Knish

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A knish is an Eastern European snack food popular in Jewish communities. A knish consists of a filling covered with dough that is either baked or fried. Knishes can be purchased from street vendors in urban areas with a large Jewish population, sometimes on a hot dog stand.

In the most traditional versions, the filling is made entirely of mashed potato, ground meat, sauerkraut, onions, kasha (buckwheat groats) or cheese. More modern varieties of fillings feature sweet potatoes, black beans, fruit, broccoli, tofu or spinach.

Many a culture has its own variation on baked or fried dough-covered snacks: the Jamaican patty, the Spanish and Latin American empanada or Papa rellena and the South Asian samosa.

Knishes may be round or square/rectangular. They may be entirely covered in dough or some of the filling may peek out of the top. Sizes range from those that can be eaten in a single bite hors d'oeuvre to sandwich-sized knishes that can serve as an entire meal.