Pshennaya Kasha

golden millet groats simmered in milk until soft and creamy and enriched with butter, sometimes baked with pumpkin, the homely millet porridge that fed the Russian countryside for centuries

Origin: Russia

From the journey of Millet.

Broomcorn millet travelled in prehistory the whole length of the Eurasian steppe out of North China, and in Russia and Eastern Europe it became one of the great porridge grains, the staple of the peasant table for centuries before the potato. Pshennaya kasha, millet porridge, belongs to the cherished Russian family of kashas, the simmered grain dishes (with buckwheat and barley) that were the foundation of the everyday diet and so woven into the culture that 'kasha' came to mean, in countless sayings, home, plenty, and harmony itself. The hulled millet groats, psheno, are golden and faintly sweet; they are rinsed and often scalded to remove any bitterness, then simmered slowly in milk (or milk and water) until soft, thick, and creamy, and finished, as all good kasha is, with a generous knob of butter, for 'you cannot spoil kasha with butter'. It is eaten for breakfast and as a comforting supper, sweetened with sugar, honey, or jam, or baked in the oven with pumpkin (tykvennaya kasha) into a golden, custardy dish. Humble, warming, and nourishing, pshennaya kasha is the millet at the heart of the Russian comfort kitchen.

Ingredients

200 g hulled millet (psheno)
500 ml milk
250 ml water
1 tbsp sugar (or honey, to taste)
0.5 tsp salt
40 g butter, plus extra to serve

Method

Rinse the millet in several changes of water until it runs clear, then pour over boiling water, leave a minute, and drain. This scalding removes the slight bitterness millet can carry.
Put the drained millet in a pot with the water and salt. Bring to the boil, then simmer, part-covered, for about 10 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed.
Add the milk and sugar, bring back to a gentle simmer, and cook, stirring now and then, for a further 15 to 20 minutes, until the millet is soft and the porridge thick and creamy.
Stir in the butter, cover, and let stand off the heat for 5 to 10 minutes to finish softening.
Serve hot, with more butter, and sweetened with sugar, honey, or a spoon of jam.

Notes

Hulled millet (psheno) is golden; rinse and scald it well, as the bran can taste bitter. Cook it sweet with milk for breakfast or pudding, or savoury in water or stock with butter as a side dish. Baking it with pumpkin (tykvennaya kasha) is a beloved Russian variation. Leftover kasha sets firm and can be fried in butter.

The Gastrographer

Name: Pshennaya Kasha
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Russia
Ingredients: 200 g hulled millet (psheno); 500 ml milk; 250 ml water; 1 tbsp sugar (or honey, to taste); 0.5 tsp salt; 40 g butter, plus extra to serve

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control