Information found on the Internet: Historical background: Kulesh is not a dish of Russian cuisine, but is found most often in the southern Russian regions, on the border of Russia and Ukraine. There is one fairly accurate linguistic-phonetic way to establish the distribution area of ​​kulesh as a dish. It is prepared and eaten mainly by the population who speak inverted, i.e. in a mixture of Ukrainian and Russian. The word “kulesh” itself is of Hungarian origin. Köles (Koeles) in Hungarian - millet, millet. This dish was first recorded in the Russian language (and everyday life) in 1629, which convincingly suggests that it was brought to Russia either by Polish invaders of the Time of Troubles, or by Little Russian peasants who came from Ukraine and Southern Russia with the rebel troops of Ivan Bolotnikov . Kulesh as a dish was a mush, and porridges and mush as simple, primitive and quick-cooking dishes have always and in all countries constituted the main diet of armies. After all, they could be cooked in cauldrons, on fires, in field conditions - and it was this technology that doomed kulesh to the fact that it became a traditional army, soldier, unpresentable and cheap dish, or in other words - a dish of war and mass popular movements.

Porridges as dishes are primitive. This means that there is a huge risk of getting a monotonous, bland, viscous, tasteless and poorly nutritious dish, which, when supplied to the troops, can quickly become boring. And as a consequence - a decrease in the combat effectiveness of the troops and their indignation.

A purely culinary way out of this contradiction was found: the grain base, while remaining 90-95% unchanged, should be enriched with components that are capable of deceiving human senses and thereby making the porridge dish not only acceptable, but also tasty, and perhaps even desired. Everything depends not only on the individual skill of the cook, but also on his culinary talent and intuition. How is the “taste mirage” of porridges, including kulesh, achieved?

The first condition: add a strong spicy-flavoring component. In practice, this means that you need to include onions in the dish first of all, and as much as possible, at least to the limit of economic profitability.

The second condition: if possible and due to the talent of this or that cook, you can add to the onion those spicy-flavoring herbs that can be found at hand and which will complement and highlight the onion, and will not conflict with it. These are parsley, angelica (angelica), lovage, hyssop, leek, bulb, wild garlic. The choice, as we see, is quite wide.

The third condition: in order to reduce the unpleasant stickiness and viscosity and increase the nutritional value of the porridge, fats must be added to it. As you know, you can’t spoil porridge with oil. But what is usually added to kulesh is not butter, but lard - in any form: melted, lard, salted, smoked, deep-fried. Usually cracklings are made from salted lard and added to the almost finished kulesh along with the melted, liquid part of the lard, always very hot.

Fourthly, you can add to the kulesh, for even greater variety in taste, a small amount of finely chopped fried meat or minced meat, either fresh meat or corned beef. These additives may be tiny in weight, almost invisible to the eye, but they, as a rule, greatly influence the change and enrichment of the taste of kulesh.

Fifthly, to diversify the taste of kulesh, it is recommended to add either finely diced potatoes to the millet during cooking, or immediately mashed potatoes prepared separately.

Sixth, it’s a good idea to add pea flour or boiled, grated peas.

If all these various additions do not exceed 10 - 15% of the total mass of kulesh, and are done in moderation, with good culinary tact, then kulesh can really be turned into a very attractive and original-tasting dish, especially if you cook it occasionally and to the point, in accordance with the time of year, the weather and the mood of the eaters.

As for the time of year, kulesh is good in winter, early spring and especially in damp, chilly autumn. As for the time of day, it is best suited for breakfast, before a long journey or hard work.

It’s hard to eat kulesh at night.

Millet (millet) is considered a low-value grain, and therefore millet (millet) porridges require extreme attention when preparing them for cooking, cooking, and especially when flavoring.

During all these three main operations, thoroughness, attentiveness and significant labor costs are required; sloppiness and laziness are STRICTLY contraindicated.

They eat kulesh with gray bread, that is, made from bran or from the coarsest wheat flour.

