Estonia's national peasant dish: a creamy porridge of mashed potato and pearl barley, finished with butter, bacon and onion. Mulgimaa-region origin.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Mulgi puder takes its name from the Mulgimaa region in southern Estonia, where pearl barley grew well on the heavy soils. Peasant farmers cooked the barley into a porridge then mashed it with potato to stretch the dish through winter. The barley was usually pearled and slow-cooked, then loosened with cream or milk and topped with bacon and onion. Tallinn's Old Town traditional rooms like Rataskaevu 16 still keep it on the menu year-round, alongside lingonberry jam.
Common allergens: Gluten, Milk
Tip from the editors. Mash by hand or with a wooden spoon; a food processor turns the puder gluey.
Rataskaevu 16 is the Old Town's mid-priced Estonian comfort-food room, with braised elk, beef tenderloin and chef's choice white fish on a dietary menu.
Signature: Braised elk roast, Beef tenderloin
Order: Braised elk roast with potato and beetroot gratin (€28.60); add the Estonian cheese platter.
Tip: Book a week ahead in summer. Sister room Väike Rataskaevu at Niguliste 6 takes the overflow with a smaller menu.
Olde Hansa on Vana turg runs the medieval Hanseatic feast in candlelight until midnight every night, with live hurdy-gurdy and bagpipe music Wed to Sat.
Try: Medieval Hanseatic feast with live music
III Draakon under the Town Hall serves elk soup, pirukad pastries and house beer for a few euros each in a medieval-themed candle-lit cellar.
Try: Elk soup and savoury pirukad
More cities are in research. Want mulgi puder covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.