![]() Buckwheat kasha | |
Type | Porridge, oatmeal |
---|---|
Region or state | Eastern Europe |
Main ingredients | Cereal (buckwheat, wheat, barley, oats, millet or rye) |
In English, kasha usually [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3] refers to the pseudocereal buckwheat or its culinary preparations. In Eastern European cuisine, kasha can apply to any kind of cooked grain. It can be baked but most often is boiled, either in water or milk, and therefore the term coincides with the English definition of 'porridge', but the word can also refer to the grain before preparation, which corresponds to the definition of 'groats'. Kasha is eaten widely in Belarus (каша), the Czech Republic (kaše), Lithuania (košė), Poland (kasza), Romania and Moldova (cașa), Russia (каша), Slovakia (kaša), Slovenia (kaša), Kazakhstan, and Ukraine (каша), where the term, besides buckwheat, can apply to wheat, barley, oats, millet, rye and even rice. Kasha has been an important element of Slavic diet for at least 1,000 years. [1]
This English-language usage probably originated with Jewish immigrants, as did the form קאַשיkashi (literally translated as "porridges"). [2]
As an Ashkenazi-Jewish comfort food, kasha is often served with onions and brown gravy on top of farfalle, known as kasha varnishkes. [3] Kasha is a popular filling for knishes [4] and is sometimes included in matzah-ball soup.[ citation needed ]
In Czech the cognate kaše (Czech pronunciation: [kaʃɛ] ) has a wider meaning that also encompasses mashed potato (bramborová kaše), pease pudding (hrachová kaše), etc.
In Polish, cooked buckwheat groats are referred to as kasza gryczana. Kasza can apply to many kinds of groats: millet (kasza jaglana), barley (kasza jęczmienna), pearl barley (kasza jęczmienna perłowa, pęczak), oats (kasza owsiana), as well as porridge made from farina (kasza manna). [5] Bulgur can be also be referred to as a type of kasza in Polish (kasza bulgur).
As Polish blood sausage is prepared with buckwheat, barley or rice, it is called kaszanka (kasha sausage).
Annual per capita consumption of groats in Poland was approximately 1.56 kg (3.4 lb) per year in 2013. [6]
The largest gross buckwheat consumption per capita is in Russia, with 15 kg (33 lb) per year, followed by Ukraine, with 12 kg (26 lb) per year. [7] Buckweat comprises 20% of all cereal consumption in Russia. [8]
In Russian, buckwheat is referred to formally as гречиха (grechi(k)ha), or colloquially as гречка (grechka). Buckwheat grain and buckwheat groats are known as гречневая крупа (grechnevaya krupa). Corresponding words in Yiddish are gretshkes/greytshkelach and retshkes/reytshkelach.
The most popular kasha recipe in Russia is that of crumbly cooked buckwheat seasoned with butter. Buckwheat kasha can be eaten at any time of the day, either as a separate dish or as a side dish. Other popular kasha recipes are made with millet, semolina (манная каша) and oatmeal. Cooked with milk and sugar, they are often seen as a breakfast staple, especially for children. Pearl barley porridge is less popular but also eaten. High quality tushonka can be used to season kasha as well, since tushonka is rich in flavor and full gravy-like jelly, but the jelly needs some heating to melt into kasha.
Kasha is one of the Russian national dishes, together with shchi. This fact is commemorated in the Russian saying, "щи да каша –пища наша" (shchi da kasha –pishcha nasha), which literally translates as "shchi and kasha are our food" or "cabbage soup and porridge are what we eat". The expression has an implied figurative meaning of "it is enough to eat those two meals to live" or "it doesn't matter what happens in Russia at large, we still live the same way."
Butter is often eaten with most kasha recipes, hence another Russian saying: "кашу маслом не испортишь", which translates to "you won't ruin kasha with butter". [9]
Ethiopian cuisine characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes. This is usually in the form of wat, a thick stew, served on top of injera, a large sourdough flatbread, which is about 50 centimeters in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour. Ethiopians usually eat with their right hands, using pieces of injera to pick up bites of entrées and side dishes.
