It is not by accident that Slavic people had grain and groats as a symbol of home and good housekeeping. There are many Russian fairy tales, songs and proverbs about kasha. For example, "you never make kasha with him" means a stubborn and intractable person. Kasha was a necessary part of every feast, a symbol of wealth and well-being. Kasha was a ceremonial dish. Baptizing kasha was given to a child with words "kasha is on the spoon, baby will walk soon." Kasha took a very important place at any holiday dinners. In general, the assortment of kashas was very large in the Russia: kashas of different consistency with meat, fish, onion, milk, water, sour cream, broth, or different juices.
There was a special holiday consecrated by the church: "Babya kasha" (Women kashas). You can't imagine Russian cuisine without kashas. Russian people say: "Schi and kasha are our principal meal". There is no person, I am sure, who would not love kasha. Some prefer milk kasha, others - with butter, fruits, or cheese. But how to cook a good kasha?
Is it not very difficult, but be careful to not simplify things. Doing so your family will get feed up with your tasteless kashas very quickly. As a result, adults won't eat kashas at all and kids will hate them with all their hearts. But all you need is a little knowledge, patience, and fantasy and kasha will be a real holiday treat for you and your family. There are several kinds of kasha: rice, semolina, cereal, buckwheat, millet , oatmeal etc. You can cook viscous kasha on milk or crumbly kasha on water or broth.
I would love to give you some advice how to make your kasha tastier. The best crock to cook kasha in is a cast-iron pot. Kasha will keep the form of every grain in the cast-iron dish. If you are going to cook a crumbly kasha, it is better to fry the groats for a couple of minutes. Cover the bottom of the pan in no more than 2-3 cm deep of grains and fry, agitating regularly. Of course, don't forget to wash the groats and sort out the bad grains. The most important question is how much liquid do we need for kasha? The rule is the same for all kinds of cereals: 1 cup of cereal needs 2 cups of water. Pour the cereal into the boiling salted water. When kasha is dense, put the cover on the pan. Never stir kasha force. Put a piece of butter on the top and cover again.
Then take a deep pan and fill it halfway with water. Put the pot of kasha on the pan and place them into a heated oven. The oven must have an average temperature of 350 degrees. The kasha must be stewed there for 1-2 hours. Well, as you see, we have cooked real Russian crumbly kasha. Kasha is the best thing for women who want to be in good shape or who is on a diet. Kasha can serve as a wonderful medicine to people with digestion problems.
Rice kasha with mushrooms:
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Edited by Gloria Newport