Favorite from Georgian cuisine - ღომი (Gomi). Georgian corn porridge - mamaliga Corn porridge with cheese recipe

Mamaliga, as you know, is the name given to traditional Georgian thick corn porridge. By the way, in some regions of Georgia it is still used as bread. Initially, hominy was prepared from Italian millet (millet). This dish is eaten and prepared with pleasure in other countries, for example, in Romania and Moldova. The very name of porridge comes from their language, but Georgians call mamalyga - gomi.

Mamalyga is an inexpensive, healthy and easy-to-prepare dish. You can add dishes such as lobio or Georgian chicken liver to the mamaliga. In this case, you will also receive an inexpensive but very tasty menu.

Many years ago, Georgians cooked millet mamaligu. However, they used an unusual millet, but an Italian one. And then corn replaced it. In the 1940s, not only millet, but also corn began to be sown in Georgia.

In Russia, mamalyga was made from millet until corn flour became available for free sale. It is worth noting that it does not taste the same as in Georgia.

If you prefer millet hominy, it is better to immediately fry it with cheese.

Ingredients:

  • corn grits – 1 part;
  • water – 3.5 parts (for example, if you take 2 cups of cereal, then you need 7 cups of water);
  • cheese (suluguni or other).

Cooking method

Georgians cook mamaliga from white corn grits according to the recipe. It has a slightly different taste than the regular one. For example, take 5 cups of corn grits (that’s 650 grams, that’s enough for about 5-6 servings) and 17 glasses of water. Depending on the grain and fire, you may need more water. Initially, use the rule: less water is better than more. After all, when the cereal boils, you can add water to it if necessary. But if there is too much water, you will have to evaporate it for a long time.

Information for lovers of salty foods: after cooking, hominy should not be eaten salted. You can only slightly salt the water at the very beginning of cooking. Many people prefer not to add salt at all. After all, the cheese in this dish should be salty.

So, we poured water over the cereal and put it on low heat. Cook the porridge over low heat until the water boils away. Try mamalyga; if the cereal is boiled, then the porridge is ready. Everything is very simple!

The cooking time for this dish according to the recipe will depend on the intensity of the fire, the size of the cereal and the quality of the cereal. In this regard, the cooking time varies from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. In the above proportions, the porridge is cooked for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

You can choose the thickness of the porridge depending on your preferences. But remember that hominy should not be liquid. It should not flow, like, for example, rice milk porridge. When laying hominy on plates, it should form a non-spreading mound.

After boiling, the hominy must be stirred, otherwise there is a risk of lumps forming. And during further cooking, the upper layers of the porridge will not receive enough heat compared to the lower ones.

To make it easier to mix hominy, it is better to use a wooden spatula called chogani. In general, you can use any spatula, which one you have at home. The main condition: it should not be too thin, otherwise it may break.

There is an opinion that this porridge needs to be supplemented with corn flour, or if it is not available, then semolina. Let's figure it out. The purpose of adding flour is to thicken the mixture. This is necessary if you purchased large grains. However, the factory-made cereal that you find on store shelves is usually small, so you don’t need to add flour, the porridge will already be thick.

Corn crunches

After cooking the porridge, you can make another dish - corn crunches. This is also a simple, uncomplicated, but very tasty dish.

After you put the finished porridge on plates, there is still a lot of hominy left on the walls of the pan. Place this pan on low heat. The porridge on the walls will dry out, fry and turn into crispy tasty crust. Your crunchies are ready! They easily break off from the walls of the pan. Children love these crunches very much.

How to serve hominy

As we have already said, hominy should be placed in a heap on a plate. We insert pieces of cheese into the slide - suluguni or imeruli. Mamalyga is applied with a chogani spatula. To prevent the porridge from sticking to the spatula, the chogani should be periodically moistened in cold water.

There is no need to cook hominy for several days. Everything prepared according to the recipe should be eaten immediately. Do not store hominy in a pan. And if there is any left, fry it. Mamalyga is served and eat while it's hot.

