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Wooden bowl with cornmeal in it and a wooden spoon on a red kitchen towel all on a gray marble surface.

Balkan Cornmeal Porridge (Pura, Kačamak, Bakardan)

Aida
Scrumptious Balkan delight called pura (Hercegovačka pura s lučenicom), made from corn flour, and topped with an incredible butter, garlic, and yogurt sauce.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Bosnian, Croatian, Kosovo, Macedonian, Montenegro, Serbian, Slovenian
Servings 2
Calories 2123 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 sauce pot (or another taller pot), not overly wide, with a lid
  • 1 sturdy wooden spoon (utensil) with a round stick

Ingredients
 
 

Cornmeal Porridge (Pura, Kačamak)

  • 6 cups water
  • ½ tablespoon salt and more, per taste
  • 1 pound cornmeal or corn flour
  • (Optional) 1 tablespoon oil

Butter, Garlic, Yogurt Sauce (Lučenica)

  • 3-5 ounces butter
  • 16-20 ounces plain yogurt or Greek yogurt (with a little water added and stirred so it's liquid), or sour milk
  • 3-4 garlic cloves minced or ground with mortar and pestle

Optional Toppings

  • dairy: feta cheese, kajmak clotted cheese, goat or soft cheeses
  • meats: fried bacon or ham, cracklings, or fried smoked beef

Instructions
 

Cornmeal Porridge (Pura)

  • In a sauce pot, add water and salt and bring to a rolling boil. Slowly add cornmeal (or corn flour) into it, making a small "hill" or "island" on top of the water with the flour. The water will surround it. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
  • With the end of your wooden spoon, puncture a hole from the top of the cornmeal "hill" to the bottom of the pot. (Alternatively, write a cross, or an "x" with your spoon, but only on top of the flour). This will allow some of the water to come through. (If you'd like, you can add a tablespoon of oil inside.) Cover the pot halfway with a lid. Lower the heat to the lowest setting and cook the cornmeal half-covered for at least 40-50 minutes.
  • With a ladle, take out any extra water from the porridge. Using the end of your wooden spoon, vigorously mix porridge for at least 10-15 minutes (the longer, the better) while keeping it on the lowest setting. Mixing will require some elbow grease because the mixture becomes very thick. When you start mixing, it'll look as if some of the flour is left uncooked. However, it only looks this way. It needs to remain firm, and clumps are normal. (If you want the porridge to be less "clumpy" return more water to the pot. The porridge shouldn't burn, however, it's expected that a minimal amount of the corn flour will stick to the bottom of the pot.

Butter, Garlic, Yogurt Sauce (Lučenica) - Parallel Step

  • Start making your sauce about halfway into the cornmeal cooking. In a deep pan, add butter, and set the temperature to the lowest. Cook until it caramelizes, about 6-8 minutes, swirling and stirring it very frequently. (It can go from caramelized to burnt very quickly, so be careful!) Remove from heat and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes.
  • While the butter is still warm, add yogurt and garlic to it. Stir well until it integrates.

Combine

  • Transfer the porridge to a big (preferably wooden) bowl and pour the butter, garlic, and yogurt sauce over it. Alternatively, pour the porridge into individual bowls right out of the pot, and top each with the sauce at that point.

Handling

  • Store it for up to 24 hours in an airtight container, in the fridge. However, the dish will not be the same the next day. Be aware you'll be saving it to make a different meal.
  • Serve as warm as you can handle. Add more regular yogurt if necessary. Optionally top with cracklings, dried beef, fried bacon bits, ham, feta cheese, clotted cheese kajmak, or goat cheese. Also optionally, serve along grah (bean soup), baked sauerkraut, Balkan-style jagerschnitzel, or a meat sauce like the mini ćevap, or goulash.
  • Reheating recommendation is to cut old pura into slices, fry them, and then top them with a jam of choice or cheese. If you want to eat it as is, heat it for 10 minutes on the stovetop and keep adding a little hot water while stirring at the same time.

Notes

  • Traditional Recipe 
Traditionally, the recipe was prepared with fresh corn flour or cornmeal brought directly from a local mill.
The mortar and pestle were used to grind the garlic, and sour milk was bought from a local dairy farmer.
  • Flour to Water Ratio
Most pura recipes call for a 1:2 ratio of corn flour to water.
We like to go 1:2.5, or 1:3 of corn flour to water, as we find it tastes better this way and makes it a tad bit easier to cook. You will take out some of the water anyway, and (if needed) return some to the pot with the corn flour. 
  • Making Porridge for More People
When making this dish for more people multiply the ingredients accordingly. 
  •  Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 2Sodium: 1159mgCalcium: 1881mgSugar: 58.7gFiber: 7.9gPotassium: 2873mgCholesterol: 371mgCalories: 2123kcalSaturated Fat: 85.5gFat: 134.4gProtein: 63gCarbohydrates: 161gIron: 5mg
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