If there is no lard, then as a last resort you can use sunflower oil, but only after thoroughly heating it and frying at least a small amount (50 - 100 g) of some fatty pork sausage in it. In this case, the kulesh will receive both the necessary impregnation with fat and the smell of lard, so characteristic and necessary for the real taste of this dish.

If all the specified conditions are met carefully, then the kulesh should turn out very tasty.

I got this bowler hat from my grandfather, who fought at the front. I cherish it as an eternal memory of him!

One of the surprisingly tasty and quick to prepare dishes that “came” to us from Ukrainian cuisine is millet kulesh. Its recipe is so popular that perhaps only Ukrainian borscht is ahead of it in popular love.

The Cossacks were the first to start preparing kulesh on their long campaigns. Due to the monotony of the provisions, it was necessary to come up with a tasty, satisfying and nutritious dish “in a hurry.” This is how the recipe for kulesh appeared, which does not require time, culinary skills or any special conditions for preparing the dish.

Currently, kulesh is an obligatory attribute of any hike or friendly gatherings around the fire. But even in your own kitchen you can prepare a dish that will be no different from the “camping” version. Today we will look at both cooking methods: on the stove and over the fire.

Kulesh. Homemade recipe

The classic recipe includes only two main ingredients: millet and lard. But if you wish, you can diversify the recipe with other products: potatoes, meat, mushrooms, vegetables, fresh herbs, etc.

Necessary ingredients for the classic recipe

You need to prepare:

• 100 g millet.
• A couple of small onions.
• 200 g salted lard.
• 5 potatoes.
• Carrots - 1 pc.
• Spices.
• Fresh greens.

You also need water - 2 liters.

How to cook

Place a saucepan with two liters of water over high heat and wait for the liquid to boil. At this time, it is necessary to rinse the cereal. Pour the millet into a deep plate and place it under the tap. Pour in half the volume of water and begin to drain it little by little from one edge so that the millet does not float away with the water. Pour water again, rinsing the millet. In two or three washes, the cereal is completely rid of excess and unnecessary impurities and dust.

It is important to remember that any recipe for making kulesh requires adding cereal only to boiling water. At the same time as the cereal, add a pinch of salt and a bay leaf. The cooking time for the cereal is about 20 minutes.

Before the end of the cooking time, add potato cubes to the pan. Now you can reduce the heat and simmer the dish until cooked.

While the potatoes are simmering, you can start preparing the frying. For the kulesh recipe you will need one onion and one small carrot. Vegetables are cut into small cubes. Place pork lard, cut into long pieces, into a frying pan. Fry it until a crispy dark brown crust appears. Now you can add vegetables to the lard. As soon as they turn golden, transfer the contents of the frying pan into a pan with millet and potatoes.

A couple more minutes and the fire can be turned off. When serving the dish, you can add one spoon of sour cream and fresh herbs.

Kulesh with mushrooms and meat

Of course, the real thing is considered to be kulesh, consisting of a handful of millet, roots and spring water. However, modern chefs have learned to intelligently add other ingredients to this dish that do not spoil it, but only make it more satisfying and tastier.

We offer a second recipe for kulesh. Even a novice housewife can prepare it at home. The classic recipe is complemented by aromatic wild mushrooms and hearty pork. And herbs and spices can be added at your discretion and desire.

Ingredients for the dish

• Three large potatoes.
• 240 g mushrooms.
• 150 g millet.
• Pork - 250 g.
• One onion.
• A handful of fresh chopped parsley.
• Two liters of water.
• Salt.
• Spices for meat.
• A pinch of ground black pepper.

And also bay leaf.

Cooking method

The ancient recipe for kulesh required that cereals and roots be boiled in different containers. Today you can not adapt to traditions and significantly save time on cooking by boiling cereals and potatoes together.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. We wash the millet several times in a plate filled with running water. Send the cereal and vegetables to cook over high heat for ten minutes. Don't forget to throw a couple of bay leaves, peppercorns and a pinch of salt into the pan. Then turn down the heat on the stove and simmer the kulesh for another fifteen minutes.

