We've talked before about nisser, the little elves who run around being both mischievous and helpful all winter. You may remember that they prefer to eat gruel, specifically risengrød-- rice gruel.
Danes use the term "gruel" to refer to any sort of cooked, soft grain or legume. For instance, oatmeal is havregrød, and I've recently seen dhal referred to as "den klassisk indisk linser grød." The classic Indian lentil gruel. The concept is so popular that there's even a restaurant in Copenhagen called "Grød," which serves up fancy oatmeal, dhal, congees, and, of course, risengrød, which for our purposes (ie, not sounding gross) I will call rice pudding.
I tried making (and eating!) risengrød for the first time this year and was pleasantly surprised. I guess it's like a boring risotto, but it's actually really good and comforting. On its own, it isn't sweet-- the traditional way to serve it is either with butter and salt, or with butter and cinnamon sugar on top.
Having heard that I'd made my own risengrød for the first time, a Danish friend of mine said, "So! It's happened! You are now a real Dane."
Who knew that was all it took!
Danes use the term "gruel" to refer to any sort of cooked, soft grain or legume. For instance, oatmeal is havregrød, and I've recently seen dhal referred to as "den klassisk indisk linser grød." The classic Indian lentil gruel. The concept is so popular that there's even a restaurant in Copenhagen called "Grød," which serves up fancy oatmeal, dhal, congees, and, of course, risengrød, which for our purposes (ie, not sounding gross) I will call rice pudding.
I tried making (and eating!) risengrød for the first time this year and was pleasantly surprised. I guess it's like a boring risotto, but it's actually really good and comforting. On its own, it isn't sweet-- the traditional way to serve it is either with butter and salt, or with butter and cinnamon sugar on top.
Having heard that I'd made my own risengrød for the first time, a Danish friend of mine said, "So! It's happened! You are now a real Dane."
Who knew that was all it took!
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