The famous Ukrainian kulesh is perhaps the most democratic dish I know of. This means that the ingredients from which it is prepared can be very diverse. The recipes themselves may differ. This is due to the fact that kulesh is, so to speak, a marching dish. It was cooked both by the Zaporozhye Cossacks during their military campaigns, and by the Chumaks, whose carts laden with salt crawled along the ancient trade routes for many days. In other words, what food people managed to get was then sent to the cauldron. The main task for warriors or travelers was to make the resulting kulesh more adventurous and ensure the maintenance of forces on a long journey. Fortunately, you and I have a much wider choice of products than the ancient Ukrainians, and therefore, while observing the basic traditions, we will try to make our kulesh not only hearty and rich, but also extremely tasty. So, I am telling you the recipe for kulesha.
Ingredients:
(4-6 servings)
Kulesh is deservedly considered a masterpiece of Ukrainian cuisine. In terms of popularity, it is inferior, perhaps, to Ukrainian borscht. Kulesh appeared on the tables at the suggestion of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, who cooked it during hikes and long trips, since this dish did not require any special conditions, no exact recipe, or special culinary skills.
Later, it spread throughout Ukraine and even won fans in neighboring countries. Today kulesh or, as it is popularly called, "field soup", is an indispensable attribute of picnics and gatherings around the fire.
The hallmark of Ukrainian cuisine is the simplicity of preparation and the filling of the dishes. And kulesh is no exception in this regard. There are only 2 required ingredients: cereals and lard. The rest of the products are optional. It can be meat, mushrooms, vegetables, herbs and many others. dr.
You can take any cereal for kulesh, most often millet is used. Connoisseurs of culinary traditions cook it separately from other products and add it to an almost ready-made dish.
Pork lard is traditionally used for frying, preferably with a meat slot. Although lately, recipes with beef, stew and even sausages have been equally popular. Season the finished dish with garlic and herbs.
Kulesh can be easily cooked at home in the kitchen, but if you want to fully enjoy the taste and aroma of the dish, cook it over the fire!
One of the surprisingly tasty and quick-to-prepare dishes that "came" to us from Ukrainian cuisine is millet kulesh. Its recipe is so popular that, perhaps, only Ukrainian borscht is ahead of it in popular love.
The first to start preparing kulesh were the Cossacks on their long campaigns. Due to the monotony of the provisions, we had to come up with a tasty, satisfying and nutritious dish "in a hurry". So the recipe for kulesha appeared, which does not require time expenditures, culinary skills and any special conditions for preparing a dish.
Nowadays, kulesh is an indispensable attribute of any hike or friendly gatherings around the fire. But even in your own kitchen you can cook a dish that will be no different from the "field" option. Today we will look at both cooking methods: on the stove and on the fire.
The classic recipe includes only two main ingredients: millet and lard. But if you wish, you can diversify the recipe with other products: potatoes, meat, mushrooms, vegetables, fresh herbs, etc.
You need to prepare:
You also need water - 2 liters.
Set the pot with two liters of water on high heat and wait for the liquid to boil. At this time, it is necessary to rinse the groats. Pour millet into a deep plate and place it under the tap. Pour half the volume of water and begin to drain it little by little from one edge so that the millet does not float away with the water. Pour water again, rinsing the millet. For two or three washes, the cereal completely gets rid of unnecessary and unnecessary impurities and dust.
It is important to remember that any recipe for making kulesh requires adding cereal only to boiling water. Along with cereals, a pinch of salt and bay leaf are added. The cooking time for cereals is about 20 minutes.
Before the end of the cooking time, add the potato cubes to the pan. Now you can turn down the heat and simmer the dish until cooked.
While the potatoes are languishing, you can start cooking frying. For a kulesha recipe, you need one onion and one small carrot. The vegetables are cut into small cubes. Put the pork lard cut into long cubes in a frying pan. Fry it until a crispy, dark brown crust appears. Now you can add vegetables to the fat. As soon as they are golden, transfer the contents of the pan to a pan with millet and potatoes.
A couple more minutes and the fire can be turned off. When serving the dish, you can add one spoonful of sour cream and fresh herbs.
Of course, kulesh is considered real, consisting of a handful of millet, roots and spring water. However, modern chefs have learned to competently add other ingredients to this dish that do not spoil it, but only make it more satisfying and tasty.
We offer the second recipe for kulesha. Even a novice housewife can cook it at home. The classic recipe is complemented by aromatic wild mushrooms and hearty pork. And herbs and spices can be added at your discretion and desire.
And also a bay leaf.
The old recipe for kulesha required cereals and roots to be cooked in different containers. Today, you can not adapt to traditions and significantly save time on cooking by boiling cereals and potatoes together.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. We wash the millet several times in a plate filled with running water. We send cereals and vegetables to boil over high heat for ten minutes. Do not forget to throw a couple of bay leaves, peppercorns and a pinch of salt into the pan. Then we reduce the heat on the stove and simmer the kulesh for another fifteen minutes.
