Poudine maïs: the Mauritian cornmeal pudding recipe
Poudine maïs: the basic recipe for Mauritian cornmeal pudding, how the versions differ and how to serve it.
Poudine maïs is a Mauritian cornmeal pudding: fine maize semolina cooked in sweetened milk, flavoured with vanilla and cardamom, left to set and topped with grated coconut. For about 250 g of fine semolina you need 1 litre of milk and a little water, 5 to 6 tablespoons of sugar, a vanilla pod, 2 cardamom seeds and 80 g of grated coconut. Cook it gently, stirring all the time, pour it into a mould and leave it to set for 2 to 4 hours.
What poudine maïs is
It is a dessert you cut into pieces or turn out of a mould, somewhere between sweet polenta and a thick set custard. One overview of Mauritian cuisine calls it a sweet dessert often served as a tea-time snack and says the Creole community is known for its corn pudding. A recipe published by a Mauritian magazine treats it as a classic that works for breakfast as well as an afternoon snack.
The recipes do not agree on everything. One travel site describes it made with coconut milk and served warm or cold, whereas the recipes below all use cow’s milk. If you want to try coconut milk, treat it as a variation rather than the standard version.
The basic recipe
This one follows the recipe from a Mauritian magazine, the simplest of the three: everything cooks in a single pan.
Ingredients
- 250 g fine maize semolina
- 25 cl water
- 1 litre milk
- 5 to 6 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 cardamom seeds
- 1 vanilla pod, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 80 g grated coconut
- raisins, if you like them (optional)
Method
- Put the semolina, water, milk, sugar and cardamom in a saucepan and mix well.
- Split the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the seeds and stir them in. If you use extract, just pour it in.
- Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly.
- When the mixture is fairly thick and smooth, take it off the heat.
- Pour it into the mould of your choice, cover it and leave it to cool for at least 2 to 4 hours, until it sets.
- Turn it out carefully and sprinkle with grated coconut.
The recipe gives no cooking time, so you go by thickness. Add the raisins at the start with everything else.
Where the recipes differ
Three published recipes make the same dish in slightly different ways. The table puts them side by side.
| Point | Mauritian magazine | Creole cooking blog | Indian cooking blog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maize | 250 g fine semolina | 300 g cornmeal, rinsed and drained | 1 cup cornmeal or broken maize, washed |
| Liquid | 1 litre milk and 25 cl water | 500 ml milk | 1½ cups water and 1½ cups milk, plus 1 cup more of each for cornmeal |
| Sugar | 5 to 6 tablespoons | 1 cup | ½ cup |
| Flavourings | cardamom, vanilla | ground cardamom, vanilla, 2 tablespoons raisins | vanilla, ghee, raisins, grated coconut |
| Cooking | low heat, stirring | 20 minutes on high heat, stirring, then lower until the mixture pulls away from the pan | until a thick porridge that pulls away from the sides |
| Setting | 2 to 4 hours | cool, no time given | cool, then 2 hours in the fridge |
The Indian blog soaks the maize in water for 2 to 3 hours before cooking and adds a tablespoon of ghee. It notes that broken maize, with its larger grains, takes longer to cook and needs more liquid. The author compares the result to kesari, a semolina sweet from southern India. The Creole blog lets the maize swell in the milk for 10 minutes before heating.
The proportions vary a lot from page to page, from 500 ml of milk for 300 g of maize to 1 litre of milk plus water for 250 g. The more liquid, the softer the pudding. Start from the basic recipe and adjust next time.
Serving poudine maïs
It is served cold, cut into squares or turned out whole, with the coconut on top. One page also describes corn pudding served warm. The sources give no keeping time, so make only as much as you plan to eat.
To round out a Mauritian tea-time spread, try napolitaines or banana fritters. You will find the island’s other specialities in our guide to Mauritian cuisine.
Sources and checks
- Le Mauricien: poudine maïs recipe
- Cuizine Maurice: poudine maïs
- Gayathri’s Cook Spot: poudine maïs, a Mauritian sweet
- HIDMC: traditional desserts of Mauritius
- Wikipedia: Mauritian cuisine
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