Canjica or mugunzá (muɡũˈza) is a Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian sweet dish, associated with the winter festivals, which in Brazil is in June (Festa Junina

Festa Junina

Festa Junina , also known as festa de São João for their part in celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist, are the annual Brazilian celebrations historically related to European Midsummer that take place in the beginning of the Brazilian winter...

).

The dish is a porridge made with white de-germ

Cereal germ

The germ of a cereal is the reproductive part that germinates to grow into a plant; it is the embryo of the seed. Along with bran, germ is often a by-product of the milling that produces refined grain products. Cereal grains and their components, such as wheat germ, rice bran, and maize may be used...

ed whole maize kernels (canjica

Canjica

Canjica is a white variety of corn, very typical of Brazilian cuisine. It is mostly used in a special kind of sweet popcorn and in a dish also known as canjica, a Festa Junina popular dish. Made popular in Oklahoma by Ken Davis.- External links:* ....

), cooked with milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

, sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

 and cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...

 until tender. Coconut

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

 and coconut milk

Coconut milk

Coconut milk is the water that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content. In many parts of the world, the term coconut milk is also used to refer to coconut water, the naturally occurring liquid found inside the hollow...

 are common ingredients, and probably part of the original recipe. Other ingredients may be added, such as peanut

Peanut

The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...

s and sweetened condensed milk

Condensed milk

Condensed milk, also known as sweetened condensed milk, is cow's milk from which water has been removed and to which sugar has been added, yielding a very thick, sweet product which when canned can last for years without refrigeration if unopened. The two terms, condensed milk and sweetened...

.

The name canjica is prevalent in southern Brazil, while mugunzá is used in the northern states (where canjica means a different dish

Curau

Curau is a Brazilian sweet custard-like dessert made from the expressed juice of unripe maize, cooked with milk and sugar.The term curau is used mostly the southern states such as São Paulo, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul...

, made with unripe corn juice).

External links

• Canjica recipe from a site in Portuguese.