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Anchi
Anchi: Salta's cool, lemony corn-semolina pudding, served with poached peaches
Sold in plastic cups from coolers at Salta's Mercado San Miguel and on village plazas at the end of a hot afternoon, anchi is a thin, sweet pudding of fine maize semolina cooked with water, sugar and plenty of lemon. It sets only softly, so it is half eaten and half drunk, cold and refreshing, often with slices of poached peach or a few rehydrated orejones (dried peaches) on top, and sometimes a dusting of cinnamon. There's no milk or egg in it, which is what keeps it light. Too much semolina is the easy error: anchi should pour slowly from the spoon when cold, not slice like polenta, so stick to the ratio and remember it thickens as it cools. Fine maize semolina is the Salta choice; fine wheat semolina works too. Chef's tip: add the lemon juice off the heat at the end; boiled lemon loses its fresh sharpness.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the pudding
To serve
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Bring 4 ¼ cups water, 4 oz sugar and 1 tbsp lemon zest to the boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Step 2: Turn the heat to low and pour in 2 ½ oz fine maize semolina (or fine wheat semolina) in a thin stream, whisking constantly so no lumps form.
1 minStep 3: Simmer, stirring often, until the semolina grains are soft and swollen and the mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon.
15 minStep 4: Take off the heat and stir in 4 tbsp lemon juice. It will look thin; it thickens as it cools.
Step 5: Pour into glasses or a bowl, cool, then chill until cold.
120 minStep 6: Serve cold, topped with 2 peaches and a dusting of cinnamon if you like.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does anchi take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of lemon juice?
- Lime juice, same amount.
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