Traditional Kulish Recipe: Millet Field Porridge with Salo

Active time: ~25 minutes | Total time: ~1 hour 15 minutes | Serves: 4 | Difficulty: Easy

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Quick Overview

1. Soak the millet in boiling water, then rinse it until the water runs clear
2. Simmer the carrot and a bay leaf in a pot of water
3. Add the potatoes and millet and cook covered until the millet breaks down
4. Fry diced salo with onion and garlic and stir it into the pot
5. Rest the kulish for 10–15 minutes and serve hot with dill and parsley

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What Kulish Is

Kulish is a Ukrainian millet dish that sits somewhere between a thick soup and a loose porridge. Millet goes into a pot of boiling water with a potato or two and some root vegetables, and when the grains have broken down, salo (salted pork fat), onion and garlic are stirred through.¹ It is a main meal, eaten at midday in the fields or as supper at home,¹ and it has a second name, field porridge, because it was just as easy to cook in a cauldron over a fire as in a kitchen.^1,2

There is no one canonical recipe. Households and regions add what they have: a piece of meat or a fish, mushrooms, herbs.^3,1

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History and Cultural Roots

The Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine notes archaeological evidence that millet was grown in Ukraine 3,000 years ago, and names buckwheat and millet as the cereals most commonly eaten. The same entry describes kulish simply as a thicker gruel of millet, and lists millet grits among the main dishes of the Zaporozhian Cossacks.⁴

The Cossacks’ fortified base, the Zaporozhian Sich, stood on the lower Dnipro. The first Sich was founded around 1552 on the island of Mala Khortytsia, and the last was destroyed by a Russian army in June 1775, in the reign of Catherine II.⁵ Kulish outlived it and is still a much-loved dish.¹

The Ukrainian ethnographic handbook Ukrainska mynuvshyna describes how kulish was cooked in the village. Washed millet went into a cauldron of boiling water with a potato or two, salt, roots and, when there were any, herbs. The finished kulish was stirred through with salo, onion and garlic. It was especially good with salo, a piece of meat, even salted, or a fish. It was ready when the millet had cooked right down into a porridge-like mass, and thick kulish was the kind people prized, not one “where one grain chases another with a club.” Kulish was cooked for the midday meal out in the fields and for supper at home, and the handbook calls it one of the best-loved folk dishes to this day.¹

Most kulish is made with millet, but the same handbook also records buckwheat kulish in parts of Chernihiv and Poltava regions, cornmeal kulish in southern Podillia, and in Right-Bank Polissia kulish cooked on milk, whey or buttermilk.¹ One local historian in Rivne region says he cooks kulish at almost every volunteer event and street festival he goes to.⁶

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Traditional Kulish Recipe

This recipe was compiled by Heritage Healthy Kitchen from a comparison of published recipes; the sources are listed at the end of this article. Figures that are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s own estimates rather than taken from a published source are marked as such.

Published recipes for four servings use 150–200g of millet and about 2 liters of liquid.^3,2 Made without meat, the kulish takes 100g of salo.³ One or two onions and carrots go in,^3,2 and the potatoes run from one or two in the village method to three or four in a modern recipe.^1,3 The amounts below sit inside those ranges. The weights of the vegetables and the amount of added salt are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimates.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 200g (1 cup) millet
• 100g (3½ oz) salo (salted pork fat), plain or with streaks of meat, diced
• 1 large onion, about 150g (5 oz), finely chopped
• 1 carrot, about 100g (3½ oz), diced
• 2 medium potatoes, about 250g (9 oz), peeled and diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 liters (about 8½ cups) water
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• A small bunch each of dill and parsley, chopped

Optional

• 2–3 eggs, beaten, stirred in at the end

Method

1. Soak and rinse the millet. Put the millet in a bowl, cover it with boiling water and leave it for a few minutes, up to 20.^2,3 Drain it, then rinse it in a sieve under running water until the water runs clear. This takes away the bitter taste millet can have.^3,2
2. Start the pot. Bring the water to a boil in a large heavy pot, add the carrot and bay leaf and simmer for 15 minutes.³
3. Cook the millet. Add the potatoes and the millet,^3,1 cover the pot, turn the heat to low and cook for about 30 minutes,^3,2 until the grains have burst and softened and the pot has thickened into something between a soup and a porridge.¹ Once the millet goes in, stir often so it doesn’t catch on the bottom.⁷
4. Fry the salo with onion and garlic. While the millet cooks, fry the salo in a pan over medium heat until golden and the fat has run.³ Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2–3 minutes, until the onion turns translucent.³
5. Bring it together. Scrape the salo, onion and all the fat into the pot and stir it through.¹ Season with the salt and pepper; the salo is already salty, so taste before adding more. If using eggs, stir them in about 3 minutes before the end.^7,2
6. Rest and serve. Take the pot off the heat and leave it covered for 10–15 minutes.^3,7 Serve hot, scattered with the dill and parsley.^2,7

