Kugel is baked Jewish pudding or casserole, very similar to pie. The name “kugel” refers to the shape of this dish – it was originally ring-shaped. Today, most of the kugels we eat are made in square pans.
It is usually baked with egg noodles or potatoes. Sometimes cooks make kugel of apples, spinach, broccoli, cranberry, or sweet potato.
Jewish people usually serve kugel on Shabbat and Yom Tov. The original recipe for kugel is quite different from the one cooks use today. First kugels were made from bread and flour, and they tasted seasoned and salted rather than sweet.
Today, kugels are made with the addition of cottage cheese and milk, raisins, cinnamon and sweet farmer’s cheese. Some cooks combine caramelized sugar and black pepper in kugel, while the others make savory dishes with potatoes, matzah, cabbage, carrots, zucchini, spinach or cheese.
Experimenting with ingredients
Kugel is a delicious dish, but it usually contains low levels of cholesterol, fat and sugars. However, there are many deliciously healthy twists on traditional potato kugel. To prepare a healthy version one should stick with gluten free ingredients and replace the sugar with a healthy substitute. One may use fruits or fruit juice, brown sugar and any other healthy ingredient he may like. There are also some surprisingly light and quite healthy vegetable kugel recipes. This dish freezes very well and it may be used anytime for lunch, as a side dish or even for breakfast. It is brown and crispy on the top and tender inside so that it tastes great the next day, too.
Best Healthy Kugel
To cook this tasty healthy dish one will need 8 ounces of almost completely cooked and drained noodles, ½ cups of egg replacement or 4 egg whites, 2 beaten eggs, ½ cup of canola oil, 2 cups of sugar free apple sauce, ½ cups of raisins or a cup of a fruit mix, 2/3 to ¾ cup of sugar, ¼ tsp of cinnamon and ½ tsp of salt.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and grease or use a cooking spray on a 13-inch baking pot. Blend noodles, egg replacement, eggs, oil, apple sauce, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a big dish. Transfer the mixture into pan. In another small bowl mix a bit of cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of the kugel. Bake the dish for approximately 45 minutes. When the kugel turns brown, the meal is ready. Let it cool for a while and serve.
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