<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Cookbook: Hushpuppy Media: Hushpuppy </Td> </Tr> <P> A hushpuppy is a small, savory, deep - fried ball made from cornmeal - based batter . Hushpuppies are frequently served as a side dish with seafood and other deep - fried foods . </P> <P> The use of ground corn (maize) in cooking originated with Native Americans, who first cultivated the crop . Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole cooking introduced one of its main staples into Southern cuisine: corn, either ground into meal or limed with an alkaline salt to make hominy, in a Native American technology known as nixtamalization . Cornbread was popular during the American Civil War because it was very cheap and could be made in many different sizes and forms . It could be fashioned into high - rising, fluffy loaves or simply fried for a quick meal . </P> <P> To a far greater degree than anyone realizes, several of the most important food dishes that the Southeastern Indians live on today is the "soul food" eaten by both black and white Southerners...Indian boiled cornbread is present in Southern cuisine as "corn meal dumplings",...and as "hush puppies"... </P>

Where does the term hush puppy come from