I planned to go out yesterday so that did not leave me much time to spend in my beloved kitchen. I wanted to make sure that I had smthing to eat when I got back in case I was not happy with the restaurant’s menu. Eating out is risky business. You might love the food or not like it at all. Depends on your luck!
I had noticed half a packet of cornmeal at the back of my kitchen drawer during the weekend and had promised myself to make one of my fave puddings or poudine as we call it here. Poudine maïs must remind many of you of your childhood. Even today we find these simple poudines at the market’s food section or some random street vendor with a caisse on his bicycle. You will almost always notice that they are paired along with poudine manioc [cassava pudding] or poudine vermicelle.
The making of poudine maïs does not involve many steps; you should be alright if you have the right ingredients. Cornmeal is not to be confused with cornflour. What we need here is the golden yellow coarse powder. I guess there must be several different recipes for poudine maïs out there if you bother to google it. Well, this is how I make it.
POUDINE MAïS
Ingredients:
2 cups yellow cornmeal
6 tbs full cream powdered milk
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp yellow food colouring
1 tbs butter/ margarine
3 tbs dessicated coconut
1/8 cup raisins, soaked
Method:
- Place cornmeal in a large bowl and fill with water until cornmeal is completely covered. Let it soak for about 1/4 to 1/2 hour.
- Meanwhile prepare milk by dissolving milk powder and sugar in 2 cups of water. Set this aside.
- With a spoon, remove any impurities that has floated to the surface. Otherwise they may give you an unpleasant gritty sensation as you stuff yourself with poudine.
- Now, drain the water in the sink but be careful not to lose your cornmeal along with in. Remove any impurities you find on the surface.
- Fill a saucepan with 2 cups water and add cornmeal to it.
- Set the heat to very low and allow the cornmeal to simmer.
- You will need to stir this regularly to prevent the hot cornmeal from splattering and causing accidental burns.
- Add water 1/ cup at a time till the cornmeal soaks up the extra water. Continue adding upto 2 cups. This may take you about 15-20 minutes.
- Now add the milk and stir well. Continue to cook under low heat until the mixture thickens. Add vanilla essence and yellow food colouring. Remove from heat but continue to stir. Add butter and mix well.
- Grease a 9″ square pan or line with aluminium foil.
- Scatter coconut and raisins over the base.
- Pour hot cornmeal over coconut-raisin layer.
- Allow to cool completely. The cornmeal will be set at room temperature and can then be cut into cubes or fancy shapes.
- You can refrigerate the poudine for a couple of hours before serving.
I dnt think you will have problems with storage as you should not expect any leftovers. If you do, just put it in a ziplock bag and keep it in the fridge for breakfast. But be warned that it may not be there when you look for it tomorrow!
Btw I had lunch at Nando’s. Yea, we finally have it in Mauritius. I ordered a Hot Grilled Chicken Salad with olives, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes topped with strips of the famous Nando’s chicken, all of which was pretty good. I hope to try smthing Extra Hot next time.
My Review: 3 1/2 spoons
A good overall first impression of the place other that it gets a bit crampped and noisy at times. Be sure to book in advance if coming with a large party or you may find yourself waiting for long before you can grab a seat.
21 comments
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February 17, 2010 at 4:23 pm
P T
I’ll try the poudine mais one of these days! Thanks for the recipe… 🙂
February 18, 2010 at 1:43 pm
prerrnamirchi
np. I’m glad u like it. You can always suggest new dishes/desserts that I can experimet with and write about. Smtimes the most difficult thing is to decide on what to cook/bake 🙂
February 17, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Angele
I went to Nando’s a few weeks ago and I was quite disappointed. I had a chicken wrap with coleslaw but the wrap was just so-so and the coleslaw was a tad too sour. The nice thing about Nando’s is the refill when you order soft drinks! Hahah =]
Mmmm, poudine maïs totally rocks! It tastes heavenly when eaten right from the fridge!
