🟡 Preview — not yet kitchen-tested. Recipe version 1.1 (15 Oct 2026) · Draft formulation — uncooked · Kitchen tester: not yet assigned · Video: technique demonstration (different recipe)
🎃 Гарбузова каша з пшоном · harbuzova kasha z pshonom (pumpkin porridge with millet)
A golden, spoonable autumn porridge. Pumpkin cooked with millet is a traditional Ukrainian dish, often baked in a clay pot with milk and sweetened with sugar or honey. Families make it many ways.
Kitchen Monk adaptation. 🔄 What we changed: unsweetened soy milk instead of dairy milk; dates instead of sugar; no butter; cooked on the stovetop.
🍽️ Serves 4 (about 1 cup each; yield to be measured in testing) · ⏱️ Prep 15 min · Cook 25–30 min · Total about 45 min
🍳 Equipment: heavy medium saucepan (about 3 litres) with lid, fine sieve, wooden spoon, potato masher or fork
🧺 Ingredients
- ¾ cup (150 g) dry hulled millet
- 500 g peeled pumpkin or butternut squash, in 1.5 cm cubes (from about a 750 g whole squash)
- 2 cups water
- 1½ cups unsweetened soy milk with no added salt, sugar or oil (check the label)
- 2 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
👩🍳 Steps
- Put the millet in a fine sieve and rinse under running water, rubbing it with your fingers, until the water runs clear. This reduces bitterness.
- Put the millet, pumpkin and water in the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed.
- Stir in the soy milk, dates and cinnamon. Cook uncovered over low heat for 10–15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes and scraping the bottom so the milk doesn’t catch.
- It is ready when the millet grains are soft all the way through and the pumpkin falls apart when pressed. Mash some of the pumpkin into the porridge.
- The finished porridge should be thick but spoonable. Stir in hot water a little at a time if it is stiff.
💡 Troubleshooting: sticking or scorching? Lower the heat and stir more often. Millet still crunchy? Add ¼ cup water, cover and cook 5 minutes more. Bitter taste? Rinse the millet more thoroughly next time.
🍽️ Serving ideas: top with a few chopped walnuts or some of the soft fruit from uzvar.
⚠️ Allergens: contains soy. Millet is naturally gluten-free but is often processed alongside wheat; this recipe makes no gluten-free claim.
🔁 Substitutions: none tested yet. An untested soy-free idea: use more water, or an unsweetened oat milk with no added oil or salt.
🧊 Storing: it thickens as it cools. Refrigerate in a covered container and use within 3–4 days. Reheat with a splash of water, stirring, until steaming. Freezing has not been tested.
🎥 Technique demonstration
This video by Експериментуємо на кухні shows a pumpkin, apple and millet porridge made with water and no sugar or dairy. It is a different recipe: it includes apple, uses different amounts, and adds salt to taste. Leave out the salt and follow the ingredients on this page. The creator has not reviewed or endorsed this adaptation.
🎬 Want the videos to keep playing? The continuous player plays all eight Ukrainian technique videos in a row on Flourishing Nursing, our companion site. Tap Play once for sound.
🛒 Shopping checklist
- ☐ Hulled millet (dry): 150 g (about ¾ cup)
- ☐ Pumpkin or butternut squash: 1 small (about 750 g whole), or 500 g pre-cut
- ☐ Unsweetened soy milk, no added salt, sugar or oil: 1½ cups
- ☐ Medjool dates: 2
- ☐ Ground cinnamon (check your pantry)
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🌱 Kitchen Monk Standard: no added salt, oil or refined sugar; sweetened only with dates, so it is “no sugar added,” not sugar-free. Part of The Ukrainian Flourishing Table™ · kitchenmonk.org · Corrections welcome: rfjeep@gmail.com · Last reviewed 15 Oct 2026.