While the potatoes and millet are cooking on one burner, put a frying pan on another and fry the onions, meat and mushrooms on it. If store-bought frozen or fresh champignons were used for the dish, then no cooking is required. If you bought or personally picked aromatic wild mushrooms for cooking, then it is recommended to boil them for 40-60 minutes before frying.

Place the fried meat, onions and mushrooms in a pan where the millet has already been cooked and the potatoes have become soft and crumbly. All that remains is to turn off the heat, cover the container with a lid and let the dish brew for a while. The last stage is submission. We put thick kulesh into portioned plates, flavoring it with a couple of sprigs of fresh parsley and a spoonful of thick homemade sour cream.

Kulesh on the fire

A separate theme is a real camp kulesh cooked in a pot over a fire. A recipe with a photo will help novice housewives prepare the dish correctly. It should be noted that the preparation process will be slightly different from the home version. Since there is no way to place several containers of brew on the fire at once, you have to adapt to the situation.

Necessary products for a hiking kulesh

Take with you:

• 220 g millet.
• 2 pcs. Luke.
• 1 PC. - carrot.
• 4 things. - potato.
• Pork lard - 200 g.
• Green onions with feathers, parsley, dill - any greens that are on hand.
• Salt.
• Spices.

You will also need a bay leaf.

Description of the cooking process

Perhaps you shouldn’t focus on the process of collecting firewood, laying out a fire pit, starting a fire and forming an improvised stove. Let's just say that the heat under the pot should be quite strong in the first stages of cooking.

So, since we do not have several burners on hand on which we could simultaneously cook and fry food, we slightly change the recipe for kulesh. We begin the cooking process not by cooking the cereal, but by frying the lard. Cut the lard into small cubes and place them on the bottom of the pot. As soon as the lard produces fat, add finely chopped onions and carrots to it. At this moment, do not move far from the fire, as the strong, almost uncontrollable fire under the pot fries everything very quickly. Stir the cracklings and vegetables constantly.

As soon as the frying is ready, pour water into the pot and pour in the millet. Mix thoroughly and cover with a lid. Cook the cereal for about fifteen minutes. During this time, you can peel and cut the potatoes into cubes. Make the fire under the pot a little smaller (by removing or simply pushing some of the burning coals to the side) and put the potatoes in the bowl. Simmer the dish over low heat for about 10-15 minutes, remove the pot from the fire, pour a large amount of fresh herbs into the container and, closing the lid again, let it rest and brew for a while.

"Tasty" facts

• In some traditional families, vegetables and meat ingredients are cooked separately, and millet is cooked separately. At the last moment, the ingredients are combined and the fire is immediately turned off.
• The dish is a fairly thick and rich soup. A tasty and satisfying kulesh can replace the second and first courses.
• Traditionally, the recipe for millet kulesh must contain lard, but recently chefs have been replacing it with sausages, beef fat or chicken fillet.
• Chilled kulesh can be stored in the refrigerator for more than two days.
• If you want to prepare a lean dish, then instead of lard, mushrooms are placed in the kulesh, and frying is done without adding oil.

Kulesh is a native Slavic dish. It is something between soup and porridge, quite soft and tender, satisfying, and has many variations that change the taste. Kulesh was prepared by soldiers, Cossacks, and just villagers. Various products were used, but the main ingredient was cereal.

Kulesh - general principles of preparation

Traditional kulesh is always prepared with cereals; initially millet was used; later the dish began to be prepared with buckwheat; now there are recipes with rice, peas and even beans. The basis has also changed. If previously they used mainly lard and water, now there are interesting recipes for meat, fish, chicken and even mushroom broth. This means that kulesh will never get boring; you can cook a rich soup (or thin porridge?) every day.