February 18, 2010 at 1:39 pm
prerrnamirchi
yea, the refill was the one cool thing. pity it does not apply to fruit juices and [for the guys] phoenix beer 😉
February 18, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Carine
*confused* .. Nando’s is new in Mauritius?? I thought there was one at Caudan? Or maybe it was another fast food restaurant … gosh can’t remember. Been away for far too long! There’s no Nando’s here but I did try their grilled chicken burgers in Australia and it was so good!! 🙂
February 18, 2010 at 6:13 pm
prerrnamirchi
Not at Caudan. They had a branch in Curepipe but that was closed down years ago. Nando’s is now back at Trianon, the new shopping wing next to GAME. Mauritians have been eating KFC for so long, it might take them a while to adjust to the taste and price 😉 Btw I tried your Condensed Milk Cake. Will post it soon. Thnx for sharing.
February 29, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Ashleigh
Hi Prerrna,
I’m going to try this today, as it’s been raining buckets here in Flacq all day & this seems like a rainy day dish 🙂 I’ll be veganising it & posting a review on my site if I don’t mess it up
Your website is lovely & I am really enjoying all the wonderful pictures!!
September 4, 2012 at 8:03 am
jem
Hi Prerrna, was a bit dissapointed as my poudine de mais didn’t set and still watery.. any idea why 😦
THanks
Jemila
September 4, 2012 at 1:24 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi jem sorry to hear that it did not work out. maybe you can reduce the amount of water and cook it for a longer time. it’s been a while since i last made poudine mais myself. think i should do it soon and see if i got any of the measurements wrong here :S
September 5, 2012 at 3:19 pm
jem
ok. thank you will try and see with less water.
March 1, 2013 at 10:06 am
Shema
Hi chef 😉 Poudine mais is my current pregnancy cravin! Already soakin in water, made it before couple times, easy peasy but today my mind’s blurry! U say add water as well as milk powder in diluted water? How much liquid is that? we get the coarser crushed popcorn here btw.
March 2, 2013 at 6:07 am
prerrnamirchi
6 tbs milk powder in 2 cups of water.
June 20, 2013 at 5:45 am
tan
thx a lot for the recipe.i surprised everyone with the poudine mais.they all liked it so much.btw do u have a recipe for poudine manioc?
June 20, 2013 at 7:54 am
prerrnamirchi
yup recipe for poudine manioc is right here: https://inspiredtobake.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/national-day-2011-nou-moris-nou-fierte/
November 22, 2013 at 5:42 pm
Vish
Hi Prerrna, I never made poudine before after reading your blog and nice feedback from others gave it a try yesterday – i was amazed of the result. The only thing I changed in your recipe is the amount of sugar – cut it by half. Thanks – hope you can post more mauritian recipe that people like me can try 🙂
November 23, 2013 at 3:48 am
prerrnamirchi
nice job vish, you can now try tarte banane or napolitaines 🙂
April 28, 2014 at 9:52 am
Nazneen
Last time i ate pouddin mais it was in the 1993 i think i bought it with a street vendor in p.louis,two times i tried it, but never got it well, came out soggy , yesterday i gave a try i followed the recipe step by step WOW!!! It was so nice can’t resist to have it for my breakfast to day.THANK’S Prerrna.next time i’ll try napolitain .
April 29, 2014 at 4:06 pm
prerrnamirchi
thanks nazneen, wish u success with the napolitaines as well 🙂
November 7, 2016 at 2:56 pm
Anisha
Love all your recipes when I try it,all of them turns out fabulously for now I’ve made the poudine mais 😋😋
November 7, 2016 at 3:58 pm
prerrnamirchi
Thanks for ur feedback Anisha! Hope the blog keeps u inspired to bake 😛
December 9, 2018 at 12:32 pm
gavnisha
my neighbour add custard powder and it was also good. do you advise adding custard powder and how much?