Shabbat morning. Pestelas, sesame-seed topped pastry filled with pine nuts, meat and onion, are also traditional. Sambusak is a semicircular pocket of dough filled with mashed chickpeas, fried onions and spices associated with Sephardic Jewish cuisine. According to Gil Marks, an Israeli food historian, sambusak has been a traditional part of the Sephardic Sabbath meal since the 13th century. Passover Sephardi and Ashkenazi cooking differs substantially on Passover due to rabbinic rulings that allow the consumption of kitniyot, a category which is forbidden to Ashkenazi Jews. Sephardi Jews prepare charoset, one of the symbolic foods eaten at the Passover seder, from different ingredients. Whereas charoset in Ashkenazi homes is a blend of chopped apples and nuts spiced with wine and cinnamon, Sephardi charoset is based on raisins or dates and is generally much thicker in consistency. Mina (known as scacchi in Italy) is a Passover meat or vegetable pie made with a matzo crust. Rosh Hashana At the beginning of the evening meals of Rosh Hashana, it is traditional to eat foods symbolic of a good year and to recite a short prayer beginning with the Hebrew words yehi ratson ("May it be Your will") over each one, with the name of the food in Hebrew or Aramaic often presenting a play on words. The foods eaten at this time have thus become known as yehi ratsones. Typical foods, often served on a large platter called a yehi ratson platter, include: Apples dipped in honey, or baked or sometimes in the form of a compote called mansanada Dates Pomegranates, or black-eyed peas Pumpkin, in the form of savory pumpkin-filled pastries called rodanchas Leeks, in the form of fritters called keftedes de prasa Beets, usually peeled and baked Head of a fish, usually a fish course with a whole fish, head intact It is also common to symbolize a year filled with blessings by eating foods with stuffing on Rosh Hashana such as a stuffed, roasted bird or a variety of stuffed vegetables called legumbres yaprakes. Yom Kippur Customs for the first food eaten after the Yom Kippur fast differ. Iranian Jews often eat a mixture of shredded apples mixed with rose water called faloodeh seeb. Syrian and Iraqi Jews eat round sesame crackers that look like mini-bagels. Turkish and Greek Jews sip a sweet drink made from melon seeds. Hanukkah Sephardic Hanukkah dishes include cassola (sweet cheese pancakes), buñuelos (puffed