Mămăligă
Mămăligă ( ; Ukrainian Мамалига even Кулеша ; Russian Мамалыга Polish (кукурузная каша "mush"). Mamałyga ; Hungarian Puliszka , "polenta", Serbian kaçamak / Cyrillic: качамак ) is made of corn grits made porridge, similar to the Italian polenta , which is part of the regional cooking tradition in Romania , the Republic of Moldova and other parts of the Balkans, as well as in the Caucasus region . It is a national dish, especially in Romania.
A very similar dish is known regionally in Austria as Türkensterz .
description
Making corn porridge is an ancient and widespread tradition. Before corn porridge became a valued versatile side dish or main dish, it was a major food source among the poorer population. Often the lack of bread was replaced by a firmly cooked Mămăliga.
Mămăligă is easy to prepare: corn semolina (Romanian: mălai ) is boiled in a large saucepan with salted water. In order to prevent the porridge from burning or clumping, you have to stir a lot. In Romania, a cast-iron vessel, the so-called ceaun, is usually used to cook Mămăliga . There is also a special tool for stirring: after Christmas, before the old Christmas tree is disposed of, the tip with the last five branches is cut off. This is debarked, dried and used as a stirring tool. The cooked Mămăligă is traditionally cut with a thread.
Mămăligă is often eaten as an accompaniment to meat or vegetable dishes, such as goulash (Romanian: tocană ) or stew (Romanian: ghiveci ).
The Germans in Romania often mocked the food culture of the Romanian inhabitants of the country with the saying " Mămăliga din mălai (mămăliga made of corn) eats all of Wallachia”. Nevertheless, Mămăligă also belongs to the traditional cuisine of the various Romanian-German population groups. The Transylvanian Saxons refer to them as Palukes , the Landler as Paluks , both forms are derived from the Hungarian name Puliszka. In Romanian German Standard German, the term Kukuruzbrei is also used.
Types of preparation
Mămăligă cu brânză și smântână
A firm “mămăligă cu brânză” baked with sheep cheese is popular . This variant is called Käspalukes in Transylvanian-Saxon . Most will moreover sour cream ( smântână served). This variant is also used as an accompaniment to hearty dishes of Romanian home cooking.
Mămăligă cu lapte
Mămăligă is eaten simply poured over milk (rum .: lapte ) for breakfast and sometimes also for dinner . This is a typical dish for children, but some adults also like to eat it again and again. Among the Transylvanian Saxons, the palukes with milk was an often eaten dish. This variant is practically never offered in restaurants.
Cocoloși
A specialty of the traditional cuisine are Cocoloși or Bulz . Cooked Mămăligă is formed into balls that are filled with cheese. Then these balls are grilled on an open fire. This dish comes from the culture of the shepherds (Rum .: ciobani ), who often camped with their herds far away from the nearest village and had to prepare their own meals in the field. A shepherd can also simply put these grilled cocoloși in his pockets and eat them later when he gets hungry while shepherding the sheep.
Today, this variant is usually only prepared on special occasions, such as village festivals and folklore festivals.
history
The word Mămăligă originally referred to a porridge made from millet in Romanian . It was not until the 17th century that American maize was increasingly grown in Romania that the importance of maize porridge changed.
According to legend, Mămăligă became the national dish of the Romanians because during the Ottoman rule part of the wheat harvest had to be delivered regularly , while the cultivation of maize was not taxed.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ see the Polentone belonging to the Polenta in Italy ("Polentafresser")
- ↑ Siebenbürger Zeitung: Willi Zeidner's "Palukes-Stories" - versatile picture of Transylvania , December 19, 2005