Zhuravlynovyi Kysil (журавлиновий кисіль, cranberry pudding)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A wide 3-litre pot
• •A fine sieve
• •A wooden spoon
• •A large glass or ceramic serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Burst the berries

   Put the cranberries and 1.5 litres water into a wide pot and bring them to a lively simmer. Cook until the berries split, the water turns deep ruby, and the sharp raw smell softens into something rounder. Press a few berries against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon to help them give up their color.

2. 2

   Strain the base

   Pour the cranberries through a sieve into a clean pot, pressing firmly on the skins and pulp. You want the juice and the tartness, not a gritty pudding. Stir in the sugar, salt, and lemon zest if using, then taste. It should be brighter than you want the finished dish, because starch softens the sour edge.

   Frozen cranberries work beautifully here. In January we don't pretend the bog is outside the door; we open the freezer and cook anyway.
3. 3

   Mix the starch

   Whisk the potato starch with 180ml cold water until it looks like milk and no dry starch sits at the bottom. Stir it again right before pouring, because starch sinks the moment your back is turned. This is the small discipline that saves the whole pot.

4. 4

   Thicken the kysil

   Bring the cranberry base back to a clear boil, pull out the lemon zest, then pour in the starch slurry in a thin stream with one hand while stirring constantly with the other. The liquid will turn cloudy first, then glossy and thick, and the sound will change from sharp bubbling to soft, heavy plops. Keep it moving until the raw starch smell disappears.

5. 5

   Pour and set

   Take the pot off the heat before it boils hard. Pour the kysil into one big serving bowl or eight small bowls while it still flows in ribbons. Press a piece of baking paper or cling film onto the surface if you dislike a skin, or leave it bare if you grew up fighting your cousins for that chewy top.

6. 6

   Serve it cold

   Let the kysil cool until softly set, then chill it if you want a firmer spoonful. Serve plain, or with a spoon of smetana or a little pouring cream over the top. It should wobble when the bowl moves and cut cleanly with a spoon, tart first, sweet after.

Chef Tips

• •Potato starch gives the cleanest gloss and the old-fashioned quiver. Cornstarch works in a pinch, a bit more modern, but the set will be softer and slightly more cloudy.
• •Do not add dry starch straight to the pot. It will clump, and then you will be chasing little dumplings around with a spoon, which is comedy only after lunch.
• •Adjust sugar after straining, not before. Cranberries vary wildly, and the syrup should taste almost too bright before the starch calms it down.
• •For a thinner drinking kysil, use 45g potato starch instead of 90g. Same pot, different mood.
• •Make a big bowl. Kysil keeps well, costs little, and somehow disappears spoon by spoon whenever anyone opens the fridge.

Advance Preparation

• •Kysil can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the fridge.
• •Pour it into bowls while hot and loose; once set, it will not smooth itself out again.
• •If serving for guests, chill it in one big bowl and spoon it at the table with smetana or cream.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 285g)