Kačamak - a symbol of the honorable highlanders' struggle against poverty

It took almost two centuries for "potato" kačamak to reach from the slum's dining room to a prestigious place in the menus of the national cuisine. It is believed to be a dish in the north of Montenegro, created not long after bishop Petar I Petrović Njegoš brought potatoes to his people in 1786, on vegetables from Russia, from Trieste.

The method of preparation has not changed in almost any detail until now - it is made from wheat (less common than buckwheat) flour, potatoes, cheese and cream (white whey). Perhaps, precisely because of this, there are few tourists who resist it, even though its price sometimes "follows" the number of calories.

In the past, it was prepared daily and only "for the local family", some of the more popular dishes and more expensive dishes were presented to the guests. Today, despite the fact that it cannot be classified as "healthy food" by modern standards, it is the pride of the most famous restaurants in ski resorts.

Whether it is served as a warm appetizer or main meal, it is an indispensable part of business lunches and even romantic dinners.

Kačamak with potatoes, according to local tradition chroniclers, is only prepared in the area of ​​Bjelasica, Sinjavina, Durmitor and a part of Vasojević. In each of those regions, they will convince you that they "invented" it, and that is why it is prepared in the best and "only right" way.

Despite this, everywhere you will get an identical recipe with small variations in the amount of flour and potatoes or the length of cooking. Somewhere they will advise you to drink a glass of brandy before eating kačamak, and somewhere that aklokhol should never be "mixed" with that type of food.

In any case, everywhere will tell you that a woman cannot be a good housewife if she does not know how to cook it. And since it is (lo) the food of the poor, which is prepared from ingredients that were in every mountain household, everyone, without distinction, will deny that their ancestors ate it almost every day.

"I am not aware that such a dish is prepared anywhere else in Montenegro or the region. It is not known exactly in which part of the north it was prepared for the first time. Several travelogues, along with cicvara, mention it as an authentic mountain dish from a hundred or more years ago. However, kačamak was probably created a decade or two later than potatoes came to Montenegro. I found the first detailed description of the preparation of this dish in the works of the priest, publicist and ethnographer Sekula Dobričanin. The same way he described then is now prepared in restaurants. krompriovi" or "kumperovi" kačamak. The name of that dish differs from one end to the other," explains Branislav Jeknić, director of the Kolašin Center for Culture, who studies the traditions of the north of Montenegro as a hobby.

The secret is in marketing and good cheese

A dish that, especially in recent decades, has become known far beyond the towns in the north due to good marketing, Jeknić explains, was created during the ancient and long years of great scarcity. In the mountain cattle-breeding regions, there was not only cheese, cream and potatoes missing. In an effort to enrich the diet, due to very modest possibilities, and not just reduce it to bread and dairy products, several more dishes similar to this one were created by combining foods.

"Everything was saved because there was little of everything in these regions, which were the most suitable for animal husbandry. Even flour was difficult to obtain and there was never enough of it, especially not wheat, except for the wealthy. The addition of potatoes, which grew well in the north , it was probably a way to save on wheat flour, and to have enough for the whole family," notes Branislav.

The taste of kačamak depends on the quality of each individual ingredient, but also on the method of preparation, the length of cooking, and the accompaniments with which it is served. Moračan Dragica Rakočević from the Kolašina village of Biočinoviće has been preparing this dish for decades, and she learned, she says, from older women in the family. She also explains why this type of kačamak is also called "tučenak" or "smočani". In order to combine the flour and potatoes, it is necessary to "pound" them well with a wooden tool called kačamar.

"Although many claim that it takes a lot of skill to cook good kačamak, for me it is one of the simplest jobs. Of course, experience is important, and there are several "tricks" for easier and more successful preparation. First of all, you should take care that the flour and potatoes, but also figs (cheese and cream) should be of high quality and homemade. The preparation of kačamak takes about one hour. It is best made from yellow "flourish" potatoes, "leaf" cheese and young cream. Although it is traditionally served with sour milk, it is also excellent with all kinds of salads," Dragica explains while preparing kačamak with excellent "leafy" cheese and homemade cream.

It is believed that "beating" kachamak requires almost a man's strength. That is why the travel writers, cursing the way kačamak is prepared, emphasized that this is probably the only dish in the north of Montenegro in which men also participate. While holding a pot with one hand and beating kačamak with a kačamara in the other hand, Dragica replies that she never allows her husband or son to interfere in that work.

