Mamalyga – what exactly is it, step-by-step recipes for making it from corn flour and what to serve it with

Mamalyga is considered the state dish of Moldova, Romanian and Abkhazia, but it is also widespread among the peoples of the Caucasus, so it is difficult to say where it first appeared. One thing is clear - the recipe, which does not require enormous effort in production, has found wide distribution. It is used to make bread and even hearty corn cakes that can be used as a base for snacks. So what kind of porridge is this and how to cook it correctly?

Mamaliga porridge

Mamalyga is a cool porridge made from corn flour, which has gained popularity due to its versatility and the small number of ingredients needed for production. In addition, it can act as a side dish, an addition to almost all dishes, and is an analogue of Italian polenta. “Second bread” and an ordinary dish of Moldavian cuisine must have the correct, dense thickness - to divide it into parts, use a thread or a special knife. Therefore, during the manufacturing process, it is important to correctly follow the recipes with step-by-step photos.

What is it made from?

Typically, hominy is prepared from finely ground corn flour, water and salt in a cauldron using a wooden stirring stick. In some recipes, butter, onions, and milk are added to the traditional version. The finished product is served with bacon, mushrooms, suluguni cheese, herbs, feta cheese, fish and a large number of other goods. The presentation will be classic and appetizing, as in the photo, if you place the porridge on a flat wooden bowl and cut into similar portioned pieces.

How to cook hominy

It takes about half an hour to cook the hominy over low heat, stirring continuously. Add flour in a narrow stream to water brought to a boil in a metal cauldron or kettle. It is better to dry it in the oven in advance. A wooden stirrer must be moistened in cool water, carefully separate the resulting mass from the walls, let it simmer for a few more minutes and, after shaking the pot a couple of times, place it on a kitchen towel or board.

Mamaliga recipes

There are several unique recipes for delicious Moldavian treats that have been tested over the years. It is served both for weddings and for home dinners, usually eaten with hands. By choosing the perfect recipe for hominy made from corn grits or flour, you can vary your daily diet and improve your culinary skills. The main thing is to master the specifics of manufacturing and understand the sequence of actions.

From corn grits

Time: 45 minutes.
Number of servings: 3 servings.
Calorie content of the dish: 400 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Moldavian.
Difficulty of manufacturing: easy.

One of the traditional Moldovan recipes will help you prepare mamaliga from corn grits quickly and effortlessly. The cereal must be finely ground. This way the porridge will cook even faster and will look like a flat cake - dense, not crumbly, appetizing. Its mixture will be the most homogeneous and will acquire a pleasant texture. It is recommended to cook in a cauldron, kettle or thick-walled container so that the porridge retains its shape.

corn grits – 0.5 tbsp.;
water – 1 tbsp.;
vegetable oil – 1 tsp.

Bring water to a boil in a vat or kettle.
Add the cereal. Cook for half an hour, stirring.
Reduce heat, simmer covered for 15 minutes.
Using a moistened spoon, separate the porridge from the walls and shake the pot.
Present using a tray or board.

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 manufacturing: easy.

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

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

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

With cheese

Time: 50 minutes.
Number of servings: 4 servings.
Calorie content of the dish: 550 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Abkhazian.
Difficulty of manufacturing: easy.

It is customary to cook Abkhazian mamaliga or abystu without salt. It is served with delicious nut sauce arashyh sydzbal, matsoni, sour cherry plum sauce, cool milk and even honey. The porridge will acquire a uniform thickness, as in the photo, if you maintain the temperature regime and stir it continuously, separating it from the walls of the cauldron. You can use cheese to suit your taste, preferably hard cheese.

corn flour – 3.5 tbsp;
milk – 3.5 tbsp;
water – 1 tbsp.;
pickled cheese – 600 g.

Pour milk into the pot, dilute slightly with water. Boil.
Grate 200 grams of cheese on a large grater and add to the bubbling milk. Cook, stirring, for 20 minutes.
Add flour. Cook for 20 minutes until thickened, stirring constantly.
Add the remaining cheese. Stir until the porridge and cheese become a homogeneous mass.
Cover with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve to the table.

With meat

Time: 50 minutes.
Number of servings: 2 servings.
Calorie content of the dish: 248 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for lunch, dinner.
Cuisine: Georgian.
Difficulty of manufacturing: easy.

In Georgian cuisine, mamalyga is called gomi and is cooked mainly with flour from types of snow-white corn. It must be coarsely ground, then the dish will acquire a special “Caucasian character” and become the most tasty, nutritious, and healthy. It is served with meat fried in broth and eaten with your hands, breaking off small pieces. Additionally, you can offer feta cheese or homemade cheeses.

coarse corn flour - 1 tbsp.;
water – 3.5 tbsp.;
meat broth – 0.5 tbsp;
beef – 1 kg;
onion – 1 pc.;
vegetable oil – 2 tbsp. l.

Bring water to a boil in a cauldron.
Add flour, stirring. Cook for 20-25 minutes.
Using a moistened spoon, separate the porridge from the walls and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Place on a towel or board.
Cut the meat into large pieces, fry in a heated frying pan in vegetable oil until golden brown.
Add chopped onion, fry for 3 minutes.
Add broth, salt. Cook over low heat until the broth boils away.
Serve ready-made dishes to the table.