Cheeses

Factory-made suluguni, although it is a poor copy of real suluguni, is still suitable for us to add to porridge. You can use feta cheese, Adyghe cheese and other types of cheese. The main condition is that the cheese melts and is salty. Many people believe that Western European cheeses do not go well with hominy. By the way, try adding salted cottage cheese or cottage cheese with mint and adjika to the mamalyga.

What do you eat this porridge with?

As we have already mentioned, in some regions of Georgia, mamaliga is used as a substitute for bread. In this regard, it is eaten with almost all dishes.

Porridge goes well with lobio or fried pork. The gravy for the porridge can be tkemali, tomato satsebeli, for example, made from the right tomato paste, and adjika with sour cream.

You can come up with nothing and eat this porridge without anything. If you have any left, fry the porridge with cheese and eggs.

Usually the porridge is fried in a frying pan with cheese. For some, this is the preferred cooking method.

What is hominy and how can it be prepared? This dish is traditional in Georgia and is a very thick corn porridge. It is still used instead of bread in the western regions of Georgia. Initially, hominy was prepared from millet – Italian millet. A similar corn dish is extremely popular and loved among Moldovans and Romanians. In addition to the fact that hominy is extremely tasty and original, it is quite healthy, so it’s worth learning the step-by-step recipe for its preparation.

This dish can be considered unique, since salt, flour, cornmeal or grits, pork fat, and water are used to prepare it. When Georgian mamalyga is ready, it can be eaten like bread or porridge. Many women who live in Georgia have been making this delicacy for a long time. It is important to note that mamalyga goes well with cottage cheese, cheese, a variety of syrups and sauces. There are many ways to serve corn delicacy, each of which can surprise you with a new and very original taste.

If you use the traditional recipe for Georgian mamaliga, then you will need a thick-walled cauldron for cooking. To stir the dish while cooking, you do not need to use a spoon; for this you will need a thin rolling pin.

Despite many years of tradition regarding the method, modern women have gotten used to preparing the dish in an ordinary saucepan. No one argues that this dish will differ from the classic Georgian mamaliga. However, your household will not be able to tear themselves away from the next portion of the corn delicacy. It is important to note that the total cooking time may take at least one hour.

Ingredients

To prepare mamaliga in Georgian, you will need the following ingredients:

Preparation

1. Prepare all the necessary products, as well as equipment that may be needed during the cooking process. First of all, this is a saucepan, two plates and a frying pan. Place a frying pan on the stove and place pre-chopped lard in it. It is very important that the fat is rendered out of it.

2. At this time, you can take a saucepan and pour 3 cups of purified water into it, add ½ teaspoon of fine salt. At this stage, a tablespoon of melted fat is added and the pan is sent to the stove.

3. Add corn grits after the water heats up but does not reach a boil. If desired, the cereal can be replaced with corn flour, it all depends on your desires and taste preferences.


4. Then you need to follow certain instructions so that the Georgian mamalyga turns out correctly. First, you need to stir the contents of the pan periodically. After the cereal swells, you need to stir constantly without stopping. Often Georgian women use a wooden spatula or rolling pin for this. If you don’t have similar utensils in your kitchen, don’t despair; you can use a regular spoon. The only condition is to mix without stopping until you get a thick and viscous consistency, reminiscent of dough.

5. Transfer the finished mamalyga to a plate, using a spoon, smooth the surface of the dish.

6. Cut any cheese offered and decorate the dish. The main highlight is that the porridge is still hot, so the cheese will begin to melt and permeate the hominy with its aroma and taste.

7. There is another way of serving. To do this, you need to cool the corn delicacy, cut it into pieces of the same size and fry it in hot oil.

