Brasilian Pamonha

Pamonha is a super delicious, super traditional dish in Brasil. Corn is its main ingredient. It’s got the same texture as if you were to mix cream of corn and cornbread together, and it tastes similar to it too. The tricky part of pamonha and why a lot of people have difficulty making it is the traditional way that you’re suppose to cook the pamonha inside the husks in steam. But I figured out a much easier way to make this treat and make it taste just the same but without the hassle!

-To start, use 4 cups of fresh corn kernels from 4 ears. Just take the husks out and run a knife through the kernels. (it's better to use fresh corn instead of canned because they are more firm and make the texture overall much better.)

-Use a blender to puree the corn kernels.

-Then in a large mixing bowl, beat together until smooth ½ cup of SOFTENED UNSWEETENED butter, about 2 tablespoons of regular butter, a generous ¼ cup of sugar, 2 tbsp of softened cream cheese, and ¼ cup of milk.

-Then add 1 egg, ¼ tbsp of salt and ¼ tbsp of baking powder into the mix and blend well

-finally add: ¼ cup of cornstarch and the corn puree. Blend until it's a smooth mixture.

This is the part where in Brasil, you’re suppose to put about 3 tablespoons of the mixture into the husks, fold them together and steam them for about an hour. But I’ve found that the corns in Brasil must be bigger than the ones we find here because the husks aren’t big enough to hold the mixture. And even when making it in Brasil, its just a very complicated mess!

SO, instead, I put the mixture inside a small greased casserole dish, and baked it! It turned out THE EXACT same and SO yummy!

-I let it bake on 375 for about 45 minutes I think. I had to keep checking it. Stick a knife or tooth pick in it after about 35 mins. and if it comes out clean and the top is golden brown and starts cracking then it should be ready. But be patient, it might take a while. It's hard to explain how the texture should be because its different then a cake or pie or anything like that. It's almost like a little bit harder mousse texture.

-When its done, take it out the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. It should be eaten warm. (If you have left-overs, reheat it before eating it the next day:)

-Now if you can get your hands on some “queso fresco” it's the BEST combination for Pamonha! The two together is the equivalent of the American peanut butter and jelly!

I hope you will enjoy!!