What is put in the dish:

Potato;

Onions, carrots;

Fats, oils.

It is encouraged to enrich the kulesh with herbs, various spices, garlic and seasonal vegetables. There are several options for a tomato dish with tomatoes, bell peppers or just pasta. In the spicy version, kulesh also turns out to be quite interesting. In general, the recipe does not change, you just need to add chopped chili pods to the pan.

Partisan kulesh: recipe with lard and millet

This was once a soldier's dish. It was inexpensive and easy to prepare; according to the recipe, kulesh is prepared with millet and ordinary lard. Of course, if there are a lot of meat layers in it, it will turn out much tastier.

Ingredients

100 grams of lard;

150 grams of millet;

2 potatoes;

Large onion;

Big carrot;

Dill, bay, parsley.

Cooking method

1. Simply rinse the millet under the tap in cold water. Then drain this liquid and add boiling water. Leave for 20-30 minutes until the bitterness comes out.

2. Cut the potatoes into large cubes, throw them into a saucepan, pour in a little more than a liter of water, about 1.2-1.3, put on the stove, boil for ten minutes.

3. Drain the water from the millet, add it to the potatoes and cook until well soft; you can overcook it.

4. Cut the lard into small cubes. Transfer to a frying pan and fry until golden brown.

5. As soon as enough fat has been rendered from the lard, add chopped onions, followed by grated carrots. Fry the vegetables until golden brown.

6. Transfer the lard and vegetables from the frying pan to the pan, add salt, pepper, and stir. Leave to cook for another ten minutes.

7. Done! Season the kulesh with herbs, serve immediately or let the dish brew.

Village kulesh: recipe for the cheapest dish

This rustic kulesh recipe uses very simple ingredients. This porridge soup was prepared in the oven. Despite the scarcity of ingredients, it turned out very tasty and rich. To prepare the broth you will need several beef or any other bones.

Ingredients

4 potatoes;

A glass of millet;

2 onions;

2 carrots;

1.5 liters of water;

500 grams of seeds.

Cooking method

1. Rinse the seeds, add 1.5 liters of water, boil for a couple of hours, strain the broth.

2. Chop the potatoes and other vegetables. Rinse the millet.

3. Place potatoes in a pan, boil for a couple of minutes, add onions and carrots, and add salt.

4. After another two minutes, add a full glass of washed millet. Stir, add salt.

5. After boiling, remove heat, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. You can put it in a pot and put it in the oven. The temperature in this case is 180 degrees.

Lenten kulesh: recipe with buckwheat

A recipe for Lenten kulesh without millet; here it is replaced with buckwheat. Naturally, the taste, appearance and aroma of the dish will change.

Ingredients

4 potatoes;

180 grams of buckwheat;

4 cloves of garlic;

1300 ml water;

1 onion;

1 carrot;

30 ml vegetable oil;

Any seasonings.

Cooking method

1. Pour buckwheat into a cauldron, add 300 ml of water, cook ordinary porridge, add salt.

2. Boil a liter of water, add chopped potatoes, cook until soft.

3. Fry carrots and onions in vegetable oil until golden brown, transfer to potatoes.

4. Mix the vegetables, add salt and pepper. We transfer all this into a cauldron with buckwheat porridge.

5. Grate or simply chop the garlic, add it to the total mass, and you can pepper it.

6. Cover the cauldron and place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 15 minutes.

Rich kulesh: recipe with meat (pork)

The recipe for kulesh with meat uses pork; you can use any piece: pulp, ribs, mosol, but in the latter case the broth will take a very long time to cook. Rice is used instead of millet. You can even take a chop.

Ingredients

500 grams of pork;

50 grams of lard;

1 carrot;

1 sweet pepper;

200 grams of rice;

1 hot pepper;

2 potatoes;

Onion head;

Spices, herbs.

Cooking method

1. Cut the pork into pieces, pour 1.8 liters of water into the meat, prepare a regular broth. If you are using a piece with a bone, then after cooking, trim it and return the meat to the pan.

