Romanian cuisine is incredibly original. Central to it are all sorts of vegetables, with corn playing a major role among them.
Romanian cuisine is known for its stuffed rolls, made of sauerkraut and vine leaves (sarmale), filled with mince, feta cheese and rice.
Romanians love to eat vegetable dishes such as stuffed onions, ragout with green onions, beans with lard, puree of beans and fresh spices. Traditional Romanian soups are thick - broth with meat and various spices, and the soup known as borscht.
This is a soup with meatballs and vegetables. In Romania, people often cook tomato soup with garlic. Meat is often used in their cuisine. Exceptionally delicious are: mutton with garlic, smoked goat meat, sausages cooked on embers, chicken stewed in a clay pot.
Chulama is a beef ragout, prepared in a specific way. Liver shish kabob, frigărui, is popular as well. Grilled meatballs with mustard are called mititei. Romanians often cook the excellent paprikash de ventil - beef with red peppers and dough bites.
Corn and dishes made with it are essential for Romanian cuisine. These types of dishes are constantly present at the kitchen table in all corners of the country.
Mămăligă is the most acclaimed among these. In the villages, it is customary for it to be cut with a thread. To make it you need 1 2/3 cups of corn flour, 3 4/5 cups of water, 1/5 cup of butter, salt to taste.
Sift the flour and place part of it in boiling, salted water. Once it comes to a boil, pour in the rest of the flour while stirring well.
Boil for half an hour, stirring from the center of the container out toward the edges. You will know the dish is ready when you place a spoon in the middle of it, spin it between your palms, and then nothing remains on the spoon. Use a wet spoon to unstick it from the edges of the container and leave it on the stove for a little while longer.
Then shake the pot a few times and turn it upside down above a flat plate or wooden board. Pour melted butter on top and garnish with feta cheese, cream or milk.
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