How to make it
5 steps. Take it one step at a time.
In a dry frying pan, sauté the diced bacon or pork belly
In a dry frying pan, sauté the diced bacon or pork belly over medium heat until crispy and the fat has rendered. These are your 'shkvarky' (cracklings). Set aside and keep warm.
Combine the sour cream and water
In a heavy-bottomed pot or cauldron, combine the sour cream and water. Add a pinch of salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Slowly pour the cornmeal
Slowly pour the cornmeal into the simmering liquid in a thin stream, whisking or stirring constantly with a wooden spoon in one direction to prevent lumps.
Reduce the heat to low
Reduce the heat to low. Continue cooking and stirring vigorously until the cornmeal is tender and the porridge starts to pull away from the walls of the pot. Small beads of oil should appear on the surface.
15 minTransfer the hot banosh
Transfer the hot banosh into individual bowls. Do not mix. Layer the crumbled bryndza cheese on top, followed by the crispy cracklings and their rendered fat.
A little kitchen wisdom
Authentic banosh is traditionally cooked over an open fire in a cast-iron cauldron. The secret is to stir only in one direction with a wooden spoon until the butter fat from the cream starts to beads on the surface.
