Ingredients
Berries
- 1 kgberries
- bilberries, blueberries or raspberries
- or a mixture of forest berries
- 300 mlwater
To thicken
- 150 grye flour
- or a mixture of rye and wheat
- a little cold water
To sweeten
- 150 ghoney
- or to taste
- a pinch of salt
To serve
- cold milk
- soured cream
- fresh bread
- or on its own in bowls
Directions
- Add a little lemon if it tastes flat. Stir it in right at the very end. Kulaga is genuinely very thick. Pick over the berries carefully. Remove any leaves and green stalks. Rinse them gently in cold water. Soft berries crush easily under water.
- Rinse them in a bowl rather than a stream. Lift them out with your hands. Drain them briefly afterwards. Put the berries in a heavy pot. Add the measured water to them. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cooking them takes a few minutes. Let them cook for about ten minutes.
- Crush them lightly with a spoon. Sieving gives a smooth glossy pudding. Put the rye flour in a small bowl. Add cold water a spoonful at a time. Whisk it into a smooth thin paste. Dry flour tipped into hot liquid lumps at once. Pour the rye paste in very slowly.
- Whisk it hard as you pour it in. Keep whisking until it is all in. Let it cook out over a low heat. Stir it constantly with a wooden spoon. Give it about twenty-five minutes.
- Stir right into the corners each time. Do not stop stirring at any point. Taste a little to check for rawness. Cook it on if it still tastes floury. Judging the thickness takes a look.
- Add hot water if it goes too far. Take the pot right off the heat. Stir the honey in until it dissolves. Add a good pinch of salt with it. Taste it and adjust the sweetness. It is not enough to taste salty. Let it cool to room temperature. Or refrigerate it until it is cold. Spoon it out into deep warm bowls.
- Pour cold milk over the top of it. Cold milk against the thick pudding is the classic pairing. Serve fresh bread alongside it. It keeps four days refrigerated.
Technique
- Everything in the dish came from close by: honey from local hives rather than expensive sugar, berries gathered free from the forest, and rye as the grain that grew locally. It is a rural sweet from before sugar was affordable.
- The rye flour must be mixed to a smooth paste with cold water before it goes near the pot, since dry flour tipped into hot liquid lumps at once and those lumps never break down; that is the most important step in the dish.
- Rye thickens heavily and catches easily, so stir constantly right into the corners for the full twenty-five minutes; undercooked rye tastes chalky and dull, so taste it and cook it on if it still tastes floury.
Substitutions
- Blueberries stand in for bilberries, though they are sweeter and need more acidity.
- A mixture of rye and wheat flour gives a lighter result than rye alone.
Variations
- Some cooks sieve the berries for a smooth pudding and others leave them rough.
- It is eaten warm or cold, and both are traditional.
- Cold milk poured over it is the classic pairing.
History
Berries and rye flour boiled to a dark pudding and sweetened with honey, a rural sweet from before sugar was affordable.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kulaga?
Kulaga is a dessert from Belarus: thick berry pudding cooked with rye flour and honey. Berries and rye flour boiled to a dark pudding and sweetened with honey, a rural sweet from before sugar was affordable.
How long does Kulaga take to make?
Kulaga takes 15 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Kulaga?
Yes, within limits. Blueberries stand in for bilberries, though they are sweeter and need more acidity. A mixture of rye and wheat flour gives a lighter result than rye alone.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kulaga?
Rinse them in a bowl rather than a stream. Lift them out with your hands. Drain them briefly afterwards. Put the berries in a heavy pot. Add the measured water to them. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cooking them takes a few minutes. Let them cook for about ten minutes.
