Banosh
- Nutrition Facts
- Calories: 254
- Protein: 6.5
- Fats: 20.4
- Carbohydrates: 9.2
Fragrant thick porridge made from corn flour, which the inhabitants of the Carpathians call banosh, is the hallmark of the Hutsul cuisine. What is the difference between banosh and Italian polenta or Moldavian hominy? The main difference is that banosh is prepared from very finely ground corn flour not on water, but on sour cream. Banosh is perfect in a duet with porcini mushrooms, cracklings, butter or sheep cheese. This dish is so popular that festivals are dedicated to it in the Carpathians. The most famous banosh festival in Rakhiv, in Transcarpathia. Every self-respecting Hutsul in the yard necessarily equips a special place where he prepares banosh for respected guests.
A bit of history
In spring, when young grass begins to turn green on the Carpathian meadows, shepherds with a flock of sheep go to the mountains. They will graze the flock there until the first snow. Women are not taken to the meadow, so the duty of the shepherds is to milk the sheep and cook the famous Hutsul cheese from milk, as well as cooking. Of the products, the shepherds take with them only cornmeal, salted lard, onions, garlic and salt. The rest - sour cream and cheese will give a sheep. And berries and mushrooms, in the literal sense, grow under your feet, you just need to stretch out your hand.
Since shepherds have to move a lot, food should be high in calories. It is not known who and when the idea came up with the idea of pouring sheep's sour cream into a cauldron instead of water and cooking corn porridge on it. Soaked in the smoke of a fire, seasoned with cracklings and cheese, it had a special taste and everyone liked it very much.
Perhaps this shepherd was called Banosh, which is why this dish was named after him. Perhaps ... In any case, this version has the right to life.
Banosh Ingredients:
- Cornmeal -1.5 tbsp;
- Homemade sour cream - 0.5 l;
- Salt - to taste;
- Smoked lard or bacon - 200g;
- Bulb - 1 pc.
Banosh preparation
- Pour sour cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil, add salt.
Pour sour cream into a saucepan, salt and bring to a boil.
- So that when adding corn flour to boiling sour cream, lumps do not form, fill the flour with water, at the same time and wash it from the husk.
Add a little water to the cornmeal and rinse thoroughly.
- Carefully drain the water along with the husks, pure cornmeal remains in the bowl.
Drain off excess water and leave only cornmeal.
- Put the washed flour into boiling sour cream and begin to stir the thickening porridge with a wooden spoon.
Pour the already washed cornmeal into boiling sour cream and knead the porridge with a spoon.
- Reduce the fire to a minimum and continue to stir. As soon as the banosh begins to shine from the droplets of fat that have appeared, the pan can be removed from the heat.
Now reduce the heat and cook the porridge, stirring, until it begins to gleam from the allocated fat.
- Now let's start preparing the frying for banosh.
Start frying.
- We clean the onion from the husk, wash it and cut it into half rings.
Peel the onion and cut into thin half rings.
- Cut the smoked lard or bacon into small pieces.
Cut lard or bacon into pieces.
- Put the bacon and onion in a pan and fry over low heat until the onion turns golden.
Fry the finely chopped onion and meat products on a small fire.
- Put banosh on plates, put fried bacon with onions on top. Our dish is ready.
Now we lay out the banosh on plates, and place the cooked frying on top. Enjoy your meal.
About the benefits of banosh
Corn, from which cereals and flour are prepared, is rich in many useful substances. The fiber contained in it perfectly cleanses the intestines, prevents the development of putrefactive processes. Selenium slows down the aging of the body, protects it from stress. It is especially valuable for the male body. In addition, due to the content of carotene and complex carbohydrates in corn, it is useful for both children and the elderly. Corn porridge is also good because it does not cause allergies and strengthens the immune system.
People suffering from anemia also benefit from corn, as it contains vitamin B12 and folic acid. A deficiency of folic acid in the menu of pregnant women is very undesirable, since it can cause birth defects of the nervous system in a child. Therefore, "sunny" porridge must be on the menu of pregnant women.
And corn also contains potassium, magnesium and phosphorus - trace elements that support the health of the cardiovascular system, which is very important for hypertensive patients.
But with all the advantages of banosh, one cannot but say that it is useful to everyone. First of all, you can not use it for people during an exacerbation of peptic ulcer. It is also contraindicated for those who have problems with the gallbladder and pancreas. Due to its high fat content, it is also not recommended for people with high cholesterol levels.
If desired, cheese can be added to banosh. Very tasty banosh with mushrooms, especially porcini. Banosh will become sweeter if you replace sour cream with cream. This option is perfect for children for breakfast. The big advantage of this dish is its quick preparation, few ingredients and very pleasant taste. You can also cook banosh in a slow cooker; it tastes the same as banosh cooked in a saucepan. Although the Hutsuls believe that real banosh cannot be cooked on the stove, nevertheless, Khozoboz recommends this recipe to your attention. We hope that banosh will be a frequent guest on your table.
