Banosh (banush or tokan) (Ukrainian: бануш, банош, токан ) is a velvety cornmeal porridge, often served with a variety of toppings. It is a beloved dish among Hutsuls, pastoral highlanders who inhabit the forests, mountain slopes and river valleys in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains and in the northern part of present-day Romania.
Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains***
Banosh is a traditional Hutsulian dish with simple ingredients – stone-ground cornmeal, homemade heavy cream or crème fraiche (cultured sour cream) and bryndza, a sheep’s milk hard cheese. It is an old dish. Banosh likely was included in Hutsul cooking in the mid-18th century when corn cultivation reached the Carpathian valleys from Moldova and Romania, and milled corn became a diet staple.
Corn drying in Bukovel, Ukraine***
Traditionally, banosh was and is cooked by shepherds on the mountain slopes, since Hutsuls deemed tending sheep and everything related to it such as cheesemaking to be men’s work.
Hutsul sheepherding***
The herds are milked daily, and sheep’s milk is preserved as cheese and used for cooking.
Making bryndza***
Preparing banosh involves slow cooking in a large cast iron pot over an open fire, which imparts a smokey flavor into the final dish.
Hutsul elders claim banosh is a product of hard times. When meat was scarce and only sheep’s milk and a cornmeal were available, cooks discovered that combining cornmeal and sheep’s milk created a nourishing meal.
Local folklore also claims that banosh is the “soul” of Hutsul cuisine, and Hutsul homesteads have a special place where now women also cook banosh.
Cooking banosh at Rakhiv Banosh Festival***
Some Hutsuls say only a born Hutsul, who is expert in dairy, local mushrooms and salo, can cook a proper banosh. Falling in love with a Hutsul girl also assures a tasty banosh! As for the porridge’s name, another legend claims that banosh was named after a man named Banosh, whose caring wife kept calling him to come “eat Banosh.”
Similar corn porridges are prepared in neighboring countries. Banosh is a close culinary “cousin” of mămăligă (Romania, Moldova, Poland), bălmuș (Romania) and banusz (Poland), and a more distant cousin of polenta (Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia), grits (America), corn mush (America) and corn porridge (many other countries).
According to ethnographers, Hutsuls are related to their mountain-dwelling neighbors. And although there is archeological evidence the Carpathian Mountains were inhabited for over 100,000 years, there are diverse views on Hutsuls’ origins.
Seeking refuge in the mountains seems to be a common thread in various origin narratives. Some Ukrainian historians assert that the name hutsul was originally kochul (nomad), which morphed into hotsul, and refers to inhabitants of Kyivan Rus’ who fled from the Mongol invasion into the Carpathian Mountains in the 13th century. Other scholars believe Hutsuls descended from White Croats, a Slavic Tribe that settled the area, eventually falling under the control of Kievan Rus’. Other historians believe the name derives from a subtribe of ancient Turkic Utsians or Uzians, who also sought shelter in the Carpathians. Still others claim that the name comes from the Romanian word for outlaw, hoţul/hoţ or are named after Hetsula, Prince Rostyslav of Moravia. Whatever their origin, Hutsuls and the mountain people of Romania, Poland and Slovakia (Górales) and Czech Republic (Moravian Wallachs) have a shared history throughout centuries. The Hutsul language, a dialect of Ukrainian, is a mosaic of vocabularies from Polish, Hungarian, Armenian, Slovak, Czech, Russian, Romani and other languages.
Isolated from the world by the rugged Carpathians, Hutsuls overcame environmental challenges and became fiercely independent, suspicious of strangers. By the late Middle Ages, the Hutsuls came under the rule of Hungarian and Polish nobles. But Hutsuls, protective of their settlements, kept outsiders at arm’s length. In fact, outside rulers feared the Hutsuls who formed Robin-Hood-like bands (opryshoks) to avenge oppression of the poor by nobles. Later, they provided shelter to peasants who fled into the mountains to escape serfdom. By the mid-19th century there were over 100 Hutsul villages and 10 noble-owned towns in the region, yet Hutsuls lived beyond the rule of the Austro-Hungarian government.
Hutsuls spent almost 60 years of the 20th Century under the rule of four different nations, but steadfastly fought numerous times for Ukraine’s freedom, bravely coping with natural elements and geopolitical upheaval.
Today, they are again fighting Russian invaders for Ukraine’s survival with available arms, seemingly confident that empires and nations may come and go, but the Hutsuls and Ukraine will endure.
Stories of Hutsul heroism and perseverance, fierce independence and a long tradition of righting wrongs and helping the abused spread throughout Ukrainian society as did their colorful traditions and food. Today, Hutsuls are esteemed by Ukrainians and banosh, once a regional dish, is prepared throughout Ukraine.
A Hutsul family in holiday dress
Hutsul musicians during Christmas celebrations
There are as many banosh recipes as there are cooks. Each recipe has two principal ingredients (cornmeal and dairy) but individual cooks express creativity with flavorings and toppings. Banosh can be prepared in various densities from thick enough to slice, an alternative to bread, to soft and creamy.