8. Decorate the dish and serve in portions. Believe me, no one can refuse such a dish.

Video recipe

Georgian hominy or gomi is a very thick corn porridge. Despite the simple ingredients, the cooking process is a little complicated; it looks like a kind of sacrament that has its own traditions and rules. It is important to note that the finished delicacy is thick, so it can be cut with a knife. It is often served instead of bread, as it goes well with absolutely all foods. It is eaten with jam, meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, cottage cheese and various cheeses. The dish is served with sour cream and various sauces.

What is the difference between corn porridge and polenta? Almost nothing, except for stricter recommendations on the use of corn flour. If you used flour instead of corn grits, the dish you prepared should be called hominy or polenta - a thick corn porridge that can be cut with a knife. And from corn grits, and with the addition of butter and fatty cheese, porridge is still prepared - although it is a sister (as well as hominy and gomi), it is still a separate dish.

Corn porridge turns out to be more liquid, soft and shapeless. But it is also an excellent side dish and a delicious breakfast. It is especially good to cook corn porridge for children; it energizes them for the whole day.

Preparation time: 5-10 minutes.
Cooking time: 20 minutes.
Number of servings: 2 servings.

Ingredients

  • water 4 tbsp.
  • corn grits 1 tbsp.
  • fat cheese 70 g
  • butter 1 tbsp. l.
  • salt to taste
  • ground pepper mixture

Preparation

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    Corn grits should be dry. By the way, it is rich in iron, and it is quite high in calories.

    Pour water into a ladle, bring to a boil and gradually add the cereal, stirring continuously with a spatula or spoon, so that no lumps form. Some of the water can be replaced with chicken or vegetable broth.

    Cook the corn porridge over low heat, stir occasionally and test for doneness. As a rule, this is 20-25 minutes, but it is better to “taste” the exact time. Ready corn porridge has a soft and delicate taste.

    When the corn porridge is ready, add butter and sliced ​​cheese. Stir. The butter and cheese will melt, and if you, for example, use suluguni, it will become viscous.

    Ready-made corn porridge with butter and cheese has a soft, creamy consistency. Salt and pepper it to taste. Now the dish can be served separately on a plate or with vegetables and meat.

    If there is any leftover corn porridge, it can be served the next day in a different form, like polenta. Place the remaining porridge in a rectangular or square bowl, compact it, and cover with cling film. The next morning, when the porridge has hardened, carefully turn the container over and remove it. Cut the resulting polenta into small pieces and then fry in a frying pan on both sides.

Corn grits mamalyga is a very healthy, satisfying, nutritious dish. Since ancient times, this cereal has been considered a product that replaces bread. Before corn was brought in, hominy was made from millet. But with the advent of corn, millet was no longer used, since hominy comes out of corn flour much tastier, and moreover, it is more nutritious.

Corn grits mamalyga is a very healthy, satisfying, nutritious dish

Corn porridge is very high in calories and filling.

Contains many vitamins: retinol, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, folic acid, tocopherol, biotin. It also contains minerals: calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus. So this is a mess:

  • has a beneficial effect on the body;
  • improves digestion;
  • cleanses the body of waste and toxins;
  • helps reduce cholesterol levels;
  • has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system;
  • improves the condition of hair, skin, nails;
  • stabilizes the functioning of the nervous system;
  • gives strength, invigorates, improves performance and mood.

Mamalyga - porridge made from corn grits (video)

Mamaliga recipes

There are a large number of hominy recipes. It is prepared in different countries. In Italy there is a dish called polenta. This is also a type of mamalyga. Only the final dish is not as thick as ours. Georgians cook gomi, Romanians have mamaliga.

Corn grains are crushed and cut into pieces of different sizes. There are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th grades of grain grinding, and the 5th is flour. In different countries, many tasty and nutritious dishes are prepared from corn grits of a certain type.


Since ancient times, corn grits have been considered a product that replaces bread.

