Making My Venezuelan Coconut Cornmeal Mush Easier, but just as Tasty
Hey, foodies in the hive!
I hope you're having a nice week 😊 In the mood for dessert? If you like coconut and cinnamon, you may love this one.
This is an even more inexpensive version of my recipe for Venezuelan coconut cornmeal mush.
This version is made more easily and also faster
and happens to be the favorite of my eldest sister because of its lighter texture. I adjusted my recipe to suit her taste because she's very fond of coconut cornmeal mush,
majarete as we call it in my hometown, Cumaná-Venezuela.
It's a dessert with a texture similar to Italian polenta, but with a less fine texture.
Besides, being a dessert, it is sweet. If we made it savory and with some vegetables or even meat, and some oil, margarine or butter, or pork fat, it' be a funche.
Cornmeal-based mixes are popular in Venezuela, not only because corn is a staple, but because we really love it.
INGREDIENTS
On a less busy day and with more time and resources at my disposal,
I would've used freshly processed cornmeal and homemade cane honey; I would also have cooked it in a large pot over a wood fire.
These are the ingredients I used this time:
- 1 lt freshly made milk from 1-2 coconuts
- 1 cup granulated piloncillo
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 75 gr corn flour (I used PAN)
- 1 tablespoon aniseed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- some of the fine fiber from the coconut milk
THE PROCESS
Take a deep breath and start with the coconuts. We need fresh milk to make this traditional dessert if we want it to taste like real coconut.
Open the soft pore and let the water come out in a glass. We'll use it to make the milk.


Then take the flesh out of the shells. I used a knife, but there are special tools for this which keep you from losing a finger 😌 Cut the flesh into thin pieces of about 4 mm. Blend the flesh with the water. Let the blender go a couple of times to get the most of the coconut flesh.
You can save a little coconut flesh to grate it on top of the finished dessert.

Different from how I make coconut milk for drinking, this time I didn't use the yogurt drip bag but a medium fine mesh strainer, so that some of the coconut fiber will pass through to the dessert mixture. This gives the sensation of a more rustic, and for many, tastier dessert. I find it less delicate, but more fun than when I use the fully strained milk and just add shredded coconut instead of the processed fiber.


Start cooking the milk on medium fire. Add the cinnamon stick, aniseed, vanilla essence, salt, and sugar. Stir constantly as it cooks to help the spices release their flavor.

First hack: granulated piloncillo
One thing that made my job easier was using this granulated piloncillo. I didn't have enough cane honey in the fridge, so I opted for this little hack and it worked just fine. I use 1 cup, but it's a matter of taste. In fact, everything is a matter of taste when it comes to traditional desserts in Venezuela, as every family has a recipe and every member of the family likes it with a twist here and there.

2nd hack: Use the blender to integrate the corn flour into the mixture and avoid lumps
If you don't have experience integrating corn flour into a hot mixture, you'll almost certainly get lots of lumps. The same may be true if the pan you're using is small and you don't have room to stir vigorously. I used a small pot, so I helped myself with the blender.
Take some of the hot mixture and mix it with cold coconut milk in the blender. The idea is that the liquid should be warm and not hot, as you may have an accident when you turn on the blender; the lid will fly off and the liquid will fall out, so be careful.

Add the desired amount of corn flour and let the blender do its job.

Then incorporate the mixture to the cooking pot and mix well.

As you mix, you will see how it thickens. In my case, it happened in about 3 minutes.

Give it a taste, see if the corn flour is cooked, take the cinnamon sticks out of the mixture and immediately, pour the mixture into your favorite mold while it's still hot. In Venezuela, we use a deep plate and then turn it over once is set. I used a round pyrex because I don't have any deep plates at the moment.


Sprinkle ground cinnamon on top.

Grate the little coconut flesh you saved when making the milk and sprinkle it on top of the mush, too. This mush will cool in no time, and the you can refrigerate it; however, some people like it hot or warm, in which case, they use a spoon to eat it. When it's set and cool, you can eat it with your fingers.

Enjoy!

