As the pot boiled, one could see the corn cakes move around in the water; but they never floated, nor did they break apart. The boiling lasted about an hour.
In olden days we ate these corn balls alone; now we more often eat them with coffee.
Tsï´di Tso´ki and Tsï´di Tapä´
The two varieties of tsï´di, or golden yellow corn, could be pounded and boiled to make mush, or mä´dakapa; or they could be boiled whole, to make mạdạpo´zi i’ti´a.
Mạdạpo´zi I’ti´a. For this dish I put the shelled ripe grain, with fats, in a pot and boiled them until I saw the kernels break open; then I added beans, and when these were boiled, the mess was served. This dish we called mạdạpo´zi i’ti´a. I do not know the derivation of mạdạpo´zi; i’ti´a means large. I think you can translate “corn boiled whole.”
Hard yellow and soft yellow corn, roasted in the green ear, tasted sweet, as if a little sugar were in them. Especially was this true at the time when kernels were beginning to turn yellow. At this time each kernel shows a little yellow spot on the very top. For this reason this season was called tsi´dotsxĕ, or yellow-drop time; for the little yellow spot looked like a drop on the top of the kernel.
Other Soft Varieties
Do´ohi, or blue, hi´ci cĕ´pi, dark red, and hi´tsiica, light red, were all soft corns and were cooked and prepared and stored just like atạ´ki; these four varieties tasted exactly alike, if cooked in the same way.