kasha

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Kasha

| image = Гречневая каша.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Buckwheat kasha

| alternate_name =

| country =

| region = Eastern Europe

| creator =

| course =

| type = Porridge, oatmeal

| served =

| main_ingredient = Cereal (buckwheat, wheat, barley, oats, millet or rye)

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

In English, kasha usually{{efn|Merriam-Webster's Dictionary definition: a porridge made usually from buckwheat groats, {{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kasha|title=Merriam-Webster's Dictionary|access-date=21 May 2020}}}}{{efn|Oxford Dictionary definition: (in Russia and Poland) porridge made from cooked buckwheat or similar grain., {{cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/kasha|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829215538/https://www.lexico.com/definition/kasha|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 29, 2021|title=Lexico|access-date=21 May 2020}}}}{{efn|Collins Dictionary definition: dish originating in Eastern Europe, consisting of boiled or baked buckwheat, {{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/kasha|title=Collins English Dictionary|access-date=21 May 2020}}}} refers to the pseudocereal buckwheat or its culinary preparations. In Slavic languages, "kasha" means porridge or puree. In some varieties of Eastern European cuisine, kasha can apply to any kind of cooked grain. It can be baked but most often is boiled, either in water or milk, but the word can also refer to the grain before preparation, which corresponds to the definition of 'groats'. The word "kasha" is used in Belarus ({{Lang|be|каша}}), the Czech Republic ({{Lang|cs|kaše}}), Lithuania ({{Lang|lt|košė}}), Poland ({{Lang|pl|kasza}}), Romania and Moldova ({{Lang|ro|cașa}}), Russia ({{Lang|ru|каша}}), Slovakia ({{Lang|sk|kaša}}), Slovenia ({{Lang|sl|kaša}}), Kazakhstan, and Ukraine ({{Lang|uk|каша}}).

The English-language usage of kasha, which refers primarily to buckwheat, probably originated with Jewish immigrants, as did the form {{lang|yi|קאַשי|rtl=yes}} kashi (literally translated as "porridges").Steinmetz, Sol. Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms. p. 42. {{ISBN|0-7425-4387-0}}.

In Ashkenazi Jewish culture

As an Ashkenazi-Jewish comfort food, kasha is often served with onions and brown gravy on top of farfalle, known as kasha varnishkes.{{cite web |title=Le Cordon Jew |url=http://www.soulandgone.com/2008/05/22/le-cordon-jew-%d0%bb%d0%b0%d0%bf%d1%88%d1%83-%d0%b4%d0%b0-%d0%ba%d0%b0%d1%88%d0%b0-%d0%bf%d0%b8%d1%89%d0%b0-%d0%bd%d0%b0%d1%88%d0%b0/ |date=May 22, 2008 |access-date=2011-01-15 |archive-date=2015-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325000145/http://www.soulandgone.com/2008/05/22/le-cordon-jew-%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BF%D1%88%D1%83-%D0%B4%D0%B0-%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%B0-%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%89%D0%B0-%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%B0/ |url-status=dead }} Kasha is a popular filling for knishes{{cite web |url=http://www.jewish-food.org/recipes/knishkas.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-05-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421182005/http://www.jewish-food.org/recipes/knishkas.htm |archive-date=2007-04-21 }}. Retrieved May 30, 2007. and is sometimes included in matzah-ball soup.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}}

In Poland

File:Norblin_-_Femme_faisant_du_gruau.jpg]]

In Polish, cooked buckwheat groats are referred to as {{lang|pl|kasza gryczana}}. {{Lang|pl|Kasza}} can apply to many kinds of groats: millet ({{Lang|pl|kasza jaglana}}), barley ({{Lang|pl|kasza jęczmienna}}), pearl barley ({{Lang|pl|kasza jęczmienna perłowa, pęczak}}), oats ({{Lang|pl|kasza owsiana}}), as well as porridge made from farina ({{Lang|pl|kasza manna}}).{{cite web|url=https://culture.pl/en/work/polish-food-101-groats|title=Polish Food 101 ‒ Groats|publisher=Culture.pl|date=9 April 2015|access-date=21 May 2020}} Bulgur can be also be referred to as a type of kasza in Polish ({{Lang|pl|kasza bulgur}}).

As Polish blood sausage is prepared with buckwheat, barley or rice, it is called kaszanka (kasha sausage).

Annual per capita consumption of groats in Poland was approximately {{convert|1.56|kg|abbr=on}} per year in 2013.Biuletyn Informacyjny ARR 4/2013, Handel Wewnętrzny 4/2013 IBRKK

In Russia

File:Tattari uunipuuro.jpg

The largest gross buckwheat consumption per capita is in Russia, with {{convert|15|kg|abbr=on}} per year, followed by Ukraine, with {{convert|12|kg|abbr=on}} per year.[http://www.agroprofi.com.ua No 8 [008] 26 жовтня], 2007; [www.agro-business.com.ua/.../1655-2013-06-25-11] Buckwheat comprises 20% of all cereal consumption in Russia.[http://en.id-marketing.ru/articles/market-of-buckwheat/ Russian Market of Buckwheat in 2009 - September 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213240/http://en.id-marketing.ru/articles/market-of-buckwheat/ |date=2016-03-03 }}

In Russian, buckwheat is referred to formally as {{lang|ru|гречиха}} ({{transliteration|ru|grechi(k)ha}}), or colloquially as {{lang|ru|гречка}} ({{transliteration|ru|grechka}}), which gave rise to the Yiddish words gretshkes/greytshkelach and retshkes/reytshkelach.

Kasha is one of the Russian traditional dishes. Together with shchi it used to constitute staple foods for poorer people. This fact is commemorated in the Russian saying, "{{lang|ru|щи да каша{{spaced ndash}}пища наша}}" ({{transliteration|ru|shchi da kasha{{spaced ndash}}pishcha nasha}}), which literally translates as "shchi and kasha are our food".[https://www.culture.ru/s/vopros/shchi-da-kasha/ ПОЧЕМУ ГОВОРЯТ «ЩИ ДА КАША — ПИЩА НАША»?]

Butter is often eaten with most kasha recipes, hence another Russian saying: "{{lang|ru|кашу маслом не испортишь}}" ({{transliteration|ru|kashu maslom ne isportish}}), which translates to "you won't ruin kasha with butter".{{Cite web |url=http://lidenz.ru/nourish-your-language/ |title=Nourish Your Language: Foodie Words Refashioned |access-date=2017-01-31 |archive-date=2016-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115074722/http://lidenz.ru/nourish-your-language/ |url-status=dead }}