Mbaipy

Mbaipy is a Guaraní-Litoral dish, eaten across northeastern Argentina and Paraguay, made by cooking cornmeal with beef or chicken, onion and tomato into a thick, creamy, savoury porridge. Its name comes from Guaraní, and it is one of the most fundamental dishes of the Mesopotamian kitchen, a complete meal in a bowl: the cornmeal provides the starch, the meat provides the protein, and the onion and tomato provide the flavour. It is peasant food, filling and cheap, made when there is little else, and its comfort lies in its softness and warmth. The dish is related to the Italian polenta and the Romanian mamaliga, but its use of beef or chicken cooked into the cornmeal, rather than served alongside, is the Guaraní difference.

A thick, warm, creamy cornmeal porridge shot through with tender beef, sweet onion and tomato, deeply savoury and filling. Eaten from a bowl with a spoon, it is the simplest comfort food of the Litoral.

The technique is a one-pot cornmeal braise. Beef (or chicken) is cut into small pieces, browned with onion and tomato, then water and cornmeal are added and the whole simmered, stirring frequently, for 25 to 30 minutes until the cornmeal is cooked and the mixture is thick and creamy. The meat cooks within the cornmeal, releasing its flavour and gelatin into the porridge, so every spoonful tastes of both corn and beef. The cornmeal must be stirred constantly toward the end to prevent sticking and lumps. The result is a dense, creamy, savoury porridge, softer than polenta, eaten from a bowl.