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Hominy

Mamalyga is a recipe that, in one form or another, is found in almost all state kitchens. Moldovan hominy is widely known in our country. Anyone who has at least once tasted real hominy will probably admit that hominy is the queen of all porridges. Read more about hominy .

Mamaliga in Abkhazian style is a savory porridge made from corn grits with salty suluguni cheese, which is very easy to prepare.

Mamalyga is a Moldovan national dish. It is prepared from corn grits. This porridge is both healthy and tasty. And preparing mamalyga is absolutely simple.

Mamalyga how to cook

Mamalyga, what is it anyway?

Mamalyga is a unique dish made from corn grits.

The word mamaliga brings to mind associations with corn porridge, which is cut with thread and eaten with your hands.

This dish is hundreds of years old. Historically, it was a farmer's food. It is considered both porridge and bread at once.

Mamalyga is an ancient Moldavian national dish.

In other cuisines of the world there are dishes with similar recipes, but with different names. In Georgian – “gomi” , Hutsul – “banush” , “kulesha” , Abkhaz – “abysta”, Mexican – “tomalito” , Italian – “polenta” .

How to cook mamalyga?

The manufacturing recipe is simple, but at the same time requires a narrow approach. Any cook understands his own secret.

It is brewed from small corn grits.

If you calcinate the corn grits before cooking, the porridge will be even tastier.

We will need the following ingredients:

corn grits - one glass;
water - three glasses;
salt - to taste.

Manufacturing process

We will need thick-walled dishes. It must be cooked only in a metal cauldron.

Pour water in the proportion: a glass of cereal - three glasses of water.

Just before the water boils, pour in the cereal in a thin stream, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. We don’t pour out all the cereal, but only a quarter.

When the water boils and the poured porridge swells, pour in the remaining cereal.

You need to cook over medium heat at first, and then reduce and cook over low heat. During the cooking process, the porridge must be constantly stirred with a wooden spoon (spatula). Mamalyga is cooked for 30-40 minutes.

When the porridge is ready, it is moved with a damp spoon from the walls of the cauldron and poured onto a wooden board. On the plate it will “get wet”, soften and become unsavory.

Hominy is cut with a formidable thread or a special wooden knife. It will stick to the iron knife.

Hominy

Mamalyga is a very tasty Moldavian dish. It is usually eaten with your hands, dipped in sour cream, butter, or grated cheese.

Mamalyga “Newest format”

Mamalyga - corn bread. It’s no secret that in Moldova, mamaliga is the second bread. It is prepared and eaten with various dishes. It’s very tasty, for example, to cook mamalyga, tear it piece by piece with your hands, and dip it first in melted butter, then in chopped sheep’s cheese. And also dip it in scrambled eggs (in Moldavian “skrob”) and in sour cream. This is very, very tasty. And I tried to combine all the ingredients. And I didn’t regret it. A new, very tender and tasty dish came out. Try it and I am sure that you will repeat it more than once. Let's begin.

Mamalyga “Zanogo”

First you need to cook the hominy. Leave it to cool. And only later will it be possible to prepare this “lazy” dish. Let's begin.

Balls with cheese from hominy

A very tasty and satisfying dish. The main thing is to cook the hominy correctly. Let's learn and amaze our family))). Because in our family, I’m the only one who cooks hominy, so I decided to tell you how to cook this dish.

Mamaliga baked with mushrooms and cheese

A very tasty and satisfying dish for the whole family

Hominy

Mamalyga is a Moldovan national dish. It is a steeply kneaded porridge made from corn flour, which is boiled in a cauldron and served with cracklings and salted cheese. Nothing special, but very tasty.

Mamaliga in Italian

Mamalyga is corn porridge. A common Abkhaz dish, various additives are added to it: cracklings, cottage cheese, etc., I would like to present to you the Italian version of this dish, where it is called polenta. Imagine this taste: creamy porridge, with crunchy grains of corn under a magical tomato sauce that gives the dish an incredible zest. I spotted the recipe in one of the Ukrainian culinary TV shows, it was prepared by the famous chef Hector Jimenez Bravo, he claims that in restaurants this dish costs a lot of money, but we can prepare it at home from available goods. Don’t judge strictly, this is my debut on the website, I didn’t dare to post something for a long time because I was expecting a special recipe. so that it’s delicious and doesn’t repeat itself.

Mamalyga . Mamalyga is actually corn porridge. But it differs in mixture, appearance and taste from different porridges. A popular dish in almost all European countries, the Caucasus, and southern America.

Mamalyga is made from corn flour. At the same time, the porridge mixture must be so steeply brewed that it can be cut with waxed thread or a wood knife for cutting hominy.

The essence of making mamalyga comes down to boiling corn flour in water with the addition of salt. Hominy is usually prepared in a cauldron or other thick-walled pans. Hominy is served, cut into portions, with sour cream, pickled cheeses, fried lard, eggs prepared using different methods, stewed or fried mushrooms, meat, and fish. Hominy is also served crumbled in milk, warm or cool.

Cooked hominy is often used to make corn tortillas. Pieces of hominy are very tasty if you fry them in butter before serving.

Hominy and dishes made from it are perfect not only for an adult dinner table or for dinner with breakfast, but also for a children's table.

At their own discretion, housewives can diversify culinary recipes for making hominy by adding additional ingredients during the cooking process or seasoning it when it is cooked.