2. Cut the potatoes into large pieces, put them in a kulesh, add a little salt, and boil for ten minutes.

3. Cut the lard finely and fry in a frying pan until the cracklings are golden brown. Transfer them to a bowl. Add chopped onion to the fat and fry for a couple of minutes.

4. Add grated carrots to the onions, and after a couple of minutes, chopped sweet peppers. We continue to cook vegetables together.

5. As soon as the potatoes have boiled for ten minutes, add the washed rice to it. Cook until done.

6. Transfer the vegetables from the pan, add a whole hot pepper pod to the kulesh, making several punctures in it. Add additional salt and add fried cracklings if desired.

7. Cover the pan, set the heat to minimum and simmer for 15 minutes. At the end, you can throw in some greens and season the dish with laurel.

Fish kulesh: recipe with millet and crucian carp

For such a kulesh, it is best to use river fish, for example, crucian carp, carp, perch. It doesn't taste as good with sea fish.

Ingredients

4 medium-sized crucian carp;

4 tbsp. l. millet;

1 onion;

1 carrot;

20 ml oil;

Greens, salt;

4 potatoes.

Cooking method

1. Clean and gut the crucian carp, cut each one in half.

2. Cut the peeled potatoes into large pieces, you can cut them into quarters, throw them into a pan with water, and boil for 10 minutes.

3. Add millet to the potatoes and cook for another five minutes.

4. While this is all cooking, chop the onion and carrots and fry in a small amount of vegetable oil. But you can take any fat.

5. Place the crucian carp in a pan, bring to a boil, add salt to the kulesh and after a couple of minutes put the vegetables out of the pan.

6. Cover and cook everything together for a quarter of an hour. This time is enough for fish.

7. Supplement the prepared dish with herbs, laurel, and you can add ground black pepper.

Fragrant kulesh: recipe with millet and dried mushrooms

This dish can be prepared with water, as indicated in the recipe, or with chicken or meat broth. Dried mushrooms are used as they give an incomparable aroma.

Ingredients

A glass of millet;

300 grams of potatoes;

3 cloves of garlic;

2 onions;

150 grams of lard;

50 grams of mushrooms;

Basil, pepper, spices.

Cooking method

1. Soak the mushrooms for 2-3 hours in cold water. After swelling well, boil for 15 minutes.

2. Rinse the millet and add to the pan with the stew. Boil it for at least 20 minutes. The millet should be completely boiled and become soft flakes.

3. While the kulesh is preparing, make the dressing. Cut the lard into cubes and fry. We remove the cracklings.

4. Cut the onion and carrots, cook in rendered fat until golden brown. At the end, return the cracklings to the vegetables.

5. Place vegetables in kulesh, add salt, and boil for five minutes.

6. Add chopped garlic, pepper, be sure to add a little fresh or dry basil, you can add other herbs. Bring quickly to a boil, cover and turn off immediately so as not to lose the aroma. Let the kulesh stand for 10 minutes.

Kulesh: recipe with barley and stew

It turns out that you can make not only porridge from pearl barley and stewed meat. Kulesh according to this recipe turns out simply wonderful with them. We wash the pearl barley and soak it the day before so that it cooks quickly.

Ingredients

A glass of pearl barley;

1 carrot;

1 can of stew;

1-2 onions;

Greens to taste.

Cooking method

1. Soak the barley, rinse, add fresh water (at least a liter), boil until soft. If desired, you can add one potato cut into small cubes.

2. Open the can of stew and remove the layer of fat into the frying pan. If suddenly there is not enough of it, but this happens extremely rarely, then add a little oil or lard and heat it up.

