Mazamorra

Ingredients

Maize

• 300 gdried cracked white maize, maíz trillado
• 2 litreswater
• a pinch of salt

To finish

• 1 litrewhole milk
• 1cinnamon stick, optional

To serve

• panela or bocadillo, guava paste
• more cold milk
• sugar, to taste

Directions

1. Use cracked white maize, sold as maíz trillado or maíz pelado, not sweetcorn and not polenta.
2. Rinse it well and soak it overnight in plenty of cold water.
3. The overnight soak cuts the cooking time by half and is the difference between two hours and four.
4. Drain it, put it in a large pot with 2 litres of fresh water and a pinch of salt, and bring it to a boil.
5. Simmer it, partly covered, for about 2 hours, until the grains have swollen, split open and gone completely soft.
6. Top up with hot water whenever it drops below the grain, because it drinks a great deal as it cooks.
7. Stir it now and then and scrape the base, because maize settles and catches easily.
8. The grains should be soft enough to crush between your fingers with no hard centre.
9. Some of the starch will have thickened the water, which is exactly what should happen and is why it is not drained.
10. Add the milk and the cinnamon stick and bring it back to a very gentle simmer.
11. Add the milk only once the maize is fully cooked. Grain will not soften properly in milk, and milk added early scorches on the base over two hours.
12. Simmer 10 minutes more, stirring, until it is a loose, creamy porridge.
13. Keep the heat low once the milk is in and stir constantly, because it catches in seconds.
14. It should pour rather than hold its shape. If it is too thick, let it down with more milk.
15. Serve it warm or cold, in a bowl, with more cold milk poured in at the table.
16. The sweetening happens in the bowl: a lump of panela stirred in, or a slice of bocadillo eaten alongside.
17. Bocadillo, the firm guava paste, eaten in bites between spoonfuls, is the Antioquian way and it is the whole point of the dish there.
18. It is what a paisa family finishes lunch with, and it is sold from carts and shops all over Medellín.
19. The Peruvian mazamorra morada, made with purple maize and fruit, is a different dish under the same name.

Technique

• It thickens considerably in the fridge and is loosened with milk.
• Some households cook it entirely in milk from the start, which needs constant attention.
• It is eaten warm in the mountains and cold in the heat.

Substitutions

• Tinned hominy, drained and rinsed, which cuts the cooking to 20 minutes.
• Condensed milk stirred through, in place of panela.

Variations

• Mazamorra morada, the Peruvian purple maize version.
• With cinnamon and clove cooked in.
• Served cold as a drink, thinned with milk.

History

The everyday dessert of Antioquia; paisa families finish lunch with it, often alongside a slice of guava paste.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mazamorra?

Mazamorra is a dessert from Colombia: cracked maize simmered in milk, sweetened with panela and eaten with bocadillo. The everyday dessert of Antioquia; paisa families finish lunch with it, often alongside a slice of guava paste.

How long does Mazamorra take to make?

Mazamorra takes 10 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mazamorra?

Yes, within limits. Tinned hominy, drained and rinsed, which cuts the cooking to 20 minutes. Condensed milk stirred through, in place of panela.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mazamorra?

The overnight soak cuts the cooking time by half and is the difference between two hours and four.