Hominy. Recipe from corn grits, flour in Moldavian, Abkhazian, Georgian in a slow cooker, pot, oven with cheese, feta cheese, suluguni. Photo

Posting in the group: Main courses

Mamalyga is a national Moldovan dish made from steeply brewed corn flour. In the classic recipe, the dish is usually served with feta cheese and finely chopped pork fritter. The earliest mention of hot food was back in 1693, when in the Moldavian principality peasants were cultivating corn fields.

This is the only culture that was not subject to tribute at that time by the Turkish occupiers. Later, the dish became national among the peoples of Romania and in the territory of Western Ukrainian settlements. In Romania, mamaliga is still served with feta cheese and sour cream. Sometimes, if there is no bread at the meal, they use hominy made from corn porridge.

Similar recipes can be found among the peoples of Georgia, Abkhazia and Ossetia. The Caucasian recipe differs from the traditional Moldovan one in that the ingredients use porridge or a corn flour base. Mamalyga should be served only hot, cutting it with waxed thread or a wooden knife. Along with it, meat in butter and cheese are served in a separate bowl. First you need to dip a piece of mamalyga in oil, and then in cheese. This way, the unsalted corn preparation will be tastier, and the meat can be eaten after consuming mamalyga.

Classic recipe with cornmeal

Mamalyga (a recipe made from corn grits is considered the national Moldavian dish) should be cooked together with meat. You can serve various additives with it. Depending on the base on which the mamalyga is cooked, the manner in which additional snacks are served depends.

Composition of ingredients

To prepare the classic hominy recipe you will need:

onions – 5 pcs.;
salt – 2 tsp;
water – 1.3 l;
corn flour – 500 g.

Hominy.
Corn grits recipe. If desired, you can omit the onions. Also, at the same time as the mamaliga, you need to prepare the pork fritter.

To prepare it you will need:

pork – 1.5 kg;
onions – 5 pcs.;
garlic – ½ head;
vegetable oil – 80 ml;
salt - to taste;
ground pepper – 1 tsp.

You can also grate sheep cheese to make the dish rich and piquant.

When choosing meat, you need to take into account the cooking technology:

Tenderloin	This part of the meat is suitable for frying cracklings.
Neck	It is ideal for cooking frittura in a frying pan or in the oven.
Brisket	Some of the meat can be grilled.
Connective tissues	They can also be baked in a slow cooker or in the oven.
Ground meat	Cooking or smoking are the 2 main methods of preparation.

In the classic recipe, the meat base will be pork neck.

Step-by-step cooking process

In the process of preparing mamalyga, the following steps must be followed:

Corn flour must first be sifted.
Boil water in a separate container, and after boiling, add corn flour to it.
The cereal should be added in a thin stream so that there are no lumps.
The porridge should be cooked for about 30-40 minutes.
When the hominy is ready, remove it from the heat and let it cool in the container in which it was cooked.

To ensure that the hominy can be easily removed, you need to use aluminum or cast iron dishes. Such a surface will allow you to naturally separate those layers that may have been burnt.

Meat preparation process:

The meat should be cut into pieces of 2-3 cm.
The onion should be chopped coarsely using a knife.
The garlic needs to be cut into slices; it is not advisable to crush it.
Place the pieces of meat in a frying pan with oil, which should be preheated.
Within 8 min. you need to fry all the pieces, stirring. If liquid appears, fry the pork until the juices have completely evaporated.
You need to add the onion to the meat and cook it for another 10-15 minutes until it turns golden brown.

When the onion is well stewed, the meat can be considered ready. You can add salt, spices, pepper and other seasonings to your taste to the finished dish.

What can I add?

During the cooking process, you can add spices, which must be prepared in advance - dried and finely chopped. It is not recommended to use any other flour instead of corn flour, otherwise the national dish will not turn out.

As a supplement you can use:

Ground paprika – dried red pepper should be ground in a blender. Drying should take place on a special wooden panel in the sun.
Cucumber brine - you can use it to prepare a starter for onions and garlic.
Instead of vegetable oil, you can use olive oil.