Whether thick and dense or soft and creamy, banosh is often served with toppings such as fried onions, sautéed mushrooms, cracklings (fried bacon or salted pork belly), smoked sausage, crumbled bryndza or feta and even stewed prunes for a vegetarian option. Sometimes banosh is layered with toppings into a torte-like entrée. Leftover banosh is sliced and fried in butter for breakfast, lunch or appetizer.
For this post, I adapted the banosh recipe* proposed by popular Ukrainian chef Ievgen Klopotenko by substituting crème fraiche for plain sour cream to replicate the Hutsul taste. This substitution enhances banosh’s velvety texture with a light tartness and more complex flavor profile. Rather than using only oyster mushrooms in the topping, I also added meaty king trumpet mushrooms and cremini which added a notable umami taste and woodsy fragrance.
Without a campfire and the romantic setting of a mountain top in the Carpathians, but armed with a cast iron pot, a wooden spoon, cornmeal, crème fraiche, assorted mushrooms and bryndza,** I cooked a flavorful and velvety banosh in 30 minutes on my Chicago kitchen stove. When finished, I layered banosh on a serving plate with mozzarella, ending with a handful of grated bryndza and sautéed mushrooms. On other occasions, I’ve served banosh as a side dish to grilled sausages or other meats.
This vegetarian banosh is deeply satisfying. The combination of finely-ground cornmeal cooked with crème fraiche makes a nourishing and comforting dish with a tender, smooth consistency, a perfect platform for a choice of toppings. I’ve enjoyed banosh topped with crispy salty cracklings in Ukraine and that version also produces an appetizing meal.
Banosh with Mushrooms and Bryndza, adapted from Ievgen Klopotenko.
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red onion
5 ounces (150 g) assorted wild and cultivated mushrooms such as oyster, trumpet and cremini, wiped clean not soaked in water, torn or cut into random pieces
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
6 ounces (120 g) medium stone-ground cornmeal
2 cups (473 ml) whole milk, or more if a softer texture is desired
1 cup (237 ml) water
6 ounces (170g) crème fraiche or heavy cream
2 ounces (56.7 g) crumbled or grated sheep milk bryndza or Greek feta, taste for saltiness
2 ounces (56.7 g) fresh mozzarella, optional
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste, omit if bryndza or feta are very salty
Fresh parsley or dill, finely chopped
Preparing mushroom topping: In a large skillet, melt butter and then add oil. Over medium heat, sauté onion for 3-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Remove with slotted spoon to a dish and set aside.
Mushrooms for topping
Increase heat under skillet to medium-high and add half of the mushrooms, not crowded. Sauté until browned at edges. Remove with slotted spoon to bowl with onions. Sauté the remaining mushrooms and combined in with onions. Stir in thyme. Keep warm.
Finished mushroom topping
Preparing banosh: Warm cornmeal in a dry skillet for 2 minutes.
Banosh ingredients
Combine milk, ½ cup water and crème fraiche in a medium cast-iron pot or saucepan and cook over medium heat for 2 more minutes, until simmering. Whisk in the corn meal in a steady stream, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula. Add salt and pepper. Continue whisking for 2-3 minutes until banosh gets slightly thicker and glossier. (The mixture will still be very loose.)
Reduce heat to low and partially cover the pot, leaving a crack so steam can escape. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 30-40 minutes until the cornmeal is tender, thickened and smooth. (If banosh appears too thick, add remaining water, a few tablespoons at a time. Banosh should be velvety and swirl easily.) Adjust salt, keeping in mind that bryndza is salty.
Cooking banosh
Remove pot from the heat and cover it until ready to serve, up to 30 minutes. Drizzle a bit of milk over the surface before covering to prevent a skin from forming, if serving later. Before serving, reheat the grits over low heat, stirring and adding more milk if needed.
Ladle a layer of banosh on a serving plate. Cover first layer with a few tablespoons of mozzarella. Cover with remaining banosh. Sprinkle with grated bryndza and several spoons of the mushroom mixture.
Serve immediately while hot, plain or with your favorite toppings. Or tightly cover and keep warm in oven until ready to serve. If banosh thickens while waiting, add a few spoons of warm milk to return to a velvety state.
Serves 2 as the main course; 4 as a side dish. Recipe can be doubled.
* Ievgen Klopotenko, Ukrainian Cuisine in 70 Dishes, Knigolove, Kyiv 2021.
**Bryndza is available in Eastern European or Jewish delis and online.
***Photo credits: Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains —30149473 © Leonidtit | Dreamstime.com
Corn drying — 225340207 / Hutsul © Chenwenhsin | Dreamstime.com
Hutsul sheepherding — 78694630 © Panaramka | Dreamstime.com
Making bryndza — 160190935 / Hutsul © Roden Wilmar | Dreamstime.com and 160190486 / Hutsul © Roden Wilmar | Dreamstime.com
Cooking banosh at Rakhiv — 16957540 / Hutsul © Dtandr | Dreamstime.com
Hutsul family — 135311151 / Hutsul © Panaramka | Dreamstime.com
Hutsul musicians — 166867183 / © Bartosh Dmytro | Dreamstime.com
All other photos in this blog were taken by Slava Johnson.
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