Pura

Pura is one of those specialties in the region. When you search for it on the Internet, you'll come across so many recipes under different titles which might make you get confused about whether the same dish is Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian. No matter which adjectives are preferred for pura, the ingredients are the same and the people here in Sarajevo consume it very often as part of their diet. Well, the most common recipe goes as follows:

Ingredients: 
1,5 cups cornmeal
4-5 cups water
Salt 

Preparation: 
Bring water and salt to a boil. 
Pour cornmeal into the hot water while whisking constantly to prevent lumps. 
Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
Remove from the heat. 
Cover and let stand for 15 minutes before serving.  
Serve with milk, yoghurt or cream.

As you might guess, once again, I contributed to the original recipe adding in some dairy products without changing the final result. The butter and milk addition to this cornmeal- based dish helps hold the mixture firmly as far as I've observed let alone the fabulous creamy flavour it leads to. Well, here comes my own pura recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup polenta
3 cups water + 1 cup milk
salt
3 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Combine water and milk in a pan.
2. Bring it to a boil.
3. Add the salt.
4. Stir in polenta and keep stirring constantly until it becomes thicker.
5. Add in the butter.
6. Reduce the heat and continue to cook until the water is fully absorbed and the butter melts.
7. Serve hot or warm. 


Remember to add in more boiling water if the mixture gets too thick or more polenta if the mixture is too watery. It's one of the best part of making pura: There's always a way to save it if things go wrong. You never fail. 

My favourite way to prepare this amazingly simple but equally delicious dish is making it thick enough to make balls with in accompaniment to some fresh yoghurt. Anyway, I think this will be the last cornmeal based dish that I'm going to write about, for a while.Enjoy it!