Mulgipuder means, quite simply, the porridge of Mulgimaa, a farming region in the south of Estonia that grew a great deal of barley and saw no reason to keep it out of the potato pot. The two are boiled together and mashed, so the barley gives an ordinary mash a gentle chew and a nutty, almost bready depth. In 2024 the cooking and eating of Mulgi puder was inscribed on UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which is more than most mashed potatoes can claim.

In Mulgimaa it is everyday food, cooked at home, in school kitchens and in workplace canteens, and every family has its own small rules about how smooth to mash it and what goes on top. The usual crown is smoked bacon and onion fried until crisp, and the fat from the pan is spooned over as the sauce. Families often make a big pot and eat it for several days, insisting it improves, and on that point they are right.

It is cheap, filling and almost impossible to get wrong, which makes it a fine thing to have bubbling quietly on the stove while qualifying settles who starts where.

The potato and barley mash

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (150 g) pearl barley
• 3 lb (1.4 kg) floury potatoes
• about 8 cups (2 liters) water
• 2 teaspoons fine salt

Method

1. Tip the soaked barley into the sieve and rinse it under cold running water for about 30 seconds, shaking the sieve, until the water running out is clear rather than milky.
2. Put the barley in the large pot with 4 cups (1 liter) of the water and the salt. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat down so it bubbles gently, set the lid half on and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Lay the potato chunks on top of the barley without stirring. Add enough of the remaining water to just cover the potatoes. Bring back to a boil, turn the heat down to a gentle bubble, cover with the lid half on and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not stir: the barley stays on the bottom and cooks in the potato steam.
4. Push a spoon down to the bottom of the pot, lift out a few grains of barley and taste them carefully, as they will be very hot. If they are still chalky in the middle, cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes more.
5. Set the measuring jug in the sink and carefully pour off the cooking water into it, holding the potatoes and barley back with the lid or a slotted spoon. Keep about 2 cups (480 ml) of the water and discard the rest.
6. Mash the potatoes and barley together firmly with the potato masher, working all round the pot, until the potato is smooth and the barley is spread evenly through it. Add the saved cooking water a few tablespoons at a time, mashing as you go, until the mash is soft and spoonable. Taste and add more salt if needed. Cover to keep warm.

The bacon and onion topping

Ingredients

• 10 oz (300 g) smoked bacon or smoked pork belly
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. While the potatoes cook, put the bacon cubes in the cold frying pan and set it over medium heat. Let the fat melt out slowly, stirring now and then, for 8 to 10 minutes. If very little fat appears, add the oil.
2. Add the onions to the pan and stir to coat them in the fat. Cook over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until the onions are soft and deep golden and the bacon is crisp. Season with the black pepper. Keep warm over the lowest heat.
3. Spoon the hot mash into warm bowls or onto plates and make a dip in the middle of each serving with the back of the spoon. Spoon the bacon and onions over the top and pour a little of the pan fat into each dip.

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