In the classic recipe, it is not customary to add any spices to meat. As an exception, you can only mix frittur with another type of meat if you have individual taste preferences regarding the choice of meat additive.

How to serve a dish

Mamalyga should be served on a wooden stand. Using a thread, you need to cut it off in parts. Along with corn porridge, you need to serve meat in oil, and in a separate bowl - sour cream, feta cheese and pickles. This dish is usually eaten with hands without utensils. Mamalyga needs to be soaked in oil, then dipped into a container with cheese. Then you can dip the piece back into the container with the meat. Homemade semi-sweet or semi-dry red wine should be served along with the national dish. As a purchased one, you can take “Bouquet of Moldova” or “Cahors”, diluting the latter with mineral water.

From corn flour

Time: 45 minutes.
Number of servings: 6 servings.
Calorie content of the dish: 445 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Moldavian.
Difficulty of preparation: easy.

The classic recipe for mamalyga made from corn flour has a minimum of ingredients, but a pronounced, colorful taste. It should be finely ground, then the porridge will turn out soft, similar to steamed bread. Before preparing a traditional dish, it needs to be dried in the oven. You can serve with grated cheese, cracklings, herbs or onions fried in butter.

Ingredients:

corn flour – 400 g;
water – 1.3 l;
butter – 2 tbsp. l.

Cooking method:

Salt the water and bring to a boil.
Pour flour through a sieve. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring.
Using a damp spoon, separate the porridge from the sides and simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened.
Shake the pot and present using a serving dish or board.

Mamalyga made from flour in Moldavian style

The usual hominy recipe does not involve adding spices. The main ingredients are corn flour and water.

Composition of ingredients

To prepare you will need:

water – 650 ml;
corn flour – 200-250 g;
salt – 1 tsp.

You can add sea salt for a richer taste. For this portion, you can add more salt so that the mamalyga does not turn out bland.

Step-by-step cooking process

The cooking process includes the following steps:

Corn flour must be pricked in advance in a frying pan without oil.
Next, you need to heat the cauldron by pouring water into it at the rate of 1 cup per 3 cups of flour.
You need to add salt to the water before it boils.
When the water almost boils, you need to add cereal in portions. The technology is the same as in the case of cooking semolina porridge. This way there will be no lumps.
In 20 minutes. the porridge will swell. At this point, you need to add another 50 g of corn flour, reducing the heat to low. This cooking technology will allow you to achieve a thick consistency.
The porridge should be cooked over low heat for another 40 minutes.
During this time, you need to constantly stir the porridge with a wooden spatula.

To remove the hominy, you need to take a damp wooden skewer. This will allow the mass to be pushed away from the edges without creating torn parts. When the bottom of the hominy comes out normally, you can wait another 5 minutes. bake it so that the edges of the future top are even. For quick cooling, hominy can be immersed in cold water for 3 minutes. After this, you need to transfer it to a wooden base.

How to serve a dish

Mamaliga made from corn flour according to the Moldavian recipe is always served as a main dish, and not as bread or a snack. Therefore, you should prepare a cold or hot appetizer for it. Meat, sauces, salads are suitable. This recipe option is not suitable as a substitute for bread.

Mamaliga in Georgian style in a slow cooker

Mamalyga (a recipe made from corn grits can be made in a slow cooker using the Georgian version of cooking the dish) is used in Georgian cuisine to replace bread and savory confectionery products. In the Caucasus, this is both porridge and bread, so for a more liquid consistency, you can prepare a second dish by adding more spices to it.