While potatoes and millet are boiling on one burner, put a frying pan on the other and fry onions with meat and mushrooms on it. If store-bought frozen or fresh mushrooms were taken for the dish, then no cooking is required. If for cooking you bought or collected aromatic forest mushrooms with your own hands, then it is recommended to boil them for 40-60 minutes before frying.
We send the fried meat, onions and mushrooms to the pan, where the millet has already been cooked and the potatoes have become soft and crumbly. All that remains is to turn off the heat, cover the container with a lid and let the dish brew a little. The last stage is filing. Put thick kulesh into portioned plates, seasoning it with a couple of sprigs of fresh parsley and a spoonful of thick homemade sour cream.
A separate topic is a real marching kulesh cooked in a pot over a fire. A recipe with a photo will help novice housewives to properly prepare a dish. It should be noted that the cooking process will differ slightly from the home version. Since there is no way to place several containers of brew at once on the fire, you have to adapt to the situation.
Take with you:
You also need a bay leaf.
Perhaps you should not focus on the process of collecting firewood, laying out a fireplace, starting a fire and forming an impromptu stove. Let's just say that the heat under the pot must be strong enough in the first stages of cooking.
So, since we do not have at hand several burners on which we could cook and fry food at the same time, we slightly change the recipe for kulesh. We start the cooking process not with boiling cereals, but with frying bacon. Cut the lard into small cubes and place them on the bottom of the pot. As soon as the lard gives fat, add finely chopped onions and carrots to it. At this moment, do not go far from the fire, as a strong, almost uncontrollable fire under the pot fries everything very quickly. Stir the cracklings and vegetables constantly.
As soon as the frying is ready, pour water into the pot and pour the millet. Mix thoroughly and cover with a lid. Cook the cereal for about fifteen minutes. During this time, the potatoes can be peeled and diced. We make the fire under the pot a little smaller (by removing or simply moving some of the burning coals to the side) and put the potatoes in the dish. In a low heat, simmer the dish for about 10-15 minutes, remove the pot from the fire, pour a large amount of fresh herbs into the container and, closing the lid again, let it rest and brew a little.
Hello dear blog visitors! I have long wanted to write a post about
how to cook kulesh, yes all came across more "modern" recipes.
I think that kulesh, recipe whom I want to offer, if not completely forgotten,
it does not get the attention it deserves. In any case, among people close to me.
But in vain! After all, what else can you feed your household quickly, satisfyingly, and most importantly,
delicious in just 10-15 minutes? Except that !
But that is another topic.
Before publishing the article, I decided to find out for myself - it corresponds
whether the dish that we cook as kulesh to its true name.
I rummaged in the net and ... from what it is not prepared!
Yet one of the culinary guides accurately lists the ingredients
used in our version.
So, let's get acquainted with recipe dishes called Belarusian version.
We will cook in a medium-sized skillet.
And, of course, salt. Cold water doesn't count.
Cut the meat into small cubes, about 10x10 mm. These cubes are for us
fry. Before that, do not forget to salt them to taste.
If the pork is fat enough, then add oil to the pan
just a little bit, literally grease the bottom. With lean meat
there must be more oil, otherwise it will burn.
Although we will fry the meat until semi-hard. But it's one thing when it's cool
fried, but burnt is another matter. In general, we fry the squares while they
do not shrink to the minimum size, but at the same time, so that they can
chew.
While the meat is fried, we will prepare the so-called pouring, simply
speaking, we need to dissolve flour in water.
Take a soup plate, add flour, salt to taste and add a little
cold water, while stirring the contents of the plate.
We add water until all the flour dissolves and the mixture acquires
consistency of milk. We mix thoroughly so that no lumps remain.
You should make more than half of the plate. If more, then it's okay -
and there will be more kulesha!
how to cook kulesh
If everything is ready, then we proceed to the final stage. It is assumed that the meat
just came to readiness. In the left hand we take a plate with "milk"
and little by little pour into the pan.
Mix the contents of the pan intensively with your right hand.
As for the left and right hands, for example - as it is convenient for anyone.
Actually, such a simple matter, how to cook kulesh better done at four
hands - cooking time is reduced by one third.
When the last drop from the plate falls into the frying pan, we can assume that the kulesh
we have already prepared! For the sake of order, we will stir for another minute and remove the pan.
trying. I think you will like it.
Of course, the dish is far from a dietary one, but its recipe nice to keep
in stock: how many times it helped out in a situation when you need to hastily, but satisfying
On this I say goodbye to you, all the best to you and see you again on the blog!
Kulesh is deservedly considered a masterpiece of Ukrainian cuisine. In terms of popularity, it is inferior, perhaps, to Ukrainian borscht. Kulesh appeared on the tables at the suggestion of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, who prepared it during hikes and long trips, since this dish did not require any special conditions, no exact recipe, or special culinary skills. Later, it spread throughout Ukraine and even won fans in neighboring countries. Today kulesh or, as it is popularly called, "field soup", is an indispensable attribute of picnics and gatherings around the fire.
How to cook kulesh?