3. Add chopped onions and grated carrots, fry the vegetables.

4. After three minutes, put the stew into the frying pan and heat everything together.

5. Transfer the meat and vegetables from the frying pan to the pan with pearl barley, stir, add salt and pepper.

6. Boil the kulesh for another 20 minutes, add the greens, turn off.

Did the kulesh turn out runny? It's OK! The dish will sit for a while, the cereal will swell and become soggy, and there will be less broth. If you don’t have time for this, you can carefully collect the excess broth on top with a ladle.

There is no need to be afraid to add all kinds of spices. Slavic kulesh goes well not only with black pepper, but also with oriental, Caucasian spices, Italian herbs, and aromatic roots.

If you need to prepare a low-calorie version of kulesh, the easiest way is to replace the lard with olive oil, reducing the amount. Boiled potatoes and cereals with broth will have little energy value.

The history of Russia is the history of wars. Russian philosopher Ivan Ilyin wrote: “Soloviev counts from 1240 to 1462 (over 222 years) 200 wars and invasions. From the 14th century to the 20th century (over 525 years), Sukhotin counts 329 years of war. Russia has been at war for two-thirds of its life.” With so many wars, Russia very rarely lost. And if it did lose, it always took revenge later, even after a hundred years.
A hungry belly, as we know, is deaf to learning, but it is even worse to fight on an empty stomach. Good nutrition for warriors is in many ways the key to victory in battle!
What did the warriors of ancient Rus' and the Russian Empire eat during rapid marches, pursuit of the enemy, or during retreat, when they had to dine almost on the move?

KULESH
Kulesh is the simplest food after turi and murtsovka.
Kulesh as a dish was a mush, and porridges and mush as simple, primitive and quick-cooking dishes have always and in all countries constituted the main diet of armies. After all, they could be cooked in cauldrons, on fires, in the field.
All camp meals are created on the principle of feeding as many fighters as possible with at least long-lasting, energy-intensive foods, preferably quickly and without any “first, second, third.” Salted lard, onions and cheap millet from the sorghum genus (broom) cope with this task perfectly. A supply of such products, placed on one Chumatsky cart, can feed an entire chicken for three weeks. The simplest technology doomed kulesh to become a traditional army, soldier, cheap food - a dish of war and mass popular movements.
A mandatory attribute is lard and millet. This is a very thick soup - almost porridge. In general, this is a hot stew of whatever you need, but in broth (lard, corned beef, smoked meat, dried meat, dried fish - which can be stored for a long time without cold or active spoilage). There is still a saying: “If you don’t want kulesh, don’t eat anything!”

The word “kulesh” itself is of Hungarian origin. Köles (Koeles) in Hungarian - millet, millet. This word was first recorded in the Russian language (and everyday life) in 1629, which convincingly suggests that it was brought to Russia either by Polish invaders of the Time of Troubles, or by Little Russian peasants who came from Ukraine and Southern Russia with the rebel troops of Ivan Bolotnikov .
But only the word was brought in from outside; the recipe for porridge with lard itself has been known in Rus' since ancient times and had many names, the most famous being “salnik”.
Porridges were made from buckwheat, wheat, millet, oats and many other grains.

Kulesh as a dish was a mush, and porridges and mush as simple, primitive and quick-cooking dishes have always and in all countries constituted the main diet of armies. After all, they could be cooked in cauldrons, on fires, in field conditions - and it was this technology that doomed kulesh to the fact that it became a traditional army, soldier, unpresentable and cheap dish, or in other words - a dish of war and mass popular movements.
A mandatory attribute is lard (if available) and millet. This is a very thick soup - almost porridge. In general, this is a hot stew of whatever you need, but in broth (lard, corned beef, smoked meat, dried meat, dried fish - which can be stored for a long time without cold or active spoilage). There is still a saying: “If you don’t want kulesh, don’t eat anything!”

To cook real kulesh, you need two main components - millet and lard for frying. In addition to kulesh, there are kuleshiki. Beans, peas, cereals, such as pearl barley, rice or buckwheat, as well as vegetables are suitable for their preparation. The main difference between kuleshiki and kuleshki is that the main product included in the kuleshiki is necessarily pureed and the soup becomes thicker.