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal, or it can be mixed with spices, meat, or vegetables to make a savoury dish. It is usually served hot in a bowl, depending on its consistency. Oat porridge, or oatmeal, is one of the most common types of porridge. Gruel is a thinner version of porridge and congee is a savoury variation of porridge of Asian origin.
Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been de-husked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains (groats) that have either been milled (ground), rolled, or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel-cut oats are known as coarse oatmeal, Irish oatmeal, or pinhead oats. Rolled oats were traditionally thick old-fashioned oats, but can be made thinner or smaller, and may be categorized as quick oatmeal or instant oatmeal depending on the cooking time required, which is determined by the size of the oats and the amount of precooking.
Polish cuisine is a style of food preparation originating in and widely popular in Poland. Due to Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and shares many similarities with other national cuisines. Polish cooking in other cultures is often referred to as à la polonaise.
Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds of social circles.
Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and commonly other ingredients such as sweeteners, spices, flavourings and sometimes eggs.
Groats are the hulled kernels of various cereal grains, such as oats, wheat, rye, and barley. Groats are whole grains that include the cereal germ and fiber-rich bran portion of the grain, as well as the endosperm.
Pease pudding, also known as pease porridge, is a savoury pudding dish made of boiled legumes, typically split yellow peas, with water, salt and spices, and often cooked with a bacon or ham joint. A common dish in the north-east of England, it is consumed to a lesser extent in the rest of Britain. In Newfoundland, it retains its traditional name as part of the customary Jiggs dinner. In non-English speaking countries, similar dishes exist under different names.
Belarusian cuisine refers to the culinary traditions native to Belarus. It shares many similarities with cuisines of other Eastern, Central and Northeastern European countries, based predominantly on meat and various vegetables typical for the region.
Kishka or kishke refers to various types of sausage or stuffed intestine with a filling made from a combination of meat and meal, often grain or potato. The dish is popular across Eastern Europe as well as with immigrant communities from those areas. It is also eaten by Ashkenazi Jews who prepare their version according to kashrut dietary laws.
Tatar cuisine is primarily the cuisine of the Volga Tatars, who live in Tatarstan, Russia, and surrounding areas.
Yemeni cuisine is distinct from the wider Middle Eastern cuisines with regional variation. Although some foreign influences are evident in some regions of the country, the Yemeni kitchen is based on similar foundations across the country.
A nut roast or roasted nut loaf is a vegetarian dish consisting of nuts, grains, vegetable oils, broth or butter, and seasonings formed into a firm loaf shape or long casserole dish before roasting and often eaten as an alternative to a traditional British style roast dinner. It is popular with vegetarians at Christmas, as well as part of a traditional Sunday roast. Nut roasts are also made by Canadian and American vegetarians and vegans as the main dish for Thanksgiving or other harvest festival meals.
Kashe varnishkes is a traditional dish of the American-Jewish Ashkenazi community. It combines kasha with noodles, typically bow-tie shape lokshen egg noodles.
Chadian cuisine is the cooking traditions, practices, foods and dishes associated with the Republic of Chad. Chadians use a medium variety of grains, vegetables, fruits and meats. Commonly consumed grains include millet, sorghum, and rice as staple foods. Commonly eaten vegetables include okra and cassava. A variety of fruits are also eaten. Meats include mutton, chicken, pork, goat, fish, lamb and beef. The day's main meal is typically consumed in the evening on a large communal plate, with men and women usually eating in separate areas. This meal is typically served on the ground upon a mat, with people sitting and eating around it.
Mordovian cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Mordovians, who now live in Mordovia and surrounding areas. It consists of a variety of dishes, based on geographical, cultural and climate features of the region, with fish traditionally featured heavily.
Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that was developed by the Ashkenazi Jews of Central, Eastern, Northwestern and Northern Europe, and their descendants, particularly in the United States and other Western countries.
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