Composition of ingredients

To prepare Georgian mamaliga you will need the following ingredients:

Step-by-step cooking process

Step-by-step cooking process:

The lard needs to be cut into small pieces and melted in a slow cooker.
To melt lard, you need to select the “frying” mode and set the time to 10 minutes.
When the fat melts, you need to take out the cracklings. Melted lard should be poured into a separate container.
In the same bowl of the multicooker, without washing it, you can cook hominy. Pour water into it and add salt.
You need to add 1 tbsp to the water. l. melted fat.
Next, you need to set the “Soup” or “Steam” mode. You need to close the lid and set the time for 20 minutes.
When the water boils, add corn flour, stirring the mixture with a spoon.
Without closing the lid, you need to constantly stir the porridge.
To make the hominy thicker, you can set the “Pilaf” or “Porridge/Rice” mode, cooking the mass for 30-40 minutes. In this mode, you can close the lid without constantly disturbing the future dish.
The finished hominy needs to be laid out and given the correct shape while it is hot.
Once cool, you can transfer it to a serving rack or a nice plate.

You can serve hominy in 2 different versions.

How to serve a dish

While the hominy is still hot, you can decorate it with small pieces of cheese. The main thing is not to rub it or heat it in advance. The cheese should melt slightly so that the hominy is saturated with its smell. In the second case, the hominy can be cut with a thread, serving each piece separately with grated cheese. Also, each cut piece can be fried in advance in pork fat using “Frying” in a slow cooker. You can use fresh herbs and cheese for decoration.

Cooking porridge in a slow cooker

The easiest way to cook hominy is from corn grits in a slow cooker. This kitchen assistant will do almost all the work for you.

Compound:

0.5 kg corn grits;
1 tbsp. l. olive oils;
greenery;
salt;
feta cheese.

Preparation:

This is the set of simple products we will need.
Sift through the corn grits.
Place the prepared cereal in a multi-bowl and add hot water. It should cover about a finger of grain.
Salt, you can add a little ground pepper.
Add olive oil and set the “Porridge” option. Cook the mamalyga for 20 minutes.
Let's put the porridge on a cutting board in a way we already know.
Serve mamalyga with feta cheese and complement the dish with herbs. To improve the taste, add mushroom sauce or any other sauce of your choice.

Mamaliga in Abkhazian

In Abkhazia, mamalyga is a traditional bread.

As a rule, it is this that can be replaced with purchased products, just as store-bought bread replaces home-made freshly baked bread.

Composition of ingredients

For cooking you need the following products:

corn grits or finely ground flour – 250 g;
water – 500 ml;
melted butter or vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l.;
cheese “Suluguni” – 160 g.

The Abkhazian recipe differs from the Georgian one in that cheese is the main ingredient, and not an additional one to add taste or smell. As a result, the consistency should be more liquid, otherwise the hominy will become like bread, as in the classic Moldavian recipe.

Step-by-step cooking process

The cooking process includes the following steps:

In a separate container you need to boil water, adding salt and spices to it to taste.
In boiling water, turning the heat to low, add corn flour.
The porridge should be cooked for 5-6 minutes so that it does not turn out too thick.
Hominy cooked with flour should cook for about 8-9 minutes. If you need to use cereal, you should cook the porridge for 4-5 minutes.
Preheated butter should be added to the porridge, mixing the contents well.
Next you need to add cheese - at the cooking stage or after finishing.
If cheese is added during cooking, the porridge will turn out similar to cream cheese soup.
If you add cheese after cooking mamaliga, the dish will have a liquid consistency. It is best to add finely chopped or grated cheese if you choose the 2nd cooking option.
The container with hominy must be covered with a lid after finishing cooking.
After this, you need to put the container with porridge in the oven for 20 minutes. at a temperature of 150-160 degrees.

When finished, you can add a little more cheese as a garnish.

How to serve a dish

In addition to the main ingredient in the form of cheese, you can complement the dish with pickled cucumbers and homemade pickled mushrooms. Salty hominy can go well with semi-dry or sweet wine.

Mamalyga in clay pots

Mamalyga, cooked in a clay pot without enamel, is prepared on a creamy base. The base should be medium or coarse corn grits. For this recipe you will need a large pot volume - at least 1000 ml.

Composition of ingredients

List of ingredients for making creamy mamaliga:

water – 300 ml;
corn grits – 150 g;
salt - a pinch;
cream 10-15% – 100 ml;
melted butter – 2 tbsp. l.

Cream can be replaced with milk or kefir, but then the hominy will turn out more liquid and airy.

