What do you put in YOUR cholent?

Mrs Bissli

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 4:30 pm

Base: lots of sautéed onions, almost caramelised. Also sautéed chopped celeries (supposed to reduce gassiness) esp if I'm using beans other than chickpeas.
Grain: I usually use wheatberries (soaked overnight before). Doesn't get mushy as barley.
Beans: I usually use chickpeas. Sometimes mix of chickpeas and butter beans.
Potatoes: sometimes I omit completely. Sometimes a few sweet potatoes in big chunks.

Meat: As much as I like meaty cholent, no one in the family eats leftovers. So unless I have a large company who love (meaty) cholent, my default option is to place 2-3 tivali frozen burgers on top right before Shabbat, then break up into bits before serving. As much as we love hamin eggs, I usually cook them separately with teabags, cinnamon, salt, and (of course) onion skin.

Seasoning: Loads of paprika. Some cumin, allspice, a teasp or so of harissa (which doesn't make cholent spicy). 1-2 dates. Onion soup mix, salt & pepper.
Sometimes I may use guiness (esp if I'm making meaty). I have heard of people using small amount of Kal Kugel for colour, but I don't find it necessary.

rachel6543

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 4:35 pm

I make more of a beef stew than cholent.

Sauté onions, carrots, tomatoes in olive oil. Put bottom of crock pot. Add potatoes, beef buillion cube ( or beef broth). Add Italian spices to taste. Add 1 cup good red wine. A package of Stew beef and it's good to add beef or lamb bone. Cover with water to top. Shabbos morning I add more hot water as needed. Great to serve with rice pilaf.

dee's mommy

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 7:56 pm

Bottom layer: sliced onions
Second layer: meat (stew or otherwise)
Third layer: beans (kidney, and sometimes lima beans
Fourth layer: barley
Then I add spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika
Fifth layer: slices of peeled sweet potato.

Then I add water, and place eggs on top.

Sometimes I do a chicken cholent, which includes rice and chic peas.

UQT

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 10:20 pm

Creative Cusine in the Yated recently ran 4 cholent recipes. I tried them out and on the second try struck gold. I would never imagine the measurement of spices that she had. I usually put in a dash of everything - would never have the guts to throw so much in but it really works.

She has 1 teaspoon of onion powder, garlic, 1 1/2 tbsp. of paprika, 3/4 tsp. of black pepper, 4 tsp. of salt and shake of red pepper. Also included is some honey and 2 Tbsp of ketchup.

It's really delicious (for some strange reason better Friday than Shabbos) but I'm thrilled that after 14 years I am making a super cholent.

Soul on fire

Mon, Oct 07 2013, 12:31 am

I'm pretty lazy when it comes to cholent but have found a lazy cholent that we like,

Goya brand 16 bean dry soup bean mix (this is by far the best tasting mixture of beans for cholent)
barley
a whole onion quartered
a few cloves of garlic
some sort of meat
a few potatoes, quartered or diced
water
ketchup

when I have time I make and add kishke or sometimes I buy premade.

I used to add all kinds of stuff and take the time to pre saute things, but I don't anymore and this taste better than that did anyway.

checkbefore

Mon, Oct 07 2013, 1:41 am

I get rave reviews for my chulent! Especially after I started only using Cheek meat!
1-2 cans whole potatoes
Cheek meat (very soft)
1 Tb onion powder
1/2 c barley
1 c chulent bean mix
1/2 c red kidney beans
2-3 marrow bones
1 Tb garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tb paprika
Two figure-eights of ketchup
Two rings of honey around the pot
Add water to cover plus more. Set on high (I put it up Friday morning) throw in kishke and jachnun. Turn to low before shabbos.

Laughing Bag!

Mon, Oct 07 2013, 2:35 am

I don't have a recipy

I put in beans, kidney, navy, and pinto about 1 1/2 cups cooked
one potato cut into chunks
1 tsp + of garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, papprika, hot chilli powder (not hot but great flavor ) and salt
one tablespoon of onion soup mix
dash of white pepper
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes
water to cover plus
I put it on high till zman then low (crockpot )
add cholent meat when I lower heat before the zman (flanken, goulash, marrow bones... 1 or more)
I put a piece of potato kugel and kishke too before zman

whoever eats my cholent loves it bh!

mom2dkay

Tue, Oct 08 2013, 12:20 am

Laughing Bag! wrote:

add cholent meat when I lower heat before the zman (flanken, goulash, marrow bones... 1 !

You might want to check this out, I may be wrong, but I think the food has to be partially cooked before the zman of shabbos. Is this precooked meat?

shanie5

Tue, Oct 08 2013, 7:01 am

mom2dkay wrote:

Laughing Bag! wrote:

add cholent meat when I lower heat before the zman (flanken, goulash, marrow bones... 1 !

You might want to check this out, I may be wrong, but I think the food has to be partially cooked before the zman of shabbos. Is this precooked meat?

This is true. The food has to be cooked at least 1/3 (or maybe 2/3) before shabbos. However, there is a heter to put the chulent up immediately before shabbos-totally uncooked. It is a bedi-eved IIRC. My dh and bil had this discussion at the shabbos table-but that was over 20 years ago-so dont rely on this.

chocolate chips

Tue, Oct 08 2013, 4:41 pm

Fry onions
add cubed potatoes and rinsed barley. mix.
salt, pepper, paprika, bit corn syrup, kethcup/chili sauce and cover with water.
If I add meat I add it after it boils.

This week I want to try adding quinoa.

Oh and I don't use any other kind of beans because they make me extremely gassy and stomach aches due to IBS.

cinnamon

Sun, Oct 13 2013, 5:15 am

Frum wrote:

Someone wrote she adds water to the cholent on shabbos. How is this allowed?

Afaik you are allowed to add boiling water from kli rishon to you cholent pot that is on the blech (kli rishon) if it was completely cooked befor shabbos.

In addition to what was mentioned I add franks to my cholent - It's my kids' favorite part of the shabbos meal.

anuta

Sun, Oct 13 2013, 12:17 pm

My cholent is very good.

I have a large crockpot. The key is adding enough liquid in the beginning, my new crockpot is hotter than the old one and I had to play with it a while until I figured out how much liquid to add so my cholent doesn't have any burned bits and is the right consistency at the end. We like soupy.

I put in some meat (it is usually a few raw chicken pieces, or four whole italian sauceges, not cooked - not hot dogs though; could be cubed beef too....)
I add about a cup or a bit more total of beans, I like to mix large lima beans and red kidney beans, dry. I also add about a third of cup of barley, and about a third of cup of lentils or yellow split peas. I usually ad one peeled chopped regular potato too, or especially good if you take several (four or so) fingerling potatoes and slice them into rounds, with skin on. Then I add a can of tomato sauce (either 8 oz or 14 oz, whatever I have on hand), and a halved whole onion. I add water to within about an inch of the top of my crockpot (it will look like too much water). The only seasoning I add is kosher salt.
Then I put it on low before shabbat. It is ready by lunch.
When I take it off and get ready to serve, I take out the meat (either sausage or chicken pieces), remove skin from chicken pieces and take it off the bone, slice into bite size pieces and return to the cholent. I take out the onion.