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Kitchen Tips

Don’t skip the boiling water and the rinse. Millet can taste bitter, and soaking it briefly in boiling water and then rinsing it until the water runs clear is how published recipes deal with that.^3,2

The thickness is up to you. Village cooks prized a thick kulish,¹ a modern recipe aims for something like a thick broth,² and one cook from Rivne region makes his thin enough to eat or sip like soup.⁶ For a thicker pot, use less water or cook it a little longer with the lid off.

Any salo works, plain or with streaks of meat.³ Some cooks add a little smoked salo alongside the plain one for its own flavor.⁷ Published recipes suggest a cauldron or a cast-iron pot when you have one;^3,2 any large heavy pot will do.

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Variations

For kulish with meat, one published recipe stews 300g of diced pork neck in the pot for 10 minutes before the onion and carrot go in, then adds the water and simmers it for 20 minutes before the millet.² Chicken, lamb or veal can take the place of pork.⁶ Kulish is also made with mushrooms and no meat, or with fish,² and in Polissia dried porcini and herbs go into the pot.³

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A Lighter Way to Make It

Most of the fat in kulish comes from the salo. The NHS lists lard and bacon among foods high in saturated fat and recommends replacing some saturated fat with unsaturated fat.⁸ Use 40g of salo instead of 100g and fry the onion in 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil; there is still salo in the pot, just less of it. By Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimate, that brings a serving down from about 455 to about 370 kcal, and saturated fat from about 8g to about 4g. The NHS also suggests measuring oil with a teaspoon.⁸

Salt is the other place to go lighter. Salo is already salted, and the NHS advises adults to have no more than 6g of salt a day and to use herbs, black pepper and garlic in its place.⁹ With less salo and only ¼ teaspoon of added salt, sodium falls from about 990mg to about 440mg a serving, also a Heritage Healthy Kitchen estimate. The dill, parsley and garlic already in the recipe fit that advice.

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Nutritional Information

Per serving, one quarter of the recipe, without eggs:

• Calories: approximately 410–500 kcal
• Protein: 8–10g
• Total fat: 20–25g, of which saturated 7–8.5g
• Carbohydrates: 49–60g
• Fiber: 6–8g
• Sodium: 890–1,090mg

Three eggs stirred in add about 55 kcal and 4g of fat per serving.

Nutritional values are estimates based on standard ingredient databases (USDA FoodData Central). They vary with how salty and how fatty the salo is and how much salt goes in.

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Storage and Reheating

Cool leftover kulish and refrigerate it within 2 hours. It keeps 3–4 days in the refrigerator or 3–4 months in the freezer.¹⁰ It thickens as it stands, so loosen it with a splash of hot water while you reheat it, and heat it until it is hot all the way through, 74°C (165°F).¹⁰

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is kulish a soup or a porridge?
Somewhere in between. In the village it was considered ready when the millet had broken down into a porridge-like mass, and thick kulish was prized.¹ Some modern cooks keep it closer to a thick broth or even a thin porridge you can sip.^2,6

How is kulish different from kasha?
Kasha is cooked grain, and millet kasha is cooked with about two and a half times as much water as grain.¹ Kulish takes far more water, about 2 liters for 150–200g of millet, along with potatoes and roots, and is finished with salo, onion and garlic.^3,2,1

Why is the millet soaked in boiling water first?
Millet can taste bitter. A short soak in boiling water and a rinse until the water runs clear take the bitterness away.^3,2

Can kulish be made with meat?
Yes. Kulish was especially valued with salo, a piece of meat or a fish.¹ Pork is common, and chicken, lamb or veal work too.^2,6

Can kulish be made without salo?
Yes. Kulish is also made with mushrooms and no meat,² and in Right-Bank Polissia it was cooked on milk, whey or buttermilk.¹ Fry the onion and garlic in sunflower oil instead of salo.

Is kulish gluten-free?
Millet in its natural form is gluten-free, but grains are often at risk of cross-contact with wheat, barley and rye, so check that the millet is labeled gluten-free if that matters to you.¹¹

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Further Reading & Sources

The recipe is a compilation based on the published recipes listed here; these links are provided for readers who want to explore further.

