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Cornmeal porridge
Smooth, creamy breakfast porridge of fine cornmeal with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and condensed milk
Cornmeal porridge is the breakfast many Jamaicans grew up on, cooked in homes across the island before school and work. Fine cornmeal is simmered slowly with milk and water until thick and velvety, then spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and sweetened with condensed milk. It's warm, filling and gently sweet. Chef's tip: whisk the cornmeal into cold water first to make a smooth slurry before it meets any heat. Adding dry cornmeal to hot liquid is how porridge goes lumpy.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 3 ½ oz fine cornmeal
- 1 cup cold water
- 2 cups water
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 tbsp sweetened condensed milkor to taste
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Whisk 3 ½ oz fine cornmeal into 1 cup cold water in a jug until completely smooth, with no dry lumps.
Step 2: Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan with 1 cinnamon stick and 1 pinch salt.
Step 3: Lower the heat and pour in the cornmeal slurry in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Keep whisking for 2 minutes as it comes back to a simmer and thickens.
2 minStep 4: Stir in 1 cup milk, then cook over a low heat for 10–12 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom, until the porridge is thick and creamy and the cornmeal no longer tastes gritty. It will spit if the heat is too high, so keep it at a lazy bubble.
12 minStep 5: Take out the cinnamon stick. Stir in ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 5 tbsp sweetened condensed milk, taste, and add more condensed milk if you like it sweeter. If it's too thick, loosen with a splash of milk. Serve hot in bowls.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does cornmeal porridge take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 15 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 vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
- What can I use instead of milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
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