Kasha
 Buckwheat kasha |
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| Details | |
|---|---|
| Type | Porridge |
| Main ingredient(s) | Cereal (buckwheat, wheat, barley, oats, millet or rye) |
Kasha is a cereal commonly eaten in Eastern Europe. In English, kasha generally refers to buckwheat groats, but in Slavic Europe, it refers to porridge in general and can be made from buckwheat or any cereal wheat, barley, oats, millet and rye. At least a thousand years old, kasha is one of the oldest known dishes in Eastern European Slavic cuisine.[1]
The word in modern American English is commonly restricted to roasted whole-grain buckwheat or buckwheat groats. It is a common filling for a knish.[2] This usage probably originated with Jewish immigrants, as did the form קאַשי "kashi" (technically plural, literally translated as "porridges").[3]
In Russian, buckwheat is referred to formally as гречиха (grechikha) and buckwheat grain and buckwheat groats as гречневая крупа (grechnevaya krupa), while informally buckwheat grain and buckwheat groats are called гречка (grechka), and the porridge made from buckwheat groats is known as гречневая каша (grechnevaya kasha). In Polish, buckwheat porridge is referred to as kasza gryczana.
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In Slavic culture [edit]
The centrality of kasha in the traditional Eastern-European diet is also commemorated in the Russian proverb "щи да каша – пища наша", literally "shchi and kasha are our food", or more loosely, "cabbage soup and porridge are all we need to live on".[citation needed]
In Jewish culture [edit]
As an Ashkenazi-Jewish "soul food," kasha is often served with onions and brown gravy on top of bow tie pasta, known as Kasha varnishkes (or Kasha varnishkas). Kasha is also a popular filling for knishes and is sometimes included in matzah-ball soup.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
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Look up kasha in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- ^ Molokhovets, Elena (1998). Classic Russian Cooking. Indiana University Press. p. 331.
- ^ [1]. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
- ^ Steinmetz, Sol. Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms. p. 42. ISBN 0-7425-4387-0.
