Belarusian Cuisine: Top 10 National Dishes

You can learn about the traditions and history of Belarus, the peculiarities of the character of the inhabitants of the country, including through the dishes of national cuisine.

You can learn about the traditions and history of Belarus, the peculiarities of the character of the inhabitants of the country, including through the dishes of national cuisine.

We present 10 delicious Belarusian dishes that you should definitely try! Step by step recipes included!

1. Draniki

 

In the first place, of course, are potato pancakes - the most famous dish of Belarusian cuisine.

Draniki are tender pancakes made from medium-sized grated potatoes (yes, Belarusians love potatoes and this is no joke!) with the addition of onions and eggs for viscosity. Usually served with sour cream and herbs. This is a hearty and very inexpensive dish, which is not difficult to prepare. In general, all in one bottle!

Master class cooking potato pancakes >>>

Recipe for potato pancakes with cottage cheese >>>

Prepare Bulba Burger! >>>

2. Dumplings

Onions and potatoes (yes, potatoes again!) are rubbed on the smallest grater. Then they are mixed and squeezed through gauze, flour, salt, egg are added there. It turns out a rather tender dough, from which small balls about 5 centimeters in diameter are formed and then they are boiled in salted water. Served (guess!) ... with sour cream and herbs!

3. Beetroot

 

This is a cold summer soup (similar to our okroshka), only its main ingredient is beets. And it's not borscht at all! Beets are boiled, cooled, cut or rubbed, boiled chopped eggs, radishes and dill are added to it. Often, chopped cucumbers are added. What is interesting: the beetroot broth is not poured out, but the resulting soup mixed with kvass is poured into it. At the end add sour cream.

The recipe for beetroot on bread kvass >>>

4. Zhur

 

This is one of the oldest dishes - hot flour soup. Now real jur is quite difficult to find, but this is an extremely unusual dish. Its taste is sour, because they cook zhur on sour flour. Any flour can be used - wheat, rye, oatmeal. Flour is diluted with water into gruel and left for two days to bask in a warm place. Then the resulting porridge is boiled until thick, seasoned with onions and lard and served with boiled potatoes (potatoes again!). Such an unusual "sauce"

5. Vershachka

One of the favorite, not very difficult to prepare dishes - top, was always at the head of the festive table. They ate it infrequently, but measuredly, with appetite. This is something similar to meat sauce (very remotely), which is made from homemade sausage and kvass and served with pancakes or a side dish (potatoes, cereals).

6. Belarusian sour black bread

 

All guests of Belarus try to try this bread and for good reason: it is almost impossible to find a similar one in any other country. Its peculiarity is that the dough for baking is kneaded on a portion of the dough left over from the last time. That is why they call this bread fermented. The composition is very simple: rye flour, salt and water. Yeast is not used! Knead the dough with your fists to make it tight. Before baking, a cross is usually drawn on the loaf.

Note to the hostess: from well and properly baked bread, steam rises vertically!

7. Krambambulya

It would seem that such a naive, cute and even childish name ... Could it be some kind of buns? No, dear, not buns, but a strong drink, that's it! Mulled wine in Belarusian. It is prepared with alcohol, and honey, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg are added there. A very specific and aromatic drink is obtained with a good degree (of course, on alcohol and vodka, of course!)

Ingredients:

250 ml of water; 1/2 liter of vodka or alcohol 40-45 percent; 3 art. l. liquid honey; 3 black peppercorns; 3 peas of allspice; 3 cloves; cinnamon stick; a pinch of nutmeg.

Grind allspice, cloves and nutmeg in a coffee grinder. Pour water and 250 ml of vodka into a saucepan, add ground spices, cinnamon. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Then cool to 60 degrees, pour in the remaining vodka, honey, insist under the lid for 5 minutes. Strain into a jar, add black pepper and infuse for 10 days at room temperature. Pour into a bottle through a straw, close tightly.

8. Nalistniki

 

You can call them pancakes in Belarusian, but, of course, there are big differences in their preparation from those pancakes that we are used to eating. The dough for them is kneaded completely bland and even tasteless, thin pancakes are baked, and they turn out without holes so beloved by many and very elastic. This is not an independent dish, such pancakes are intended primarily for stuffing (cottage cheese, less often berries). Therefore, the elasticity and non-porosity of pancakes is so necessary. The filling is placed in the center and the edges of the pancake are folded to the center, wrapping the middle like a leaf - that's why the name of the pancakes is so telling.

See how to cook cottage cheese pancakes >>>

9. Sbiten

 

Much more famous than krambabulya, a drink. And there are more options: sbiten can be hot and cold. Since ancient times, hot sbiten has been used to treat colds and drink to keep warm, and cold sbiten perfectly quenches thirst in the heat and heat. However, both cold and hot sbiten are prepared in the same way: honey, water, nutmeg, bay leaf, cloves and the highlight of the program is hot pepper.

How to cook sbiten, a classic recipe with a photo >>>

10. Kulaga

 

This is a Belarusian delicacy, a local dessert. A very tender and tasty dessert is made from berries (necessarily fresh, any - strawberries, lingonberries, blueberries, mountain ash. Strawberries and other "garden" berries, oddly enough, are almost never used for kulagi). The berries are boiled, honey and wheat flour are added, which were previously diluted in water. Everything is cooked to the consistency of thick jelly. It is usually served with pancakes or wheat bread. This dessert does not look like jelly, more like a thick jam or jam.

In general, Belarus is very rich in unusual dishes. Since ancient times, potatoes have been considered a favorite ingredient in main dishes; cereals and flour are often used. They like honey and spices in drinks, and they prefer desserts with a natural, not sugary sweet taste from natural ingredients (berries, fruits).

What Belarusian dishes have you tried and cook? Share with us recommendations, recipes, impressions in the comments to this article!