Puliszka

Do you know what puliszka (mush) is?
Have you ever tasted it?
Do you know how to make it?
Have you ever tried?

I am reading Kit szerettem? Mit szerettem? (Whom Did I Love? What Did I Love?) by Polcz Alaine which is collection of short stories from her life. The very first story is titled Puliszkácska, and as you can assume, the entire story is dedicated  to and is about Polcz's love of puliszka. She writes about this traditional meal of the poor, how they used to make it, how they used to serve it, what they ate with it in Transylvania (Erdély) where Polcz is from. I quickly learned that puliszka is her favorite meal,  as she goes on and on about how delicious it is and how many variations there are to eat it and serve it. No wonder it awoke my interest and tasting buds! 

I had heard about puliszka before, I knew that my Grandma mentioned it when we had talked about how things were back in the old days, decades ago. So  this morning when I visited my Grandma who by the way lives in a tiny village nearby Miskolc, I asked her if she knew what puliszka was and whether she would make some for me. She was more than happy and willing to do so, and in no time she got the cornstarch out from the cupboard, boiled some water, put some of the cornstarch in it,  seasoned it with some salt and butter, then put it on the table. Voila, there it was the awaited and famous puliszka right in front of me. I quickly got a spoonful and tasted it... and it was kind of what I expected and kind of what I did not. It did taste like corn, it was mushy, and somewhat reminded me of grits (tejbegríz; or is it called Hasty Pudding in English?) but I was missing the milk or some more seasoning. I am probably too much of the child of the 21st century, and cannot appreciate the good old and traditional meals of  my country. I am not saying that puliszka is bad or that it does not taste  good, but I guess I will stick with tejbegríz, the flavour that I am most familiar with and the meal that brings back my childhood the most, especially when it is sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.