Step-by-step cooking process

Cooking process step by step:

Corn grits need to be soaked for 10 minutes. in water.
You need to pour 300 ml of water into the pot.
The water should be salted in advance.
Add corn grits to salted water.
The total volume of the mass should be such that the top does not reach the edges of the pot by about 1-2 cm.
Cover the pot of porridge with a lid and place it in the oven.
The dish should be baked at 200 degrees for 80 minutes.
After baking, you need to remove the pot, adding butter and cream to the porridge.
The resulting mass must be mixed and covered with a lid.
Within 5-7 minutes. The porridge swells, after which it can be served.

Mamalyga can be served as a snack along with other dishes.

How to serve a dish

Hominy can be decorated with oyster mushrooms stewed in sour cream sauce. As a dessert, you can use unsalted hominy, topping it with jam or preserves.

Mamalyga in the oven with cheese

Polenta with cheese - this is the name of hominy, cooked with cheese in the oven. This dish can be prepared according to recipes from different national cuisines.

Below is a universal option that can be made from cornmeal or grits.

Composition of ingredients

For preparation you will need the following ingredients:

corn flour – 450 g;
salt – 1 tsp;
cheese – 300 g;
sheep cheese – 200 g;
butter – 40 g;
water – 2 l;
parsley – 1 bunch;
vegetable oil – 60 g.

You need to boil water in advance and prepare all the ingredients by washing and cleaning them.

Step-by-step cooking process

The process of cooking hominy in the oven:

Add salt and vegetable oil to boiling water.
After this, you need to reduce the heat to low, adding a little corn flour.
When adding flour, you need to constantly stir the porridge so that lumps do not form.
The porridge needs to be cooked for 30-35 minutes. after pouring out all the flour.
Next you need to prepare the baking dish. It must be greased with oil and covered with parchment paper.
The paper needs to be filled with water - about 50 ml, so that the bottom is slightly saturated.
You need to put corn porridge on the water.
Place grated sheep cheese and cheese on top of the porridge.
You need to chop the parsley and sprinkle it over all the ingredients.
This “polenta” will turn out like Italian cheese pizza.
Bake the dish for 25 minutes. at a temperature of 200 degrees.

After baking, the hominy should be left in the oven until it cools.

How to serve a dish

Mamalyga (a recipe made from corn grits involves preparing polenta in the Italian style) with cheese and feta cheese tastes like pizza or lasagna without meat. Therefore, you can serve the main course with roast or warm salads. Hominy should be cut into large pieces with waxed thread before serving.

Basic Recipes

Knowing how to make hominy from corn grits or flour, you can seriously diversify your menu. After all, even the basis of the dish can be different. For example, Georgian mamaliga is most often prepared from white varieties of corn. For peoples located to the north and west, yellow grains are more common. Corn also comes in other colors, including reddish, purple, and almost black. All this can be used to create your own dishes, knowing the basic cooking recipe.

Simple hominy. Prepare corn flour or finely ground grits and clean water in a ratio of 1:3. For example, for porridge for 4 people, take 500 g of flour/cereals and 1.5 liters of water. Pour water into a cauldron or thick-bottomed pan and bring it to a boil. Add salt to taste (1 tsp is enough for the specified amount of ingredients). Add flour or cereal, stir, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken. Turn the heat to minimum, cover the brew with a lid and keep it like that for another 10-15 minutes. The porridge should simmer until it thickens completely. Turn off the stove, let the pan cool slightly, run a wet knife along the sides, shake and carefully turn over a dish or cutting board. The contents will fall out in a lump, which can be cut with a sharp thin knife.
Milk hominy. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Take a clay pot or other heat-resistant container. Pour in 1 cup of corn grits, pour in 2 cups of milk and 1 cup of water, add 1 tsp. salt. Stir. Cover the dish with a lid. Place in the oven for 40 minutes.

Mamalyga on sour cream with feta cheese

A dish made from corn flour based on a dairy product is more tender and airy. Sour cream can be 10% or 25% fat. The higher the fat content, the softer the consistency. A low-fat dairy product will produce a dietary, but “dry” hominy, similar to hardened bread.

