How to cook mamalyga from corn grits: recipes, cooking features and reviews

There are many dishes of corn grits. Suffice it to recall the Italian polenta, Ukrainian kulesha, Hutsul banosh, Georgian gomi, Abkhaz abysta, Mexican tomalito, Romanian and Moldavian mamalyga. The recipes of this unusually tasty, dense and hearty porridge differ not only in the way of cooking, but also in the composition of the ingredients. But one component remains unchanged. These are crushed corn grains.

The cooking time of the porridge will depend on how finely the grinding is. But mamalyga from cereals is considered the most authentic. Although it is cooked from flour much faster. In Moldova, at any food store you can buy several types of corn grits - coarse, medium and fine grinding. In Romania, four types of chop are distinguished, and the fifth is flour. In this article we will tell you how to cook mamalyga from corn grits. Recipes and tips, as well as photos of dishes and culinary reviews will be presented below.

Interesting facts about mamalyga

Corn grits have firmly entered the national cuisines of many European countries. But a knowledgeable person may wonder: did hominy, polenta, banosh, homi existed before the discovery of America by Columbus? After all, corn, like potatoes, tomatoes, beans and much more, is an “overseas” culture. It was brought to Europe by the Spaniards in the 16th century. But in Moldova they have long been preparing mamalyga. They just made it from millet.

The new product turned out to be more delicious and satisfying. As potatoes replaced turnips for Russians and Ukrainians, so corn overshadowed millet. The etymology of the word “mamalyga” is still unclear. It is believed that two designations were combined here: malica - the crown, and melega - maize. But the "corn wreath" is not a simple mess. Mamalyga can be made like bread, that is, to darken to such a state that it can be cut into pieces. For a side dish it is cooked a little thinner. On the basis of Hominy, they prepare many dishes of Moldavian and Romanian cuisine. From porridge make balls with filling inside and fry them in oil. Stuffed cabbage is also stuffed with it.

How to cook mamalyga from corn grits

Consider the general features of cooking this delicious and nutritious dish. Although mamalyga is called porridge, it cannot be cooked according to the principle of the remaining cereals - rice, buckwheat, etc. Mamalyga differs not only in bright corn taste, yellow color, but also in consistency. It looks, rather, not like porridge, but like viscous cooked dough. If it is prepared as bread, then cut into pieces with a special wooden knife or waxed thread.

The necessary kitchen utensils for cooking mamalyga are a stirring stick. She is in any Moldovan house. But you can use a wooden spoon with a long handle and a not very wide blade. All experienced culinary experts in reviews recommend taking medium-sized or finely ground grits for mamalyga. Before cooking, you need to dry it in the oven over low heat or fry in a dry pan until a characteristic odor appears. Groats prepared in this way will become more saturated aroma and taste. In addition, it will come out in bright yellow.

The classic corn grumble recipe

In reviews, wise experience cooks recommend using a thick-walled cauldron. In Romania, such a cast iron is called ceaun. An ordinary pan for mamalyga will not work, because viscous porridge will have to be cooked for a very long time. The dish of Moldavian cuisine is of three types. Lean mamalyga has long been the food of the poor. It was also prepared in those days when it was forbidden to eat a fast-food. Mamalyga can also be cooked in milk (or even sour cream, like the Hutsul banosh) and meat / chicken broth.

Let's look at the first option. This recipe is considered the most authentic for Moldavian cuisine. What are the ingredients needed for a classic hominy? Water, salt, butter and, of course, finely ground corn grits. It is important to strictly adhere to the proportions. All culinary experts say this. Do not measure water “by eye”. Proportions of cereals to liquid should be one to three.

Step by step recipe

Mamalyga on the water is an extremely budget dish. But in order to properly weld it, you need to work hard:

1. We measure a glass of cereal and send it to the oven or to a dry frying pan.
2. We take a cast iron and fill it with three glasses of water. It is better to measure the liquid in the same capacity as the cereal.
3. We put the cast iron on a big fire. As soon as the water boils, salt it to your taste.
4. Reduce the fire. We look forward to boiling again.
5. Fried or oven-dried cereals are introduced in a thin stream through a sieve to prevent lumps from sticking together.
6. We work immediately with both hands: in the left we hold a stirring stick, with which we always make circular movements in the same direction. So, without stopping wielding with a spoon, for half an hour or forty minutes we prepare a mamalyga.

