Canjica (mungunzá)
Canjica or mungunzá: white hominy cooked slowly in milk with coconut, peanuts and cinnamon
Big white corn kernels simmered until tender, then cooked again in milk with coconut and peanuts: canjica is the warming bowl that every festa junina from Porto Alegre to Belém hands out in plastic cups on cold June nights. In the Northeast it goes by mungunzá, and in Bahia and Pernambuco it is often made richer with coconut milk. The kernels stay chewy and whole, the broth turns creamy and smells of cinnamon and clove, and the crushed peanuts add a nutty bite. Look for white hominy sold as canjica or milho para canjica in Brazilian shops; dried white pozole corn works too. It needs overnight soaking, which is not counted in the times. The common mistake is rushing the first boil: if the kernels are not fully soft before the milk goes in, they will never soften afterwards. Chef's tip: a pressure cooker cuts the first cook to 35 minutes and leaves the kernels perfectly tender.
- Total time
- 115 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For cooking the corn
For the cream
To serve
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Drain 1 ⅛ lb dried white hominy (canjica), rinse it and put it in a large pan with 10 ½ cups water, 1 cinnamon stick and 4 whole cloves.
Step 2: Bring to the boil, then simmer with the lid half on for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until the kernels are soft all the way through and some have split open. Top up with boiling water if they peek out. (Pressure cooker: 35 minutes at pressure.)
75 minStep 3: Check the water: you want the corn just covered. Pour off any excess so the finished canjica is creamy, not watery.
Step 4: Add 4 ¼ cups whole milk, 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, ¾ cup coconut milk and 2 ⅞ oz sugar. Bring back to a gentle simmer over a medium-low heat, stirring often so the milk does not catch.
10 minStep 5: Stir in 4 oz roasted unsalted peanuts and 1 ¾ oz grated fresh or desiccated coconut and simmer for 20 minutes more, stirring, until the liquid thickens and turns creamy.
20 minStep 6: Fish out the cinnamon stick and cloves. Serve hot or warm in cups, dusted with 1 tsp ground cinnamon if you like; it thickens as it cools, so loosen leftovers with a splash of milk.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 78 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does canjica (mungunzá) take?
- About 115 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 105 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
- What can I use instead of whole cloves?
- Ground cloves, ¼ tsp for every 3 whole cloves.
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