Teteria

Teteria (shcherba) is an old Ukrainian dish which, alongside kulish, was a campaign food of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. It is something between a thin porridge and a thick soup, cooked simply and quickly from whatever was always at hand on the march.

Classic teteria is made from millet and rye or buckwheat flour: first the millet is boiled, and then it is seasoned with rye or buckwheat flour whisked into water, which makes the dish thicker and gives it a pleasant tang. When available, fish, dried fish, onion, or oil were added to teteria. This unpretentious, nourishing, and hearty dish was ideal for the long journeys of the Cossacks. Teteria is mentioned in Ukrainian historical songs and dumy, remaining a living testimony to the way of life and gastronomic ingenuity of our ancestors.