Belarusian food. Belarusian national dishes: a creative approach to familiar products. Traditional menu for Belarusian lunch

It is famous for its rich menu, which contains hearty and fairly simple dishes. Despite the fact that it was formed on the basis of Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Polish culinary traditions, it has many unique soups, salads and other treats that have no analogues in any world cuisine. After reading today's article, you will learn some original recipes.

The most important nuances

It should be noted that the main features of the Belarusian national cuisine have a historical background. Initially, the western and eastern directions developed in this country. One of them was welcomed by Catholic nobles, and the other by Orthodox Belarusians. If meat dishes were present in abundance on the tables of the former, then the menu of the latter was dominated by fruits, vegetables and grains.

In modern Belarusian cuisine, there are more products than several centuries ago. However, it still retained its originality and simplicity. Locals practically do not use spices, believing that they distort the natural taste of food. An exception is made only for black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cumin and coriander.

Belarusian which is known far beyond the borders of this state has another feature. Almost all products used are subjected to long-term heat treatment. The indigenous population prefers stewed and boiled food, more like porridge. Sometimes these cooking methods alternate with frying.

Most Popular Dishes

No Belarusian lunch is complete without the first one. The most popular liquid dishes include a cold drink. It is made from beets, kvass, onions and sour cream. Sometimes cucumbers and spices are added to it.

Another rather popular dish is the so-called zhur. It is prepared in several different ways. It can be lean, meat or dairy. Strained oatmeal solution is used as the basis for making zhur.

The menu of the Belarusian national cuisine includes many second courses. They are made from fish, meat and vegetables. Very often, the so-called yuts appears on the tables of local residents. It is a pork or beef stomach stuffed with a mixture of cereals and meat. Another unusual dish is mokanka. It is made from flour, water, lard and meat scraps. Belarusians also love boiled or baked fish.

As for desserts, they are represented by pastries. Especially often pancakes, pancakes, loaves and all kinds of pies are cooked here. From drinks, Belarusians prefer kvass, fruit and berry compotes and alcoholic tinctures.

holodnik

Belarusian is famous for its soups. One of the most popular first courses is holodnik. In the summer heat, it often appears on the tables of local residents. To make two servings of this soup, you will need:

Four hundred grams of boiled beets.
A glass of sour cream.
Two hundred grams of fresh cucumbers.
A couple of hard boiled eggs.
One hundred grams of green onions.
Beet or bread kvass.

To prepare a delicious and light cold dish, the above list must be supplemented with salt, sugar, dill and lemon juice. The amount of these ingredients depends on the personal preferences of the cook.

The refrigerator cooks very quickly. In this it is similar to many other Belarusian soups. The basis of this dish is kvass. But if necessary, it can be replaced with a strained broth in which beets were cooked.

Kvass is diluted with a small amount of boiled water. After that, cucumbers and beets cut into thin strips are added to it. Chopped greens, chopped onions, lemon juice, sugar and salt are also sent there. The pot with the finished soup is placed in the refrigerator. Before serving, it is decorated with circles of boiled eggs and seasoned with sour cream.

Potato grandma

It should be noted that the preparation of national Belarusian cuisine usually does not take much time and effort. So that your family can try it, you should check in advance if you have all the necessary products in your arsenal. Your kitchen should have:

A kilo of potatoes.
Three heads of onions.
One fresh egg.
A tablespoon of wheat flour.
Large chicken fillet.

Belarusian which is distinguished by its particular simplicity and nutritional value, is quite diverse. But the local population tries to use a minimum of seasonings. Therefore, for the preparation of potato grandmother, only olive oil, salt, ground pepper, sour cream and fresh herbs will be used as additional components.

Two pre-peeled and chopped onions are laid out on a preheated pan and lightly fried. When they acquire a golden hue, chicken fillet scrolled through a meat grinder is sent to them. The contents of the container are salted, peppered, mixed well and continue to fry.

Pre-washed and peeled potatoes are processed with a coarse grater and combined with chopped onion. A raw egg, a tablespoon of flour and slightly cooled minced chicken are also added there. All this is salted and thoroughly mixed until a homogeneous consistency.

The resulting mass is laid out in a multicooker bowl greased with vegetable oil, cover the device with a lid and activate the “Baking” mode. After about forty minutes, the finished grandmother is taken out, smeared with sour cream, sprinkled with chopped herbs and served.

Kulaga

Belarusian national cuisine has long been famous not only for first and second courses, but also for desserts. One of them is kulaga. This sweet treat is made with fresh berries. Therefore, before you start cooking, be sure to go to the store for the necessary products. In this case, your pantry should have:

Four hundred grams of berries (mountain ash, raspberries, lingonberries, blueberries or viburnum).
A couple of tablespoons of flour.
Seventy grams of natural honey.

A saucepan with sorted and washed berries is placed on the stove. When they boil, they add flour, dissolved in a small amount of water, and honey. Everything is mixed well and kept on minimum heat until a thick viscous mass is obtained, resembling jelly in appearance. Kulagu is served with white bread, pancakes and milk.

Verashchak

This dish can safely claim to be the calling card of the Belarusian national cuisine. It is prepared in several different ways. To make a real verashchaka, you will need:

Half a kilo of pork with ribs.
A pair of medium heads of onions.
A glass of bread kvass.
Bay leaf, ground pepper and salt.

