Why This Classic Romanian-Jewish Dish Is Nearly Impossible to Find

Mamaliga was once regular fare at home and in restaurants; now it’s a rare treat.

When said aloud, the word sounds almost like music: Mamaliga. An almost-facsimile of polenta, the cornmeal-based dish mamaliga is native to Romania and neighboring Moldova, as well as parts of Ukraine. Written as mamelige in Yiddish, and mămăligă in Romanian, the dish inspires an almost romantic yearning, particularly among Ashkenazi and Romanian Jews. In his famous song “Rumania, Rumania” originally recorded in 1925, Yiddish theater actor and singer Aaron Lebedeff extols the delights of the eponymous land through its comestibles: “Vos dos harts glust kenstu krign: A mamaligele, a pastramele, a karnatsele, Un a glezele vayn, aha…!” (In English: “What your heart desires you can get; a mamalige, a pastrami, a karnatzl, and a glass of wine, aha…!”)

https://food52.com/blog/27157-what-is-mamaliga?
HERE! SING!!!

https://yiddishlyrics.wordpress.com/2010/12/26/rumania-rumania-%d7%a8%d7%95%d7%9e%d7%99%d7%99%d7%a0%d7%99%d7%a2-%