Semolina Porridge (Mannaya Kasha)
December 17th, 2011 in Main Dishes, No-meat by Julia Volhina
Mannaya Kasha is one of foods associated for russian people with their childhood. When I was little I was always told it is rich on nutrients and required for healthy kid growth – every kid knew that to grow strong and healthy they need to finish up their plate with semolina porridge.
Just as a note: while researching for proper translation for this recipe, I stumbled on information that semolina porridge isn’t recommended for kids younger than 3 years (which was new to me) as it contains high amount of gluten and also phytin. But because it also has a lot of proteins and high content of vitamins E and B1 it is very good for kids after 3 year old who have no gluten intolerance.
While cooking it is important to stir mannaya kasha all the time (I use whisk for this and it helps a lot), or you will get clots and no kid likes them in their mannaya kasha.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup of semolina flour
- 1 pint of milk
- 1 tbsp of butter
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- Salt to taste
- Seedless berry jam (optional)
How to prepare, step-by-step:
-
Prepare ingredients:
Semolina Porridge (Mannaya Kasha) Recipe: Step 1 -
Pour milk into small cooking pot, add sugar:
Semolina Porridge (Mannaya Kasha) Recipe: Step 2 -
And butter:
Semolina Porridge (Mannaya Kasha) Recipe: Step 3 -
Put on moderate burner and bring to boil, stir from time to time:
Semolina Porridge (Mannaya Kasha) Recipe: Step 4 -
Remove cooking pot from burner and gradually stir all semolina flour in using a whisk:
Semolina Porridge (Mannaya Kasha) Recipe: Step 5 -
Put cooking pot back on burner, continuously stirring with a whisk bring it back to boil, and remove again, continue to stir until kasha gains desired thickness:
Semolina Porridge (Mannaya Kasha) Recipe: Step 6 -
Pour to bowls:
Semolina Porridge (Mannaya Kasha) Recipe: Step 7 -
If desired pour some seedless berry jam over (warm it up in microwave to make it liquid if needed), it will adds berry taste to semolina porridge:
Semolina Porridge (Mannaya Kasha)
How much is a pint? In Cups…
1 pint about 2 cups
Babushka passed away a few years ago and I have been slowly learning all of her recipes. This is one that I remember fondly but I couldn’t remember the name. After months of searching, I think this is it and I’ve found it. Спасибо, Юлия!
Thank you too 🙂
My 4 yo daughter loves mannaia kasha,, she eats it every day, she is sooo picky ,, so I was trying to look up if semolina porridge is healthy,, thank God , bcz evrth else she eats is not very healthy, she s been eating manka since 2 years of age when she was weaned from the breast..
Mannaja kasha is one of the childhood memories every USSRian child of my generation would have. I think it was considered the must food for kids, I want to think it is healthy enough in moderation of course. However I believe I’ve read at some point something about it being hard to digest for kids under edge of 3 y.o.
very nice recipe
I also was born in the US. My mum gave us mannaya kasha for breakfast a lot. I’ve changed her recipe a bit though. I add brown sugar, maple syrup (real stuff, not flavoured), pinches of cardamom & nutmeg. My kids love it & they’re teenagers now & still eat it.
Instead of sugar, i use tablespoon of maple syrup or honey. Once milk is warm enough (never boiling), I add semolina and keep it on low heat stirring constantly. I also add dry fruit and berries instead of jam, to cut down on sugar.
IT’S ALSO A MAURITIAN DISH.WHY DO YOU REMOVE THE POT FROM HEAT BEFORE ADDING SEMOLINA? TO AVOID GETTING LUMPS?
Mostly yes, it is also easier to handle milk this way, so it doesn’t “run away” <- I don't know how to say this in English, when link gets to boiling it tends to try to run form the pot :)))
Sppcibo bolshoy julia! I was in russia 10 yrs ago and used to eat this. This is a nostalgia recipe for me.
You are very welcome 🙂
Well,well,well. I was born in Soviet Union in 1968. My kids (2) were born in the end of this country 1988 & 1990. I went thrught of everything,but mannaya kasha(semolina) never ever did anything bad to kids under 3! Now i’m grandma of almost 2 years-old, and her mom (shi is American girl,was born on Hawaii,parents served the millitary,originaly,till now,from Winsconcin) always asking me to cook mannaya kasha for her babby.Shi likes to eat too. And little girl is absolutely fine. I will recomend EVRYBODY of ANY AGE to eat semolina!!!!!
It worked great. Very delicious- and whisk method worked great. Just don’t let your milk to run away from you.
Yes, this is important to not let milk to run away 🙂
Thank you for you recipe, I remebber manka from childhood and wanted to make it for my toddler now. Going to try today. Also, about not letting kids under 3 years old to eat it… I can’t tell why but Soviet kids never had any problems with it, I even never heard of annyone having peanut allergies untill I came to live in USA, so maybe it is just a cultural thing or a trained stomach of Russian people 🙂 .
It can be, amount of ppl with allergies here absolutely stuns me too…