White Poppy Seed Filling for Homentashn

Well, you are probably not planning to make homentashn in the immediate future, but you can keep this filling in mind for next year, or you can use it to fill something like a poppy seed strudl, or you could mix it into some muffin batter. I admit I made white poppy seed filling the first time only because I thought it would be so cool that no one else made them, or could guess what they are, but I have become very fond of the particular mildly bitter flavor of white poppy seeds, and I just can’t keep them to myself. White poppy seeds are a bit smaller and softer than the blue-black variety, so you can feel free to use them without grinding them first.

I first came across white poppy seeds in Indian cookery. You can use them in sweets like this White poppy seed halwa or mysore gasagase payasa (Poppy seed porridge), or combine them with spiced potatoes for this breathtaking aloo posto.

White Poppy Seed Filling for Homentashn

7 ounces (200 g, about 1 ½ cups) white poppy seeds

1 cup whole milk

½ cup white raisins

½ cup honey

3 white or green cardamom pods

a bit of grated orange and lemon zest

Grind the poppy seeds in a spice-grinder, or a coffee mill, or, if you are the coolest human being on earth, in one of those adorable little hand-turned poppy seed grinders. If you don’t have any kind of grinder, just use the poppy seeds whole. Cook the seeds in a saucepan along with the milk, honey, raisins, cardamom and citrus zest (I had to do without citrus zest this year, and it was still very good). Cook, stirring for several minutes, and set aside to cool and rest overnight.

Remember how many cardamom pods you added and take all of them out before filling the homentashn.

Something interesting happened this year. I had exactly, but exactly, the right amount of dough and filling. I think that may have happened once before in my life, and I have made a lot of homentashn. Oh, wait. Now I am vaguely recalling that this is not supposed top be a good omen at all. Something like we always need to have something left over so we don’t die.

See Sweetnicks for more antioxidant-rich treats, to keep us alive in spite of our folkloric incompetence.

Are poppy seeds kitniyes (kitniot)? The web consensus seems to be “no, but. Or maybe yes.”

Food and Drink, Recipes, Cooking, Food, Vegetarian, vegan, antioxidant-rich foods, white poppy seeds, homentashn, hamentashn, hamentashen, Purim

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