Canjica, Brazilian Hominy Pudding
Canjica, called mungunza across much of northeastern Brazil, is the creamy white pudding at the center of the Festas Juninas, the winter harvest festivals of June, made from whole hominy simmered slow in milk until the kernels turn tender and the pot goes thick. Some regions finish it with coconut milk; the southern version does not, and that is the one rebuilt here, so no coconut is needed. Soy milk gives the body and, unusually for a plant milk, real protein, while a blend of dates replaces the sweetened condensed milk and sugar that usually make the dish cloying. Cinnamon and clove are the traditional aromatics, and a scatter of toasted peanuts on top is the customary crunch. It is one of the rare desserts built on a whole grain, since hominy is nothing but corn.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Hominy, cooked, from dried or no-salt canned, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups Unsweetened soy milk
- 8 Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 stick cassia cinnamon
- 3 wholes Cloves
- 1/3 cup Peanuts, toasted and roughly chopped, to finish
Method
- Blend the pitted dates with 1 cup (240 ml) of the soy milk until completely smooth. This date milk is the sweetener, standing in for the sweetened condensed milk and sugar a traditional canjica leans on, so blend it fully to avoid grainy bits.
- Combine the drained hominy, the remaining 2 cups (480 ml) soy milk, the date milk, the cinnamon stick, and the cloves in a pot. Simmer gently, stirring often, for 25 to 30 minutes. Hominy is already cooked, so this stretch is about the kernels drinking in the spiced milk and the liquid reducing to a loose pudding.
- As it cooks, the starch on the hominy thickens the milk on its own. Keep the heat low and the spoon moving near the end, since the thickening liquid will catch on the bottom if left alone.
- Toast the peanuts in a dry pan until fragrant and a shade darker, then chop them. Toasting wakes up their oils and gives the soft pudding a crunchy, savory top.
- Fish out the cinnamon stick and cloves. The pudding should mound softly on a spoon and will thicken further as it cools, so pull it off the heat while it still looks a little loose. Serve warm or cold, each bowl scattered with the toasted peanuts and a dusting of cinnamon.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 280 calories, 9 g protein, 6 g fiber, 80 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
