyphean endeavor, especially an act of pointless petty revenge (because if someone hits a dog with a sfenj, the dog will eat and like it).
• "Demanding oil from a sufnāj" (اطلب الزيت من سفناج), meaning "taking from the needy" (because a sufnāj—a sfenj baker—uses large amounts of cooking oil).