This is the national dish of Moldova. Porridge is prepared only in thick-walled cast iron dishes. Use cereal, water, salt. The cereal should be finely ground or even corn flour (grade 5). The ratio of cereal and water should be equal to 1: 3. When the water boils, add salt and sprinkle corn flour in a thin stream. It must be stirred constantly to prevent it from burning. To do this, place a wooden rolling pin in the center of the cauldron. The porridge should simmer gently for 25-30 minutes, then reduce the gas or reduce the heat to a minimum, continue cooking until the liquid has completely evaporated and until the desired thickness is achieved. At the same time, the porridge should not stick to the rolling pin. It is pulled out and cut into pieces using a thick thread. To do this, the thread is picked up from below and cut from the bottom up, crosswise.

Traditionally, Moldovans eat it with their hands. Season with butter and sour cream.

It is customary to eat this porridge with sour cream, cottage cheese, and cheese. Can be enjoyed with herbs, vegetables, bacon, eggs, mushrooms. It depends on taste preferences or national traditions. It is eaten instead of bread with many dishes.

The recipe for making mamalyga is budget-friendly. You will need little money for the porridge itself. But to season it with something special, you will have to allocate a certain amount.

It will be difficult to prepare the dish, since you will have to stir it for a long time so that lumps do not form. The more often you cook porridge, the faster your hand will get used to physical activity.

Using another method, you can cook it with milk:

  1. To do this, you need to prepare a glass of milk, 2 glasses of water, 2 glasses of finely ground cereal, salt, butter (50 g), about 400 g of lard with streaks of meat, and sheep cheese.
  2. Pour milk into a cauldron or thick-walled pan and bring to a boil. Pour water into it. Boil again. Just a little salt.
  3. When foam appears in the liquid, add cereal or corn flour in a thin stream.
  4. The cereal remains in the center of the dish, no need to mix. It is necessary to reduce the heat to a minimum and wait until it swells.
  5. The croup is swollen. Now you need to move the pan to the table. Take a masher and start kneading the porridge so as to catch and mash all the lumps. It is necessary to mix it thoroughly, turning it over, prying it well from the walls and bottom, there should be no dry missing lumps of cereal left. At first the porridge will be wet and sticky. But gradually it will absorb all the moisture and become thick.
  6. Then you need to add a piece of butter, then the porridge will become more elastic, it will be easier to form sausages from it.
  7. Next, you need to put the pan back on the stove over the lowest heat. Let the porridge steam for about 15 minutes, remove the lid to allow the liquid to evaporate.
  8. The resulting hominy should be thick, steep, dense.

How to quickly cook corn porridge (video)

Mamaliga in Georgian

This dish is also popular in Georgia. Mamalyga in Georgian is called gomi. It is often used instead of bread. Store-bought corn is not suitable for this dish. At the market, if you ask for cereal for gomi, they will definitely sell what you need. Usually these are two types of cereals - corn flour and coarse cereals.


There are a large number of hominy recipes. It is prepared in different countries

Recipe for hominy made from corn flour and grits grade 3-4:

  1. Pour cold water into a saucepan or cauldron. First carefully pour the coarse chaff into it, then the flour. You need to stir constantly to avoid lumps. You need to take less flour than cereal.
  2. Afterwards, place the container on medium heat and cook for 2 hours. It is necessary to constantly grind and stir the mass thoroughly throughout the cooking, preventing the flour and cereal from clumping.
  3. When the water has boiled away and the porridge has lost the taste of raw flour, you can remove the dishes from the stove. The porridge will come out thick, dense, without lumps.
  4. Serve it on a plate with 2-3 pieces of suluguni cheese, feta cheese, and Adyghe cheese inside. They eat porridge with their hands.
  5. Gomi can be served with other dishes - satsivi, kharcho, shurpa. Only each dish must be in a separate plate; they cannot be mixed.

By experimenting, you can learn how to cook hominy, select the proportions, feel the readiness of the porridge, and then the cooked dinner will always delight your family and guests. There are a large number of recipes for the dish. It is distributed all over the world.