The hallmark of Ukrainian cuisine is the simplicity of preparation and the filling of the dishes. And kulesh is no exception in this regard. There are only 2 required ingredients: cereals and lard. The rest of the products are optional. It can be meat, mushrooms, vegetables, herbs and many others. other. You can take any groats for kulesha, millet is most often used. Connoisseurs of culinary traditions cook it separately from other products and add it to an almost ready-made dish. Pork lard is traditionally used for frying, preferably with a meat slot. Although lately, recipes with beef, stew and even sausages have been equally popular. Season the finished dish with garlic and herbs. Kulesh can be easily cooked at home in the kitchen, but if you want to fully enjoy the taste and aroma of the dish, cook it over the fire!
Kulesh: recipe for cooking
Ingredients: Millet - 100 g Potatoes - 6 pcs. Pork lard (fresh) - 150 g Onions - 2 pcs. Spices to taste
Pour about 2 liters of water into a saucepan and place on the stove to boil. Sort out the groats and rinse under running water. As soon as the water for the kulesha boils, add the cereal, add ½ tsp. salt and cook for 15-20 minutes. When the millet is almost done, add the chopped potatoes. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Cut the bacon into medium-sized cubes and fry a little to melt the fat. Then add chopped onion to the bacon. Fry everything together until golden brown. When the potatoes are tender, add the frying, salt, spices and stir. Delicious fragrant kulesh is ready!
Cossack kulesh: recipe for the fire
Ingredients: Millet - 200 g Carrots - 1 pc. Onions - 2 pcs. Potatoes - 4 pcs. Butter - 100 g Pork fat (fresh) - 200 g Spices - to taste Greens (green onions, parsley and / or dill)
Cut fresh pork lard into cubes and place in a pot, let it fry slightly and let the fat go. Chop the onions, grate the carrots. Place vegetables in a pot and fry, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes. Then pour 1.2-1.5 liters of water into the pot and leave to boil. Put chopped potatoes in boiled water. Cook for 5-7 minutes, then add thoroughly washed cereal. When the millet is boiled, add butter, spices and chopped herbs. Stir the kulesh thoroughly and serve.
Kulesh with meat: recipe
Ingredients: Millet - 300 g Meat (preferably beef) - 400 g Onions - 2 pcs. Pork fat (fresh) - 60-80 g Garlic - 2-3 slices Bay leaf - 1-2 pcs. Spices (cloves, black and / or red pepper) - to taste Parsley
Cut the meat into cubes about 2 cm in size, cover with water, place on the stove and cook, remembering to remove the resulting noise from time to time. Then add a few allspice peas, 1-2 small bay leaves, and cook until the meat is tender. Remove the prepared meat from the broth, and add the cereal, sorted and washed in several waters, into a saucepan. Cut fresh bacon into cubes and melt in a skillet over low heat. Fry the chopped onion in the resulting fat. 10-15 minutes before the millet is ready, put the meat, frying and dry spices in a saucepan. Season the finished dish with parsley and crushed garlic.
Kulesh with stew: recipe
Ingredients: Millet - 220 g Pork stew - 1 can (400 g) Potatoes - 10 pcs. Pork lard (fresh) - 150 g Onions - 2 pcs. Butter - 200 g Eggs - 7 pcs. Greens - 1 large bunch Spices - to taste
Cut the potatoes into cubes. Cut 1 onion into 4 parts, chop the 2nd onion. Put potatoes and coarsely chopped onions in a saucepan (or a pot, if cooking over a fire), pour 2 liters of cold water, add ½ tsp. salt and cook. When the potatoes are ready, remove the vegetables and mash them thoroughly with a fork. Pour washed millet into a saucepan and cooked until cooked. When the cereal is cooked, add the crushed potatoes with onions and the stew. Stir and simmer over low heat. In a separate bowl, fry the diced bacon and the remaining onion. When the onions are golden brown, send the fry to the pan of millet. Beat the eggs with a whisk and gently add to the porridge. Add chopped herbs, salt and spices. After 2-3 minutes, the kulesh can be served at the table.
Delicious kulesh in a slow cooker
Ingredients: Millet - 250 g Pearl barley - 250 g Pork (brisket) - 700 g Onions - 2 pcs. Carrots - 1 pc. Paprika - 3 tsp Garlic - 6 cloves Spices - to taste
Rinse millet and pearl barley well under running water. Transfer to a bowl, cover with boiling water and evaporate under a closed lid for 10-15 minutes. Then drain the water and rinse the grain again. Cut the pork into medium-sized pieces, carrots into rings, onions into cubes. Put everything in the multicooker bowl. Fry meat and vegetables in the baking mode. Do not close the lid in order to evaporate excess liquid. When the meat is tender, add cereals, whole garlic cloves and 5-6 tbsp. water. It is better to put the garlic directly in the peel, so it will retain its shape and will not dissolve during cooking. Close the lid of the multicooker, set the "pilaf" mode and varitekulesh until tender.
Kulesh is an incredibly tasty, satisfying and easy-to-prepare dish that even a novice housewife can handle. Try to cook a fragrant kulesh at home or at a picnic, and it will surely become your family's favorite dish.