Millet – 200g, bacon or lard – 200g, onions – 1-2 pcs. salt,

To prepare a simple millet kulesh, you need: Fry lard and onions in a cauldron, ideally if you add chopped smoked sausage. Rinse the millet in the river under running water, add it to the cauldron and lightly fry. Pour in water and cook until it thickens to a viscosity (as in the photo). At the very end, add dried or fresh herbs. Add salt to taste.

Many kulesh recipes contain potatoes - this is a mistake. As you know, potatoes appeared in Rus' later than 1766. But if you wish, Kulesh can be prepared with potatoes, replacing a third of the millet with 400 g of potatoes.
In general, there are a great many recipes for kulesh. There are known cases when the Cossacks in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, having persecuted the Turks to exhaustion, prepared kulesh from the underwater root parts of aquatic plants, such as cattail, etc. They are juicy, soft, with a high content of starches, sugars, and glycosides.

Field porridge is a hearty meal cooked in the field over an open fire, something between a thick stew and thin porridge. Another name for it is kulesh. It was common in the southern Russian regions, known as Cossack porridge. In addition to cereals, usually millet, it included onions and lard.

Field porridge over a fire does not lose its significance in our time. This universal dish, in which almost anything is put, is very popular among tourists, hunters and fishermen. It is very convenient to cook it on a camping trip in a pot: you don’t need to prepare different dishes, all the products feel great in one dish, which combines both the soup and the second one.

There is no single recipe for porridge over a fire, although the main ingredients remain the same - cereals (usually millet), lard and onions. It is also customary to add potatoes to field porridge.

Classic version

For field porridge you need a lot of products:

• potatoes – 0.5 kg;
• water - one liter;
• millet – 1.5 cups;
• pork lard – 200 grams;
• onion – 300 grams;
• dried herbs;
• sweet bell pepper – 1 piece;
• Bay leaf;
• bitter red pepper - to taste;
• hops-suneli - ½ teaspoon;
• salt.

Preparation:

1. Wash and soak the millet in advance so that it cooks faster. When soaked, its cooking time will be the same as that of potatoes.
2. , install a tripod over it and hang the pot.
3. Cut the lard into pieces and place in a pot to melt and form cracklings.
4. Add finely chopped onion, sweet pepper, spices to the pot with lard and fry.
5. Pour in water and add millet so that the water completely covers the contents of the pot. Cook with constant stirring until boiling.
6. Once it boils, add the diced potatoes. If necessary, add water to cover the contents of the pot. Cover the dish with a lid and cook until the potatoes and millet are fully cooked. Periodically lift the lid and stir.

As soon as the potatoes and millet are ready, you can remove them from the heat.

Readiness is determined by taking samples. It is impossible to say the exact cooking time; it depends on the heat of the fire and the volume of the pot.

Soldatskaya

Ingredients:

• millet – 2 cups;
• onions – 3 pieces;
• lard – 150 grams;
• potatoes – 0.5 kg;
• chicken eggs – 5 pieces;
• salt.

Place pieces of lard into a frying pan. When it melts, add finely chopped onion and fry until golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat to allow the frying to cool. Hang a cauldron over the fire, pour water into it and add salt. When the water boils, add the diced potatoes and washed millet and cook until tender. Break the raw eggs into the cooled roast and stir. Combine with the porridge when it is almost ready and keep on fire for another 5 minutes.

Soldier's porridge over a campfire is often prepared using buckwheat.

From buckwheat

Ingredients:

• stew - 1 can;
• buckwheat – glass;
• carrots – 1 piece;
• onion – 1 onion;
• boiling water – 2 cups;
• salt.

Preparation procedure:

1. Open the can of stew and skim off the fat from the top.
2. Cut the carrots into strips and the onion into quarters.
3. Heat the pot, put the fat from the stew into it and fry the onion in it until translucent. Then add the carrots and fry until they become soft.
4. Place the stew into the pot and fry until all the moisture has evaporated.
5. Pour in the buckwheat, then pour in boiling water and stir. Add salt and cook over low heat until tender.