Composition of ingredients

Ingredients for cooking:

corn flour – 500 g;
water – 900 ml;
sour cream – 400 g;
butter – 100 g;
sheep cheese – 50 g;
salt - to taste.

Water must be boiled in advance in an enamel bowl or cauldron.

Step-by-step cooking process

The process of preparing mamalyga with sour cream:

When the cauldron boils, you need to salt the water and add oil.
You need to dilute sour cream in water in portions, adding 1-2 tbsp. l., stirring the contents periodically. It should have a consistency similar to whey.
Sour cream and water should also be boiled for 20 minutes.
Then you should add corn flour, stirring the porridge periodically.
Within half an hour the mixture will become more viscous and thick. If the consistency is liquid, you need to cook the porridge until it has the texture of rich sour cream.
You can add feta cheese to the mamalyga during the cooking process, mixing all the ingredients.

When finished, you need to transfer the corn porridge to a separate container.

How to serve a dish

Mamalyga should be served on a hot stand, a wooden tray or a special dish with wide brims. You can put pieces of butter near it so that guests can use the hominy like bread. You can also serve jam, jam or cream cheese as a snack.

Mamaliga with suluguni cheese and fish with garlic

Another option for preparing mamaliga with corn-based cheese, which will appeal to lovers of sea and river fish. It is based on the preparation of hominy, fish and seasoning.

Composition of ingredients

Mamalyga (the recipe for corn grits will be based on the classic version of preparation, and the fish can be fried or smoked in advance and then baked with corn porridge) with fish can be prepared in 2 different stages - first you need to fry the fish, and then based on fish sauce cook hominy.

Ingredients for cooking:

corn flour – 350 g;
fish not very fatty – 1 kg;
Suluguni cheese – 150 g;
water – 500 ml;
garlic – 1 pc.;
vegetable oil – 100 ml;
ground black pepper - to taste;
salt - to taste.

First you need to cook the fish, then cook the hominy.

Step-by-step cooking process

Cooking process:

The fish needs to be cleaned and cut into several small pieces for subsequent frying.
Separately pour corn flour into a deep bowl.
Pour vegetable oil into a bowl.
Each piece of fish needs to be rolled in oil, then dipped in corn flour to make a batter.
Each piece of fish should be salted and peppered to taste.
Then you need to soak each piece of fish again in a container with oil before frying for 20-25 seconds.
The fish needs to be fried on both sides for 10-15 minutes.
There is already cornmeal in the container with oil. You need to add the rest to it, adding chopped garlic to the ingredients.
You need to pour water into the cauldron and boil it. The cheese should be diluted into it until a homogeneous mass is formed.
The resulting mixture of corn and butter should be placed in a cauldron filled with water and cheese.
Mamalyga needs to be cooked for 30 minutes. until fully cooked.

You can also separately prepare a dressing for hominy from butter, corn flour and garlic, mixing all the ingredients in equal parts.

How to serve a dish

Fried fish should be served along with hot mamaliga. It acts as a side dish. The sauce can be diluted with seasonings or spices. To prepare mamalyga, you can use only corn flour or grits, as well as various mixtures of ingredients in the form of milk, sour cream and cheese. Depending on the chosen recipe, an appetizer, side dish or main bread dish can be prepared. It is most convenient to cook porridge in a cauldron or pots - this way the corn dough will not stick to your hands. To bake, fill the pan with water. Then the hominy inside will be soft and juicy.

Instead of a conclusion without a title, you need to write useful tips, for example, life hacks, cooking secrets, what is more convenient to use when cooking, how to quickly complete this or that step, how to choose the right product in the store to make the dish tastier, etc.

“Mamalyga is both porridge and bread at once”

The brand chef of the Sakhli

«
Lilia Arutyunova-Medzmariashvili.
Where does corn come from in Georgia, how long has it been known there?

