Cornmeal Coo coo aka CouCou. Creamy, thick and hearty Polenta – Caribbean style. An intriguing side dish with tons of flavor.
Cornmeal can be bland and boring but it’s loved for its versatility as much as it’s sweet corn flavor used in both savory and sweet recipes throughout the world and in my household. I always have a container of cornmeal on stand by– definitely a pantry staple for me.
There are just so many ways you can cook it up and serve. And so many countries and regions have their favorite way of making it. In Africa, especially East and West Africa it is most often cooked as a side dish, with water and salt; known as Ugali and Fufu respectively.
Here’s an intriguing version of cornmeal from the Caribbean, one that will make you take notice – Coo Coo – made with okra also known as okroes, red bell pepper, seasoned with thyme garlic, cooked in coconut milk. Definitely not bland or boring and it’s open to so many variations. A well loved side dish throughout Barbados, sometimes known as their national dish when paired together with flying fish. Other delightful combinations make an appearance in the Virgin Islands and the Netherlands Antilles. And in Jamaica it is cooked without okra and sometimes with salted codfish known as cornmeal turned up.
I know okra has a lot of detractors, I certainly do have one in my family, so I know if you are one of them, then by all means leave it out! No worries! The Cou Cou police will not be visiting you. But you are tossing out a powerhouse!
You can cut your okra in chunks or as little as you like. Some people like to blend it before incorporating it in their cornmeal to make it really mushy. I prefer to sauté the okra a few minutes before incorporating into the cornmeal.
This Caribbean Coo Coo is an excellent side paired with chicken, fish or pork, and it makes a satisfying vegetarian main course, too.
Enjoy!!!
Cornmeal Coo Coo
Ingredients
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup diced onions
- ½ teaspoon minced thyme
- ¼ cup cut up red bell pepper optional
- 2 1/2 cups warm water or more
- 1 cup coconut milk replace with broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt more adjust to taste
- 1 cup sliced okra(frozen
- 2 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
- In a medium-sauce pan or pot add oil, onions, garlic, and thyme sauté, for about 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent any burns.
- Throw in okra and red bell pepper; continue cooking for about 2 minutes, followed by about 2 cups warm water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil
- At this point you may remove some or half of the vegetables and reserve, if you like your vegetables crunchy.
- Gradually whisk in the cornmeal, until you have add the whole thing in the pot, a little bit at a time and keep stirring with a whisk to prevent any lumps. You may have to remove saucepan from heat while trying to get rid of lumps- to prevent burns.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens.
- Then add the remaining boiled water, reduce heat, cover, and cook- for about 10 or more minutes. Return any vegetables reserved. Add butter, add more water if desired continue whisking to cornmeal consistency. I usually use about a total of 3 1/2 cups water because I like mine, really soft.
- Turn off the heat. Scoop out and place into a wet bowl, to form a ball . Let it set for a few minutes then turn in upside down on to a plate. Serve warm.
Tips & Notes:
- You can cut your okra in chunks or as little as you like, some people like to blend it before incorporating in their cornmeal to make it really mushy. I prefer to sauté the okra a few minutes before incorporating into the cornmeal.
Nutrition Information:
In a medium-large sauce pan or pot , add oil, onions, garlic, and thyme sauté, for about 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent any burns.
Throw in okra and red bell pepper; continue cooking for about 2 minutes, followed by about 2 cups warm water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. If you’d like some of the vegetables to top with, remove some of the cooked vegetables and set aside.
Gradually whisk in the cornmeal, until you have added the whole thing into the pot, a little bit at a time and keep stirring with a whisk to prevent any lumps. You may have to remove saucepan from heat while trying to get rid of lumps – to prevent burns.
Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens. Then add the remaining boiled water, reduce heat, cover, and cook- for about 10 or more minutes. At this point you may remove some or half of the vegetables and reserve, if you like your vegetables crunchy.
Add butter, add more water if desired continue whisking to cornmeal consistency. I usually use about a total of 3 1/2 cups water because I like mine really soft.
Voila!
Greta says
First class recipe.
Got no lumps as I did it like my mother used to do it.
Soak the cup of cornmeal in about half cup water for about 15 mins.
When this is added to the boiling water slowly , no lumps are formed.
Mine came out like a champ.
Imma says
Amazing!! Thanks for the feedback, Greta!
StanT says
I love CouCou and this is a fairly simple recipe. One part I do differently is to mix the dry corn meal with warm water BEFORE adding to the sautéing pan; that way you can deal with the lumps which inevitably form without having to worry about stuff getting burnt.
ImmaculateBites says
That is a great tip, Stan! Thanks for sharing 🙂 !
Allen Mitchell says
Is that shrimp creole I see in the picture on top of the cou cou?
Allen Mitchell says
Can this cou cou be made with grits ( corn meal). We have a mill where I live that grinds fresh corn mill for grits. It’s a course ground meal. So you have to soak it for a while before cooming.
Dr.Mary Sabal says
Yummy, versatile, and easy to prepare!
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks so much.
Wendy says
I’m from Grenada and cou cou is something I grew up on. A meal that is perfected only in the hands of the old folks, the grandmas. Being not an expert at cou cou, I followed the above recipe (somewhat). I know about cou cou although I could never cook it like mama did. In the islands, cou cou has lotsss of coconut milk ( not the can) and is cooked for hrs. So thanks to quarantine, I decided to give it a go. As I said, I somewhat followed the instructions here.
So I used coarse cornmeal ( mama’s way of doing it), sautéed aromatics including red bell pepper and West Indian seasoning pepper ( flavorful), then added frozen okra, then added warm coconut cream (discard the water from can, let can sit and don’t shake it)mixed with water on stove (already hot). Added slowly then added cornmeal, stirring or whisking a lot, seasoned with salt, paprika etc for lots of flavor. Added rest of coconut cream and water, covered, low heat, stirring every 10 mins and tasted for flavor, added a half of block of coconut cream in box. Cooked for over 2hrs. It’s a long time cooking but this is how it’s done in the islands. I didn’t put butter because of lots of coconut in there. I like it thick so it can almost cut with knife. I made steamed fish as a side and spinach and okra. This is the Island way. It was very very tasty!!! I m all about flavor and I’m impressed at myself!!
ImmaculateBites says
That really sounds tasty!!! I am salivating this way. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with me. I will definitely give your method a try. Thanks again, Wendy.
Rhonda J says
Wendy is correct. The mamas know how to turn up cou cou, me, it never comes out right. Once I did it and it came out green, but I want to give it again though after so long. Keeping my fingers crossed.
ImmaculateBites says
You are going to nail it!!!
Japhea Ross says
This is the first time I made it and it came out really good I added the frozen peas,corn and pepper because I like it and it combined really well with everything I didn’t have bell peppers so I use pimentos great recipe thanks
imma africanbites says
Thank you for taking the time to let me know. So happy you like it!
Tonya says
It was delicious . I added extra water to mine because I like it softer ❤
imma africanbites says
Glad you like it. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Bob says
This recipe was easy and fun. Delishious too. The polenta consistency was somewhere between pudding and pancake. Please tell which of your lovely shrimp recipes did you use in the photo. I suppose anything with a sauce will work. Thanks.
Charmaine Challenger says
I love this. About to try your style tomorrow God willing. Plan to eat it with sardines and mustard greens.
ImmaculateBites says
That sounds Delicious!