Angu de Fuba a Mineira

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 3-liter pot
• •Medium mixing bowl
• •Whisk
• •Wooden spoon or silicone spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Dissolve the fuba

   Put the fuba in a bowl and whisk in the 2 cups cold water until smooth, with no dry pockets at the bottom. Do this before the pot is hot. Cold water lets each grain hydrate calmly; boiling water makes the outside swell too fast and traps dry cornmeal inside, which is how lumps are born.

2. 2

   Start the garlic

   Warm the oil or lard in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir for 30 to 45 seconds, just until it smells good and turns pale gold. Stop there. Garlic goes from fragrant to bitter quickly, and bitter garlic will walk through the whole angu like it owns the place.

3. 3

   Boil the water

   Add the 3 cups water and the salt to the pot. Bring it to a full boil, then lower the heat to medium-low. You want the water moving before the fuba goes in, because hot salted water wakes up the corn flavor and starts the thickening evenly.

4. 4

   Stir in the slurry

   Whisk the bowl once more, because fuba settles fast, then pour it into the pot in a steady stream while stirring with a whisk. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens and looks smooth, about 3 minutes. This is the only bossy moment. If you stop now, the cornmeal sinks, grabs the bottom, and makes lumps.

5. 5

   Cook to ponto

   Switch to a wooden spoon, lower the heat, and cook for 18 to 22 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom and corners of the pot. The angu should go from grainy and raw-smelling to creamy, glossy, and heavy on the spoon. When you drag the spoon through the bottom and the mixture pulls away for a second before slowly closing, it has pegou ponto.

   If it gets too thick before the corn tastes cooked, add hot water 1/4 cup at a time and keep stirring. Fixing texture is allowed. Quitting is not.
6. 6

   Taste and serve

   Taste for salt, then spoon the angu into a shallow bowl or straight onto the plate while it is still soft and glossy. Serve with beans, couve, and whatever real dinner you made beside it. As it sits, it firms up. That's normal, not a failure.

Chef Tips

• •Use fine fuba mimoso, not coarse cornmeal. Coarse meal can work, but it needs more water and more time, and on a weeknight a gente is trying to eat dinner before becoming a different person.
• •The honest shortcut is using a whisk at the beginning. It breaks up the slurry faster than a spoon. The shortcut I won't hand you is industrial seasoning. Garlic, salt, and good fat are enough.
• •For softer angu, add another 1/2 cup hot water near the end. For sliceable angu, cook it a little thicker, spread it in an oiled dish, chill it, then cut and brown the pieces later.
• •Leftover angu firms in the fridge. Warm it with splashes of water in a pan, stirring until creamy again, or slice it and dourar in a skillet with a little oil.

Advance Preparation

• •Measure the fuba, water, salt, and minced garlic before turning on the stove. Once the slurry enters the pot, your hands are busy.
• •Cooked angu keeps 3 days in the fridge. Reheat with hot water, a little at a time, stirring until it loosens and turns creamy again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)