In fact, there is a version that corn came to Georgia through China in the 16th century, and only then to Russia. Before her, Georgians made everything from gomi grains that they now make from corn. For example, mamalyga came from gomi - yellowish grains. But gradually this agricultural crop began to be forgotten; it was replaced by corn. It is more unpretentious, gives more yield, and grows very well in subtropical places - these are Megrelia and Abkhazia. Moreover, in the western part of Georgia, corn grows huge, higher than three meters, and the cobs are more than 40 cm. Corn is yellow, and sometimes white. White is the most common. I remember when I was a child, yellow corn was even considered a delicacy.

Are corn dishes prepared according to the season?

No, because corn is dried, and in this form it can be stored until the next harvest. Corn is dried on the cobs; they break off the stalk very easily. Should be broken off with protective petals. They will be needed if we want to dry the cob as quickly as possible. To do this, we pull the petals to the base of the cob, braid them into a braid and hang them out to dry: both beautiful and effective.

Is flour made from dry grains?

Yes. The grains now fall out easily from the cob. They are collected in bags and taken to the mill. The best flour is obtained from a water mill; modern electric mills do not grind the same. Georgian corn flour, from which a huge number of dishes are made, is usually white. But chickens fed on corn grains turn out yellow and the best.

How to cook and what to eat with cornmeal bread?

Several dishes made from corn can be called bread, but there is no bread itself. And there are mchadi, corn cakes. They are prepared like this: flour is diluted with water, left to infuse, and then the dough is placed on a hot frying pan. Whenever a man left home to hunt, fish, or just for a few days, he took with him “dedisheli” (this means “mother’s hand”) - homemade mchadi, which his mother baked for him and left a trace of her palm on it. Proper mchadi is baked on stones, in bukhara - this is something between a fireplace and a stove. And of course, under no circumstances do we put any yeast in the dough or any oil in the frying pan! This will catastrophically ruin the product! Unfortunately, the urban version of mchadi is now almost always cooked in oil... Mchadi is eaten with anything: with suluguni, with meat, with pkhali, lobio - it’s really like bread. But mamalyga is also bread.

Isn't hominy porridge?

Mamalyga is a Georgian national main dish and was prepared even before corn was brought into the country. In Georgian, mamalyga is called “gomi” - after the name of the seeds, which I have already talked about. Mamalyga is both porridge and bread at once. She is always present on the table and always at the right hand of a person. It must be dipped into the dish you are currently eating. At least in the first, at least in the main, in kharcho and in lobio. Hominy is prepared throughout Georgia, but each region has its own. Somewhere they make it only from corn grits, the classic version is to boil the grain and mix it with flour. Abkhazians generally make mamaliga only from flour, it contains a spoon - and in this way it differs sharply from the Georgian one, which is more like porridge. By the way, they eat it with their hands. They cut the suluguni and press the pieces of cheese into the hot mamalyga with their hands. When the cheese melts a little, eat it. Another option: make a hole in the mamalyga and add young cottage cheese with chopped mint. The cottage cheese will also “float” quickly, which is why you should eat it right away. You can also top the mamalyga with a sauce based on matsoni with garlic and chopped herbs. It will be no less tasty if you season it with melted butter and salt. There are still a lot of options: dip hot pieces of mamalyga into cold matsoni - very tasty. Hominy lives for 40 minutes; if it stands longer, it begins to dry out. And then it is fried, already in oil. And then they eat it with cheese and sour sauces, such as tkemali. Fried hominy is heavier than boiled hominy and is considered a homemade dish.

Is there sweet mamalyga?

No, hominy is never a dessert. This is the main dish and is always eaten hot.

How else is corn flour used?

A spoonful of corn flour must be added to the kharcho during cooking. This is necessary for the correct consistency of the dish, when the water does not separate from the nut sauce.

Is it possible to find high-quality Georgian corn flour in Moscow?

This is not a cheap product; this kind of corn does not grow in Russia, but you can find it in stores. There is less trust in markets: there is a danger that ground rice or millet will be mixed into it. The corn will still dominate the flavor, but in detail it’s not the same flour. True, it will be very difficult for an ignorant person to feel this.

Interviewed by Anna KAMANOVA