Lithuanian Kugelis Recipe

Asta walked into the kitchen and sniffed the air, taking in the familiar scent. “Ooh, are you making kugelis?!” she asked excitedly. “I am – I’m testing recipes. How do you make yours?”, I replied. Asta wrinkled her forehead in confusion. “What do you mean, how do I make mine? There’s only one way to make kugelis.” Alas, if only it were so.

Kugelis is a traditional potato pudding that is popular with Lithuanians all over the world. Along with cepelinai, it is one of Lithuania’s national dishes and is often served at celebratory occasions such as Christmas and Easter. Also known as bulvių plokštainis, which literally means “potato pie”, it is similar to Polish potato babka and a distant cousin of kugel, a Jewish dish which can be made with either chunky potato pieces or pasta.

Like all traditional dishes, recipes for kugelis vary widely both within Lithuania and across the world. The body is made with finely grated (almost puréed) raw potatoes which are usually seasoned and then moistened with steamed milk. Some people include meat, such as diced and fried bacon, chicken pieces, pigs’ feet or even pigs’ tails. Others prefer to leave out the meat. Some include eggs, which help to set the kugelis, making it easier to slice. Others prefer a softer, more pudding-like consistency and do not add eggs. Of the dozens of recipes I’ve reviewed and people I’ve spoken to, I can find little consistency beyond the grated potato.

Lithuanian National Meals. Kugelis With Pigs Ears Jigsaw Puzzle By Ausra Huntington Nee Paulauskaite

I‘ve been lucky to have kugelis made for me by a number of friends here in Lithuania. I’m not sure if it’s coincidence or perhaps just typical of our region, but all have made it with chicken pieces, usually on the bone, and without eggs. This is the kugelis I fell in love with. While testing recipes I tried several that included egg and can see the merits, principally aesthetically, of adding egg – it makes the pudding much easier to serve. Very little egg is needed to achieve this, so I have settled on using just one egg. I have opted to use boneless chicken as this is easier for serving and eating, but by all means use chicken on the bone if you prefer.

Traditionally, the potatoes for kugelis would have been grated with a flat wire grater or with the zesting side of a box grater. Many modern Lithuanian homes now have an electric grater, which perfectly pulverises pohttps://junesfoododyssey.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/lithuanian-kugelis-potato-pudding/?preview=truetatoes in a matter of seconds. If you don’t have an electric grater and don’t fancy grating by hand, you can use the fine grating/zesting disc of a food processor, or even just blend the potatoes with the main blade. The consistency may be a little grainy – more like tapioca than semolina, but the final taste will be the same.

Kugelis is a tasty and satisfying dish, particularly on a chilly day. Even if you’re not familiar with it I urge you to give it a try. How far wrong can you go with a dish of buttery roasted potatoes?!

Kugelis: A Traditional Lithuanian Potato Casserole Recipe

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Lithuanian Kugelis (potato Pudding)…

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Potato Pudding (kūgelis)

These Lithuanian-style doughnuts are light and airy and not at all cheesy! They do not require yeast and so are quick and easy to prepare. (View recipe)Let me say right up front that this recipe is an artery clogger. That is why I make it once or maybe twice a year tops. The recipe has its roots in my family history. I am of both Lithuanian and Polish decent, and this recipe comes directly from my Lithuanian heritage.

My grandmother (my mother’s mother) was a great cook. She was one of those cooks who could never give you a recipe since everything she made was by look and taste. So it was with this kugelis recipe. I’ve played around with it and have gotten it to just about the way my grandmother made it. But lets face it, no one ever made it like Grandma or ever will.

Before I go into my lessons learned I think it only fair to share some memories of my grandmother. She came on a boat from Lithuania when she was only 16. Her passage was paid for by the man she was to marry. It was an arranged marriage. I can’t even begin to imagine how, at that young age, she had to courage to travel by herself to meet a man she had never met and marry him. But she felt it was her way out of abject poverty.

Lithuania 🇱🇹 Kugelis

She got to the United States and immediately knew she did not want to marry this man. She was fortunate enough to meet another man she liked and convinced him to “buy-out” her marriage contract. He did and she wound up marrying him. They lived in Chicago which, at the time, had the largest Lithuanian population outside of Lithuania itself.

They were not rich by any stretch of the imagination and they had four children to feed. My mother told me there were times when my Grandmother went without food so the kids could eat. But they worked hard, watched their pennies and were finally able to make ends meet. They were the embodiment of the American dream but for a long time it was not easy.

Because they were so poor, my grandmother had to find ways to fill up the bellies of her kids while not spending a lot of money. A recipe like kugelis fit the bill. She could make good use out of a few potatoes, eggs, bacon and butter and turn them into a stick to your ribs kind of dish that would feed the whole family. In the end, she was noted for her kugelis and her home made bread, another inexpensive staple she made often during those times. I have not mastered her homemade bread and making bread from scratch is even trickier at high altitude, but I keep trying and someday I hope to post that recipe as well.

Traditional Lithuanian Potato Pudding Kugelis Recipe

Lesson Learned 1 – There is no one way to make kugelis: Just about every person of Lithuanian decent I’ve spoken to has their own family recipe for kugelis. And the ingredients can vary. Many recipes include onions (my grandmother did not use them), some recipes use condensed milk, (again, this recipe does not) and some do not use cream of rice or wheat (this recipe does). My point is there is not one full proof way of making kugelis. I am sharing the way my grandmother and mother made it.

Lesson Learned 2 – Use a little cream of rice or wheat: My grandmother used “farina” in her recipe. Farina used to be very popular when I was growing up but not so much now. As a substitute you can use either cream of rice or wheat. They are both a very creamy type of hot cereal and the little bit you use gives extra creaminess to the kugelis.

Lesson Learned 3 – Beat the eggs into submission: This is one of the tricks my mother taught me. You want your kugelis to be light and fluffy so you want a lot of air in your beaten eggs. You need to beat them for about 5-7 minutes with a hand mixer. I advise you not to guess when 5 minutes is up but to actually set a timer. You will not believe how long 5 minutes feels when you are beating those eggs. But you want a very airy consistency to the eggs as seen in

Kugelis: A Potato Pudding Recipe