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Friday, March 6, 2009

Hominy and Coconut Pudding (Canjica)

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canjica

I really wanted to share this recipe here even though hominy is not a very popular ingredient in the USA and perhaps not that easy to find (although I find it easily here in Seattle, at my grocery store in the Latin products aisle). Hominy looks like white dried corn kernels. This dessert is a typical Brazilian recipe that is normally made during the winter months (June, July and August). Although Wikipedia compares it to the American grits, I think Canjica (KAN-JEE-KA) is more like a rice pudding, but made with hominy instead of rice.

The recipe makes a lot, so keep left overs in the fridge. The use of crushed peanuts on top is optional, but most Brazilians wouldn't have it without it. Sweet condensed milk is a pantry staple in Brazil and it's used a lot more over there than here in the U.S. (not really something to be proud of). The amount of sugar to be added depends on your taste. Sweet condensed milk is already sweet, and if you are using shredded coconut that is already sweetened you might want to wait until the end of the cooking to see if more sugar is needed.

This is a very warming dessert. The spices make it so fragrant, it feels like a hug in your belly. For me it is even more, it's a bowl of sweetness that sends me back in time, straight to my mom's kitchen.

Hominy and Coconut Pudding Recipe:

You will need:

1 lb/500g of hominy (found in Latin Markets or Latin aisle of your supermarket)

2 quarts of water

1 can of sweet condensed milk

1 can of coconut milk

2 1/2 cups (500ml) of whole milk

2 sticks of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

10 whole cloves (see note below)

2 tablespoons of sugar (or more to taste)

2 cups of shredded coconut

crushed, toasted peanuts (optional)

Soak the hominy in water overnight. In a large pot, cook hominy with it's soaking water until they are soft, about 50 minutes. Add the condensed milk, whole milk, coconut milk and mix it well. Add the spices (cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon, cloves) and sugar, bring it to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring every once in a while. The pudding will thicken slightly. Stir in the shredded coconut and sweeten if necessary according to your taste.

Serve hot in individual bowls topped with a pinch of ground cinnamon and a tablespoon of crushed toasted peanuts (if using).

Note: I use a ball-shaped tea strainer that closes and place the cloves inside, so they won't get lost in the pudding and end up in my mouth. It is not a big deal, but you don't want to swallow an entire clove. Another option is making a sachet for the cloves using cheese cloth.

canjica1

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was looking for dry hominy for a while and only found the ones sold in cans which contain salt...now I know where I can find them. Love your idea of adding coconut milk. I'll definitely try your recipe.

Sylvia said...

Looks delicious. Is unbelievable but I never made and believe me I love it

Jennifer said...

What a fantastic use for hominy!!!!

Lori said...

I had never heard of this. It sounds so great. I've used hominy in savory dishes back home, but from the can. Now I know what that bag of stuff is in the corn section. I've never seen hominy dry and couldn't figure out what it was. Thanks!

Mallory Elise said...

oooh i love that photo of the condensed milk, brilliant! i have no idea what hominy is. but the sprinkle wallpaper on the page is so cute, i love it, makes me think im looking at a brigadeiro. hey i click on everything at TasteSpotting that says brazil or brazilian, but first time to your blog, and haha then i saw even better you are a seattleite, me too! but i live in spokane right now for school. but, i'm glad that after all your travels you picked seattle over all the others!

Siri said...

This sounds awesome. I adore hominey and love anything in pudding form.

Thanks for the recipe and great photo!

test it comm said...

I have never had or even seen hominy in stores but this looks and sounds good! Nice photos!

Not Another Omnivore said...

Mmmmm coconut....

Rita said...

Juliana - I never bought the canned ones, I try to avoid cans in general.

Sylvia - well, it's time to make it! I am sure you can find it easily in your neck of the woods.

Jennifer - in fact this is the only way I use hominy.

Lori - if you are going to be in Brazil in June, you should try it, that's when people make it. Have you ever been to a Festa Junina over there?

Mallory Elise - I love Seattle, never been around you area though (Spokane). The idea behind the sprinkles is exactly that: brigadeiro!! What could be more Brazilian...BTW- your photos are amazing (I took a pick at your site)

Siri - Thanks, hope you try it

Kevin - thanks, hominy is not that popular...

Naomi - Mmmm yesssssss........

Anonymous said...

Just found your site. I have canjica ready to be made, and I was wondering if you have ever made it in the crock-pot. It seems like it would work, instead of soaking overnight, cooking on low for many hours. Then adding all the extra yummy ingredients in the last hour or so before serving. Your site looks great, and I will be back!

Anonymous said...

Hi Glaucia - I never used a crock pot, so I can't really tell you if it will work, but if you can make beans in it, than you can certainly make canjica too. I just don't know if you should cook it in water and than adding the milks, or cook it straight in milk.
Hope it turns out yummy!

Lori said...

Just came back to bookmark this so I can make it this weekend and saw your question. I've been to one Festa Junina party, but didn't know enough about it to look for it. We will go again this year though and I'll have my eye out. I think I have all the stuff so I'm going to try my luck. :)

Tangled Noodle said...

I followed the link to this post from Lori at Fake Food Free - she raved about this wonderful dessert and I can see why! It looks absolutely delicious. I love sweet grain puddings and this one I've never tasted before but can't wait to try.

Rita said...

Thanks everyone:)

Kristi Oliveira said...

This is really good. My husband is from Brazil but the north part of Brazil where this is called mugunzá. My sister in law makes it and prepares her hominy is a pressure cooker first then cooks everything together. When I first tried it, I thought "wow, tastes like hominy". I am checking this out because I was actually looking for a recipe for it. I have my hominy cooking in the pressure cooker as I write this. I purchased it at a Brazilian food store, but you can also buy it online. (dry type)

Kristi Oliveira said...

Also, my sister in law uses the yellow canjica or yellow hominy.

Anonymous said...

Thank God I found the english name for milho de canjica!!!! Yummiiiiii!

Bibi said...

Oh, i love it! I am from Brazil and just miss Canjica (which also makes me remember my mom's kitchen!!!). Oh, you know that canjica can be different things in brazil? Really depend where you are from :* Thanks! :*

Unknown said...

This is a great recipe, all the required ingredients seem to be included! I will try it out!

Mara said...

For peanut butter lovers (as myself),canjica can be made with ground peanuts and some peanut butter (instead of coconut).It's really good!
BTW it's even better the next day.

Anonymous said...

This is a great recipe...but just try less sugar and a whole small pot of peanut butter crunchy an coconut...It's really good!!!

Anonymous said...

This is exactly how I remember having it as a child, 50 years ago, going soak it tonight and make it tomorrow, hummmmm

TaiaRock said...

I'm with a huge problem.... you said that we need to put the "write korn" in water overnight to became tender ... but i bought the hominy salt (can) and already tender..... Please help me... i think that I don't need do pre cook the hominy... only do the second step (put everything inside and wait 20minutes..)

David and Ann Emsheimer said...

We Have lived in Manaus for more than 40 years and you can buy a cup of Canjica with cinnamon sprinkled on top sold on the side of the road any time of the year. We never made it down there nor did we have a recipe so thank you for this. Now we can enjoy it here to.

benno@viventura.com said...

This looks absolutely gorgeous! I was wondering if I might use your header picture for my recipe: http://www.viventura.de/blog/791-canjica-oder-mugunza

Unknown said...

Hi I really like your blog. I'll try some of your recipes soon. By the way, canjicao(Hominy pudding) is the best. My dad is the one who does it in my family, he adds peanuts and it tastes so good. Thanks for all the recipes, and ill definitely try this one.

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