As usual, I hope you found this post useful 😁
Thank you, thank you so much, @foodiesunite, @sirenahippie ❤️💯
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Thank you so much for your consideration and support, @plantpoweronhive 💕💚
I had no idea that this porridge, which I usually spoon out, could be savored like a soft cake. Curious about the taste and I will try it if I have corn later.
Sometimes I eat it hot, and it's so nice for a rainy day 😋
Save a little for us your Hive friends 😌
Thank you so much for stopping by ❤️
It must be delicious. Thanks for the recipe and steps :)
I hope you like as much as I do 💟
Have a nice day and thanks a lot for stopping by!
You're welcome. So do you, have a nice day :)
I’ve never tried majarete before but I love anything with coconut and cinnamon—it reminds me of the sweet snacks my grandma used to make.
Oh, grandma's snacks are always the best, aren't they ❤️
I'm also very fond of the combination of coconut and cinnamon 😁💯
Thank you so much for dropping by!
This definitely looks amazing. I have coconut, i will certainly try this ☺
Let me know if you do, please. I'm sure you'll love it because freshly made coconut milk is the secret ❤️
Have a lovely day!
Me encantó esta versión más fácil y rápida de hacer el Majarete. Creo que te conté que mi abuela siempre lo preparaba. Este postre fue parte de mi infancia y siempre será mi favorito. Asi que tu hermana y yo podemos sentarnos a compartir un plato de Majarete! Jeje! Aunque hace muchos años que no lo como. Por cierto, aquí en Chile hay un postre que se llama "MaNjarete". Nunca lo he probado porque no me llama la atención, pero creo que es un dulce de leche con crema batida. Pero, como te dije, nunca lo he probado, así que no se a que sabe.
Da gusto verte preparar este tipo de recetas, por eso siempre es un placer pasar por tu cocina, Marlyn.🥰
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Hola, Zu! Claro que recuerdo y creo que esa memoria siempre estará contigo. Ojalá consigas prepararlo y rememorar algo de la felicidad de la infancia. Para mí, las memorias vinculadas a la comida son maravillosas porque en parte, se pueden recrear, como cuando un aroma o una imagen te transporta a otro tiempo, pero con sabor 😁
Gracias por pasar, querida amiga ❤️
It looks very delicious. But to make it, I have to wait until I get back to India, to have fresh coconut milk.:)
I hope everything is peaceful when you come back to India, friend ❤️ Save a slice of your mush for me, please, please 😁
I am hoping that will cool down what is going on there. and invite you to visit us. :)
Dioooooooos ! no podré dormir hasta que me coma esta maravilla, creo que me dio un patatus jajaja, me has enyeyado 🤣
Esta es una de esas recetas con las que sueño por semanas hasta que logro hacerla , realmente me antojaste amiga, yo quieroooooooo
Me encanta este postre, solo he comido el que hacía mi madre y recuerdo lo delicioso que le quedaba, pero tu no te quedas atrás amiga porque realmente luce estupendo, lastima que no me puedas pasar una porción por aqui por la pantalla de mi laptop 😁💕
Tú crees que vivamos para ver las pantallas que nos dejen pasar la comida, jaja? Eso qué será, tecnología 8D?! 🤣
Gracias por pasar! Ojalá llegue a tus manos un majarete igualito al que hacía tu mamá ❤️
the texture is very similar to cheesecake! this recipe is definitely delicious.
Hey, @aswita 😃 Thank you so much for stopping by!
I think cheesecake has a thicker texture. BTW, I'm very fond of cheesecake 💯
Hope you're having a nice week!
https://www.reddit.com/r/veganrecipes/comments/1kt9txm/coconut_cornmeal/
This post has been shared on Reddit by @yale95reyra through the HivePosh initiative.
Querida Marlyn,
Me has hecho recordar las tardes de merienda en casa de la abuela, a ella le encantaba preparar el majarete la casa se impregnaba del olor a canela, a clavo y papelón, la mezcla la ponía en platos de peltre y colocaba canela yo miraba ansiosa esperando a que enfriara, me sorprendía como tomaba la forma del plato, lo que más me encantaba era el sabor y encontrarme pedacitos de coco...
Receta hermosa y practica.