Montenegrin · Breakfast
Cornmeal enriched with kajmak and cheese until deeply creamy.
Photo by Ivana Sokolović · CC BY 2.0 · No local modifications; served from the Wikimedia Commons original.
Cicvara is a mountain-region comfort dish made by cooking cornmeal into rich dairy. Kajmak gives it characteristic tang and fat; cream cheese and cultured sour cream make a practical substitute.
Technique notes
Recipe status
A named independent cook or chef has published a prepared version of this dish, and that verification is credited below. It verifies their version—not Gastromica’s exact quantities, timing or method. Measured search evidence, exact-recipe testing and final JB approval remain separate gates.
How the new system works →Evidence behind this edition
Reviewed August 2, 2026. Research sources inform this edition. Any external cook verification is separately named, linked and limited to the independently prepared version described in that source.
A rich pastoral cornmeal preparation cooked with kajmak and/or cheese until smooth, thick and visibly releasing fat, served hot.
Declared allergens: milk
Use pasteurized dairy where possible; refrigerate within 2 hours, use within 3–4 days and reheat to 165°F/74°C.
Ingredient labels and cross-contact must be checked for the actual brands used; USDA temperatures are safety floors, not claims that the current recipe was tested.
Helena Radulovic Toffolon is credited with preparing and publishing an independent version of this dish in What is Cicvara and How is it Prepared? for Coffee Time with Lena.
What this supports: dish identity, method, texture/doneness, failure cue, serving result.
Verifies an independently prepared version of the dish, not Gastromica’s exact recipe. The source documents dairy-rich Serbian/Montenegrin-style variants, and its corn-flour, cheese, cream and liquid ratios are not Gastromica’s.
Montenegrin kitchen
Cicvara is a rich Balkan cornmeal dish cooked with kajmak, butter and white cheese for a stretchy, savory breakfast.
Bring milk, water, kajmak, butter and salt to a gentle simmer in a heavy saucepan.
Rain in cornmeal slowly while whisking constantly until no dry pockets remain.
Reduce heat and cook 12–15 minutes, stirring often, until thick and the meal tastes tender.
Fold in cheese in three additions and cook 3–5 minutes until glossy and slightly stretchy.
Review ingredient labels for allergens and cross-contact. Follow the recipe’s handling notes, refrigerate perishable food promptly, and use an instant-read thermometer where a safe internal temperature is specified.
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Research EditionGood to know
Cicvara is a mountain-region comfort dish made by cooking cornmeal into rich dairy. Kajmak gives it characteristic tang and fat; cream cheese and cultured sour cream make a practical substitute.
Refrigerate for up to 3 days; reheat gently with a splash of milk.
Serve immediately with yogurt, sour milk or a crisp cucumber salad.