1. Lidiia Artiukh. Povsiakdenna i sviatkova yizha i napoi [Everyday and festive food and drink], from Ukrainska mynuvshyna: iliustrovanyi etnohrafichnyi dovidnyk; reprinted on Pani Stefa, 5 April 2017. Kulish as “field porridge”; millet poured into boiling water with a potato or two, salt, roots and herbs; the finished kulish stirred through with salo fried with onion and garlic; salo, meat or fish added; done when the millet breaks down; thick kulish prized; buckwheat, cornmeal and milk versions by region; cooked for the midday meal in the fields and for supper at home; millet kasha cooked at about 1 part grain to 2.5 parts water.
2. Yevhen Klopotenko. (10 April 2024). Klasychnyi retsept. Kulish zi svynynoiu [Classic recipe: kulish with pork]. klopotenko.com. Kulish as “field porridge,” cooked in a cauldron where possible; also made with mushrooms and no meat, or with fish; published recipe for 4 (300g pork neck, 2 onions, 2 carrots, 1 teaspoon salt, 200g millet, 3 eggs, parsley and dill; 2–2.5 liters of water per the author’s reply under the recipe; millet briefly soaked in boiling water and rinsed against bitterness; cooked 30 minutes covered; beaten eggs stirred in at the end); cooked like a thick broth rather than a dry porridge.
3. Yevhen Klopotenko. (3 April 2022). Spravzhnia kozatska kasha: retsept kulisha iz kvashenymy tomatamy ta motsareloiu [A real Cossack porridge: kulish with fermented tomatoes and mozzarella]. klopotenko.com. No canonical recipe, Polissia kulish with dried porcini and herbs; published recipe for 4 (100g salo, 150g millet, 3–4 potatoes, 1–2 onions, a carrot, celery and parsley root, 2–3 garlic cloves, 1–2 bay leaves, 2 liters of liquid; millet soaked in boiling water 20 minutes and rinsed until the water runs clear, against bitterness; salo fried golden; millet cooked 30 minutes covered over low heat; rested 10–15 minutes). The mozzarella and tomatoes are a modern serving touch and are not used here.
4. S. Stechishin. Traditional foods. Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. Millet grown in Ukraine 3,000 years ago; buckwheat and millet as the most commonly eaten cereals; “a thicker gruel of millet is called kulish or lemishka”; millet grits among the main dishes of the Zaporozhian Cossacks.
5. Arkadii Zhukovsky. Zaporozhian Sich. Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (originally in Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5, 1993). The first Sich founded about 1552 on Mala Khortytsia Island in the Dnipro; the last Sich destroyed by a Russian army on 15–16 June 1775, in the reign of Catherine II.
6. Volodymyr Strus, Lena Krasova. (28 September 2025). Kulinarnyi spadok: yak na Rivnenshchyni hotuiut davnii polovyi kulish [Culinary heritage: how the old field kulish is cooked in Rivne region]. Suspilne Rivne. Local historian Yaroslav Rachkovskyi cooks kulish at volunteer events and festivals; meat (chicken, pork, lamb or veal) fried with salo, carrot and onion, then the millet; his kulish is “a thin porridge you can eat or sip like soup.”
7. Solomiia Tsurenko. (20 September 2023). Kozatskyi kulish, yak hotuiut na Poltavshchyni [Cossack kulish as it is cooked in Poltava region]. Novyny.live. A recipe from the YouTube channel Vsesvit Retseptiv: a large cauldron batch with plain and smoked salo, pork, onion, carrot, potato, garlic and 5 eggs; the pot stirred constantly once the millet goes in; beaten eggs and herbs added 3 minutes before the end; rested at least 10 minutes.
8. NHS. (page last reviewed 19 June 2023). How to eat less saturated fat. nhs.uk. Lard and bacon among foods high in saturated fat; replacing some saturated fat with unsaturated fat; measuring oil with a teaspoon.
9. NHS. (page last reviewed 17 April 2023). Salt in your diet. nhs.uk. No more than 6g of salt a day for adults; herbs, spices, black pepper and garlic in place of salt.
10. USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Leftovers and Food Safety. Refrigerate within 2 hours; 3–4 days in the refrigerator, 3–4 months in the freezer; reheat to 165°F (74°C).
11. Beyond Celiac. Is Millet Gluten-Free? No author given on the page; last modified 17 August 2020. Millet in its natural form is gluten-free; grains are at high risk of cross-contact with wheat, barley and rye.

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Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Heritage Healthy Kitchen makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of any content on this site. Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on the specific ingredients, brands, and measurements used. This content is not intended as dietary, medical, or professional nutritional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any dietary needs or health conditions. Heritage Healthy Kitchen is not responsible for any outcomes resulting from the use of recipes or information published on this site.

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