Potato ku•gel: [koo-guh l, koo g-uh l] a baked casserole resembling a soufflé or pudding consisting primarily of potatoes, eggs and onions.

A little bit of history…

There's nothing quite like a steaming hot piece of potato kugel. Or kigel (k-eeee-gelle), depending on where you’re from. It is one of the few dishes that is appropriate for most Jewish festivals (including Pesach), served as an entree, side dish, dessert, hot or cold, day or night -- always a crowd pleaser. There are of course, other vegetable kugels: carrot, broccoli, pumpkin, corn, even apple (although I never understood eating a sweet apple kugel as a main dish). But the potato kugel is a classic. And now for a little bit of background on the famous, irrevocable kugel.  

The word “kugel” is German for “ball” (or cannonball), likely referring to the round and puffed up shape of the original kugel (now evolved into a square shape). Kugels were originally savoury and can be traced all the way back to 800 years ago in Germany where bread and flour were replaced with noodles and eventually eggs, were incorporated into the mixture. Jews used to cook the bread and flour mixture inside their beloved cholent stew, until they invented a new dish and cooked it separately.

Contrary to my original belief, it was noodles that were part of the original kugel, not potatoes. So when did potatoes come into the picture? Honestly, I haven’t found an answer yet – so please indulge us if you have any idea. I’m thinking somewhere along the lines of Pesach, where potatoes were a substitute for noodles, or simply because of the popular usage of the potato in Eastern European cookery.

Side note:

You might have also heard of the amusing yet derogatory term “kugel” to describe a South African materialistic young woman. I would advise against confusing the two.

And now for something completely different, check out this clip on how to make a potato kugel:

 http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Make-Potato-Kugel-215139641

Spot the Nutrition..

Did someone say potato? Believe it or not the potato is a vegetable. With it’s modest, lumpy appearance it has the ability to appear in a plethora of dishes. Hot chips, roast potato wedges, mashed potato, bangers and mash, fried potato, cold chips, potato soup, potato salad…It certainly deserves a notable mention. In addition to its abundance in Western cuisine, potatoes do have some nutritional benefits to offer as well (although I wouldn't promote a daily intake of hot chips). You may have heard of potassium. It commonly goes hand in hand with bananas, and is important for heart health and regulating blood pressure. Here is an interesting piece of information. One medium banana contains 422mg of potassium. Compare this to a boiled potato: 515mg of potassium, which turns out to be 18% of a females daily potassium requirements (2800mg). Indeed, the humble potato trumps the banana in its potassium content. As a side note, potassium is generally found in all fresh fruit and veggies, so if you include these in your diet you shouldn't have to worry about having a potassium deficiency.