Cook cornmeal porridge faster. She will be ready in 20-25 minutes. Cooking time for mamalyga depends on how thick you want to bring it. But you will see that the liquid has not yet completely evaporated. You need to reduce the fire to a minimum or put the cast iron in a heated oven. But the last option is not too desirable, since you will not have the opportunity to stir in the cauldron. And you need to wield a wooden stick without stopping. Corn grits have great potential to stick together and burn.

Mamalyga feed

Soon you will see that the liquid has completely evaporated. Continue to simmer porridge over low heat until, when stirring, the whole mass will stick to the wall of the cauldron. We can assume that the dish is almost ready. Now you know how to cook mamalyga from corn grits on water. But how to serve it?

As we recall, butter is on the list of ingredients in the dish. It can be melted, but this is not necessary. We take a flat dish and turn the casserole upside down on it. A properly cooked hominy must slip into a plate without a “hitch”. Moreover, porridge will retain the shape of the cauldron. You can pour mamalyga with melted butter. Or, make a cut at the top and put in pieces of cold product.

Serve the dish to the table. In separate bowls, spread the feta cheese or cracklings. Mamalyga on water with sour cream is very tasty. You can cut the porridge into slices, put in a deep plate and pour milk. Such a “soup” is very popular among children. If mamalyga is boiled to the state of bread, a harsh thread is put at the bottom of the dish. Having thrown out the contents of the pot, take it and pull it from the bottom up, cutting the porridge into pieces.

Mamalyga on milk

There is another way of cooking, more festive. Water is supplemented with milk, which makes the porridge taste creamier. But the method of preparing this option is different from the previous one. Let's look at how to cook mamalyga from corn grits in milk.

1. We put a cup of milk in a thick-walled cauldron to boil.
2. We send 2 cups of small cereals to fry in a dry pan.
3. When the milk boils, add 2 cups of boiled water into it. We wait until the foam reappears on the surface of the liquid.
4. Slightly salt and pour a thin stream of groats. Once we mix and reduce the fire to a minimum.
5. Now we wait until the corn section swells and turns into one lump. A certain amount of liquid will still remain. This is not scary.
6. Remove the saucepan from the fire, take a crush for mashed potatoes and start stirring the croup with it so that there is not a single dry piece left. Gradually, porridge absorbs all the liquid and becomes soft and supple.
7. Add butter to mamalyga. We put the saucepan under the lid on minimum heat for a quarter of an hour. The dish is ready.

Hominy like bread

To make a thick, porridge-like dough, porridge, it is best to take cornmeal, not cereal. How to cook mamalyga from this product?

1. First, 400 g of flour are dried in the oven. We boil five glasses (1.25 L) of water in a cast iron.
2. Pour flour through a sieve in a thin stream, stirring everything with a wooden stick with the other hand. The liquid should boil slightly, without boiling.
3. Continuously interfere for half an hour. Then we make the fire minimal.
4. So weary porridge for another 20 minutes.
5. Wet an iron spoon in water. Separate the porridge from the walls and, if possible, from the bottom of the pot.
6. Let Mamalyga stand on fire for a couple of minutes.
7. We shift to a dish, cut with a wooden knife or a harsh thread. Serve with cracklings, fried in butter, onions and feta cheese.
   

Hominy as a side dish

Above, we examined recipes for preparing an independent dish (cereal) and an analogue of bread. But in Moldavian cuisine there is also a side dish for meat or fish from corn grits. How to cook mamalyga for such purposes? They make it on the same principle as porridge. Only instead of water take a broth in which meat, chicken or fish was cooked. The proportions of liquid and cereals remain the same.

Mammaligi culture

Hand food is not always a sign of bad manners. We already know how to cook mamalyga from corn grits. Now consider how it is right. There are two ways to consume porridge. First: chop the feta cheese in a plate, put a mamalyga and a piece of butter on top. The second way: take pieces with your hands, seize cheese, mushroom gravy or sour cream. Mamalyga, boiled to the state of bread, is just so eaten.