Semolina Porridge is a family-favorite hot breakfast cereal, similar to cream of wheat. We call it “Mannaya Kasha” in Ukraine and it’s one of the easiest ways to use up milk in abundance. This creamy wheat cereal is loved by all and will leave your belly feeling oh-so-good!
Semolina Porridge (Manna Kasha) is an easy food to make using up milk. If you are a homesteader or own a milk cow you will find porridge recipes very helpful! In Ukraine kasha was a popular dish because it was a smart way to use up fresh milk. My parents made rice porridge, millet porridge and so much more, using milk and grains.
What is Semolina?
Similar to grits, Semolina is coarsely ground wheat milled from durum wheat. European semolina is much lighter in color than most US farina (aka cream of wheat) and a little sweeter in taste. We buy ground semolina at European markets and it’s labeled “Mannaya Kroopa”, which basically means semolina grain. You can buy European semolina on Amazon or use Bob's Red Mill creamy wheat hot cereal. However, European semolina is much more superior in taste!
Semolina is sometimes added into cheese or Zucchini pancakes, as a thickener and sometimes sprinkled as corn meal for baking so that the bread doesn’t stick.
Can I Use Farina Cereal or Cream of Wheat for Porridge?
Porridge is boiled meal in milk, you can definitely use boxed Farina brand or Cream of wheat, but European semolina is far better in taste and has less additives. Either one comes from wheat however, cream of wheat or farina tend to have darker speckles of bran than semolina meal. For the best results use Semolina.
How To Make Semolina Porridge:
Hot cereal is generally made of milk or water that you’d boil with the grain. I prefer to have semolina cooked in milk for the richest flavor and I do add a little sugar and salt to flavor this breakfast dish. Last but not least, we love to swirl melted butter into our porridge, it’s so delicious!
- In a medium pot, bring 1 cup of water to a boil (this helps the milk not to scorch).
- Pour in the milk and bring it to almost a boil (until it steams and gets foamy).
- Add the butter to the hot milk and melt.
- Whisk in the coarsely ground semolina and bring the mixture to a boil. Then simmer until thickened and bubbly (about 2-3 minutes).
- Turn off the heat, and ladle the hot cereal into serving bowls. Place a pat of butter on top of each serving and allow it to sit 1 minute to melt. Serve warm.
Lump-free Tip: whisk in the semolina into hot milk, this will prevent clumps. When you just dump it into hot milk it tends to clump.
Can I Mill Durum Wheat To Make Semolina At Home?
Yes, you can mill durum wheat groats into a coarse meal at home to make your own semolina. Once durum has been ground into flour it’s called semolina flour, but for porridge you’ll want to run the groats through the coarse setting of your grain mill to get a texture similar to grits.
Creative Ways to Flavor Semolina Porridge:
We like to eat it plain for breakfast but you can add so many different add-ins!
- Add cocoa powder to make chocolate porridge.
- Banana or apple slices with a hint of cinnamon.
- Drizzle raw honey over the top.
- Garnish with fresh fruits or berries or dollop with jam.
Q&A
Is Semolina Porridge Healthy?
Durum wheat berries is high in protein, and makes a yellow mealy flour that is used to make pasta or other sweet or savoury dishes. Its the perfect energy food for breakfast and when made with milk you can add more calcium in. Make it healthier by adding a healthy sweetener like molasses or honey.
Porridge vs Oatmeal
Porridge is any grain cooked in milk or water. Some grains include cracked wheat, barley, corn, buckwheat, and rice. However, in Britain or Ireland the term porridge specifically refers to oatmeal.
Can I use Malt-O-Meal?
You can it’s just a combination of Farina and malted barley.
What is Farina?
In the US, ground semolina is referred to farina, however don’t confuse it with Italian farina. Semolina is a yellowish beige wheat flour from durum wheat. There is also a hot cereal called Farina which is basically like cream of wheat. However, I still prefer the European semolina for making the best porridge.
Tips:
- Gradually whisk the semolina into hot milk so that it doesn’t clump.
- Don’t overcook the semolina porridge, it shouldn’t take more than 3 minutes to cook if using a fine meal. If the hot mixture gets too thick, you may have used too much semolina, simply add more milk to thin it out. I will usually turn off the heat after 2 minutes, it tends to get thicker as it sits.
- Ladle the hot mixture into serving bowls immediately. The more it sits the thicker it gets.
- Start making porridge with a little water on the bottom of the pot so that the milk doesn’t scorch.
- Mill your own semolina by running durum wheat through a grain mill on a coarse setting.
More Milk Recipes To Try:
Here are recipes using milk as the key ingredient!
Semolina Porridge
Equipment
- 1 medium 3-quart pot
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 5 cups milk
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick, divided)
Instructions
Directions:
In a medium pot bring 1 cup of water to a boil, (this helps the milk not to scorch).- Add the milk and bring it to almost a boil.
- Once the milk starts foaming and gets very hot add the salt, sugar, and 5 Tbsp of butter and let it melt.
- Whisk in the semolina and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over low for 2-3 minutes until thick and creamy. Stir occasionally.
- Turn off the heat and ladle hot mixture into bowls. Slice up the remaining 3 tbsp of butter and pat slices of butter over the top of the hot semolina. Serve.
Notes
- Gradually whisk the semolina into the hot milk so it doesn't clump up.
- Boiling the water first helps the milk not to scorch.
- Serve immediately as it thickens the longer it sits in the pot. We like our farina on the creamy and soupy side so I ladle it into bowls right away.