Cossack kulesh

Ingredients:

• millet – 200 grams;
• potatoes - 10 tubers;
• pork lard – 150 grams;
• pork stew – 1 can;
• onion – 5 small onions;
• salt;
• greenery;
• spices.

Pour water into a pot, add onions and chopped potatoes (whole potatoes if small), hang over the fire and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, add the washed millet, add salt and continue cooking. When the potatoes and onions are soft, take out a few potatoes and onions, mash them and put them back into the pot.

At the end, add the stew, mix everything and add spices and herbs

Pearl barley

This porridge perfectly restores strength, so it is ideal as a hiking meal.

Ingredients:

• pearl barley – 0.8 kg;
• onion – 2 medium onions;
• stew - 2 cans;
• garlic – 3 cloves;
• carrots – 2 pieces;
• cold water – 3 liters;
• butter - by eye.

Preparation:

1. Wash the pearl barley and pour it into a dry frying pan, fry until golden brown. This will speed up the cooking of the porridge.
2. When the cereal is ready, pour it into a kettle or cauldron and fill it with water. Cook covered until boiling.
3. In a frying pan, fry chopped onions, carrots, garlic along with stew and spices. When the porridge boils, add the frying mixture to it, stir and cook until the liquid has completely evaporated.

Remove from heat, let simmer and spread with butter.

From rice with meat

Proper field porridge is cooked over a fire. This is exactly the most delicious, thanks to the smoke of the fire and an excellent appetite in the fresh air. If you wish, you can cook it at home.

Another version of field porridge is rice with pork. Pork can be replaced with beef if desired.

Ingredients:

• round rice – 0.8 kg;
• boiling water – 4 liters;
• vegetable oil – 1 tablespoon;
• carrots – 3 pieces;
• pork – 1 kilogram;
• bay leaf - 3 pieces;
• ground black pepper;
• salt.

Preparation:

1. Wash the meat thoroughly, wipe it with a napkin and cut into small pieces of arbitrary shape.
2. Cut the onion into half rings, carrots into strips. Rinse the rice thoroughly.
3. Heat a pot or cauldron, pour vegetable oil into it and add onions. Fry over moderate heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. After this, place the pieces of meat into the pot, add salt and pepper and add 1.5 liters of boiling water. Bring to a boil and cook covered over low heat for about 2 hours. If necessary, add another liter of water.
4. Place the carrots and bay onions in the pot and cook for an hour and a half, adding water if necessary. Remove the bay leaf, take a sample and add salt and pepper if necessary.
5. Place the rice in the pot, add boiling water so that it is 5 cm higher than the food. Now cook over low heat for about 40 minutes, remembering to stir.
6. Remove the pot from the fire. The liquid should not completely boil away; it should cover the grounds by 1 centimeter.
7. Wrap the pot and leave for two hours.

Hot stewed porridge can be placed in bowls

Secrets of field porridge

Cooking camp food is different from cooking at home.

A few secrets of delicious porridge over an open fire:

• To speed up the process, before heading out into nature, pour boiling water over the cereal in a thermos so that it steams. Upon arrival, you only need to cook it for 10 minutes. If you are planning an overnight trip, you can pour the cereal in a pot overnight and wrap it in something warm.
• Cooking outdoors over a fire will require more water than at home on a stove. You can take 3-4 glasses of water per glass of cereal. Pre-steamed porridge requires less water.
• The cereal should be placed in already boiled water and cooked, stirring constantly. If the cereal has been steamed, there is no need to stir it, but just wait until it boils.
• The water must be salted in advance.
• The pot must be hung strictly above the flame so that the porridge cooks evenly.

Field porridge is not as difficult to prepare as it might seem at first glance. The main thing is to follow the basic rules and approach the matter with soul.