He says the strength is not important, but the appearance and shape of the kačamar. Well, making kačamar is already a man's job. Although it appears to be just a piece of polished wood that widens at the bottom, the matter is not so simple. Dragica's husband, Rajo, explains that it is best to make it from some ash or other "clean" type of wood.

"And it must not be too big, because anything can come to the housewife's mind, especially if you make her angry," jokes Rajo.

A string of cheese decorates the dish

"The appearance of the dish is just as important as the taste. In order for the cream not to melt completely and for it to be visible when the kačamak has thickened, the cheese must be semi-fatty and the cream must be young. The semi-melted cheese is stretched into "strings" that are decoration on the dish. The ratio of the quantities of all the ingredients is also important, but since they have different tastes, they are prepared differently. It is also necessary to achieve the right "thickness", says Dragica. He claims that the best taste is achieved only by cooking on a wood stove. Gas or electricity, he says, change the specificity of the dish.

Nutritionists have no words of praise for the combination of potatoes, white flour and several fatty dairy products in the same meal. On the other hand, mountaineers for whom hard physical work is a way of life believe that this dish, like no other, guarantees hours of satiety and energy.

For this reason, in the past, kačamak was also prepared for mobs of Cossacks. At that time, when the working day included 12 hours of hard work in the meadow or field, kačmak, like cicvara, was also served for breakfast. It was usually served on the table in a large cauldron or wooden bowl, from which those gathered at the table scooped it up with spoons.

It seems that until today only the dishes in which they are served have changed. Kolašin's restaurateurs were never motivated by that authentic northern dish to experiment and combine it with some creative cuisine.

Like, for example, the famous Japanese fusion cuisine, Mexican chili con carne in a vegetable version or octopus salad in jelly, where chopped nectarine is used instead of red onion... Because, if apple and horseradish soup can; if they can peppers stuffed with cheese and eggs, what couldn't - for example - red peppers or sarma stuffed with kačamak.... no matter how silly it sounds to some?

Jasmin Biševac, a chef in one of the best local hotels, was quite surprised by the question of whether kačamak can be combined with some other foods.

"We have never tried it and I think it is impossible to combine it with other dishes from these or some other areas. We serve it exclusively with sour milk".

Restaurant owner Dragomir Reljić-Brile has a similar opinion. He believes that wet kačamak is a sufficient gastronomic atmosphere in itself.

"In this form, it is definitely not compatible with other foods or dishes. It happened that we served it as a warm appetizer, but mostly it is the main meal and I don't see a way to combine it otherwise. This is because it also contains cheese and cream, potatoes and flour, so it's already a complex combination in itself. It's a shame to desecrate that special taste. Besides, it's very high in calories. Tourists want to try a traditional dish served like this, prepared in the same way as a hundred or more years ago. That's something only ours, which was enthusiastically accepted by people from other areas and we should be proud".

Since last year, in Kolašin, they have shown their pride and respect for kačamak as a local brand by organizing a competitive event that should become a tradition. In the town square every summer, a dozen women will compete in the skill of making this dish. It is an attraction for guests and a learning opportunity for less experienced housewives. The event attracted significantly more visitors than simultaneously organized theater plays and concerts.

"Overrated" or not, potato kačamak is one of the rare products of the north of Montenegro which, unchanged for centuries, is still relevant and interesting even to those with a developed taste who grew up at a rich table. This dish will be an important gastronomic trump card for restaurateurs for a long time to come. , with which I can serve even the most demanding guests from an area known for its creative and rich cuisine.

"It's not just food," claim local patriots. The story of the "beater" is an inseparable part of the Highland tradition and a symbol of the decades spent in the honorable struggle against poverty.

Kačamak according to a centuries-old recipe

Ingredients: 3 kg of potatoes, 0,5 kg of wheat flour, semi-fat "leafy" cheese, young cream.

Preparation: Cleaned chrome is boiled for 30 minutes. Then flour is added on top and cooked on low heat for another 20 minutes. After that, the mixture is "beaten" with a kačamar, until it is completely combined and becomes a lump of potatoes. Melt the cheese and cream in another bowl (150 g of cream and 250 g of cheese per person). When the kačamak is well "beaten", melted mrs is poured over it. It is eaten with sour milk, pickles or fresh vegetable salads.

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