Delicious recipes from Black Sea: 3 corn specialities
Corn and its byproducts can be considered one of the three main ingredients of Black Sea cuisine. Here, we present three regional specialties, including muhlama, a corn dish with cheese melted to stringy perfection
AS much as I am German, I am a Turk and to be precise, a Turk from Trabzon in the northwestern Black Sea region. As rich as its kitchen, my father would always jokingly say that it consisted of green beans, collard (a type of cabbage) and corn. In essence, he’s right so I’d like to share with you the corn part of this cuisine.
CORNMEAL
When the hills are as steep as in the Black Sea, it makes sense to forgo traditional wheat flour and go with calorie-dense cornmeal to make your bread or other baked goods. So why does this gluten-free flour (coarsely ground corn kernels) deserve a dedicated spot in Turkish cuisine? Because there are two kinds, roasted and unroasted. Many in Turkey are not even aware of this fact, the foremost reason why you’ll see people from the Black Sea bring unroasted cornmeal by the handfuls to the cities they are migrating to. Whenever I
meet up with family, I am inevitably asked at least once if I have any left.
BLACK SEA STYLE CORNBREAD
When I think of cornbread, I immediately remember the distinctive and intense smell, the golden color and how great it tastes once it is out of the oven, especially with a bit of salted butter. The great thing about using cornmeal or cornflour is that it is a gluten-free alternative to your usual bread made out of wheat. However, you need to be aware that cornbread is more on the drier side. So choose carefully what you pair with
this bread and make sure you cut it into thin slices.
INGREDIENTS
1 kilogram cornmeal 10 grams baking powder 3 tablespoons yogurt 50 milliliters vegetable oil 1 teaspoon sugar boiling hot water salt, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
First, a word of warning: the quantities I have listed make for a big loaf, so halve them if you think it will be too much. Put all the ingredients into a bowl and add about 200 milliliters (a classic Turkish water glass/1 cup) of the boiling water into it and mix with a spoon.
Gradually add water to the mix until it becomes a kneadable dough – until the dough doesn’t stick to the bowl anymore. Oil your bread pan and place your dough onto it, shaping it to your desire. Bake at 190 degrees Celsius (374 degrees Fahrenheit) until it turns a golden brown color. Usually, I’d say let it cool off to enjoy, but this kind of bread tastes the best when it is still warm.