Washed, chopped and seasoned pork is sent to a hot frying pan and fried on all sides. Chopped onions are sent to the same bowl. After that, the contents of the pan are transferred to a saucepan, poured with bread kvass and sent to the stove. After ten minutes, the verashchaka is removed from the fire and served at the table.

Belarusian potato pancakes

To prepare this dish, you will need a minimum set of products. And most of them are always present in every home. In this case, your kitchen should have:

A kilo of potatoes.
A couple of fresh chicken eggs.
Large onion.
Vegetable oil.
Salt.

Washed and peeled vegetables are processed with a fine grater. The resulting mass is combined with raw eggs and salt. Everything is mixed well, spread with a spoon on a hot frying pan, greased with sunflower oil, and fried on both sides. Serve ready-made potato pancakes with sour cream.

Belarusian sausages

This dish will become a real decoration of the festive table. Unlike store-bought sausages, there are no harmful additives in home-made analogues. Before approaching the stove, be sure to make sure you have all the necessary components. In this case, you should have:

Seven hundred grams of pork pulp.
Four cloves of garlic.
One hundred grams of bacon.

In addition, it is important that you have a natural shell and salt on hand. Cumin and ground pepper will be used as spices.

The lard and pork pulp are cut into pieces or scrolled through a large grate of a meat grinder. Salt and spices are added to the minced meat. Everything is well mixed. The finished mass is filled with a natural shell. This can be done using a special nozzle. The length of each sausage should not exceed 70 centimeters. The shell filled with minced meat is tied up on both sides, carefully pricked with a fork and immersed in boiling salted water with a bay leaf. Twenty minutes later, the sausages are removed from the pan. If desired, they are fried in a pan.

Vitebsk porridge

Belarusian national cuisine is very diverse. It presents a huge number of original dishes prepared on the basis of cereals. One of the most popular treats is Vitebsk porridge. To weld it, you need to stock up in advance with all the required components. Your pantry should contain:

Two hundred grams of rice.
Three hundred milliliters of milk.
Eight potatoes.
A quarter of a pack of butter.
Salt and ground pepper.

If desired, rice can be replaced with buckwheat or pearl barley. Pre-washed and peeled potatoes are immersed in salted water and boiled until tender. After that, milk is added to it and mashed. The resulting mass is salted and peppered to taste, combined with pre-washed rice, laid out in a mold and sent to the oven. Vitebsk-style porridge is baked at one hundred and sixty degrees for forty minutes. This dish is served with fresh or stewed vegetables.

You can talk about the reasons and analyze them for a long time, but the conclusion will be the same - Belarusians have forgotten a lot in their culinary traditions, and these traditions are no less rich than German or French ones.

Most modern Belarusians will read the title and be surprised: “Where did the author find 10 Belarusian dishes that deserve to be included in some kind of rating?”.

So let's get started. When compiling the rating, various sources were carefully studied, which contain dishes of modern Belarusian cuisine and old Belarusian cuisine (let's call it that). Moreover, we studied both the diet of ordinary people and the “freeze” of the gentry.

1. Verashchaka

Photo source: oede.by

I am sure that all readers expected to see the ubiquitous "Draniki" in the first place. Draniki is the most popular Belarusian dish, but in our opinion, Verashchaka is a worthy hallmark of Belarus among meat dishes.

Recipe: There are several varieties of cooking "Verashchaki", we offer the most original.

Ingredients: 0.5 kg. pork with ribs, 1-2 onions, 1 glass of bread kvass, salt, pepper, bay leaf.

Cooking process: Cut the pork, salt, pepper, fry on both sides. On the fat that stands out, fry the finely chopped onion. Transfer the meat with onions to cast iron (stewpan), pour bread kvass and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Served with mashed potatoes or pancakes.

If you try to put "Verashchaka" in a certain classification series, then according to the method of consumption, this dish is a "machanka". Among the dishes of the Belarusian cuisine, you can find at least a dozen different “machankas”. We can be proud of these specialties (signature dish).

2. Beetroot

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But the second specialty that Belarusian cuisine can be proud of is, of course, cold soups made from beets, sorrel, nettles. Cold soups are an exclusively Belarusian culinary tradition, and if such a dish is found among neighbors, then they borrowed it from us, and not we from them. And it's nice.

Recipe: In second place we placed "Beetroot", prepared according to a traditional recipe. Although there are many varieties of cold soups.

Ingredients: Beets with petioles and tops, cucumbers, green onions, dill, radishes, dill, eggs, vinegar, salt, sugar, sour cream.

Cooking process: Peeled, thoroughly washed, cut into strips or cubes young beets (together with finely chopped petioles) boil until tender in a small amount of water with vinegar. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, add a little chopped young beet tops, salt, then cool. Wash fresh cucumbers, peel, cut into cubes. Sort green onions, dill, radishes, rinse, cut into pieces. Finely chop the eggs. Pour kvass into the chilled beet broth, add salt, sugar, chopped cucumbers, radishes, green onions, dill, eggs. Serve sour cream separately.

3. Draniki

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It is difficult to imagine a Belarusian without a potato pancake. And indeed, raw grated potato pancakes are a wonderful invention. It is not for nothing that all neighboring peoples have similar dishes in their national tradition. Not so long ago, a pancake festival was held in Ukraine, and in Germany, potato pancakes are eaten with jam, not sour cream ... These facts about the analogues of our potato pancakes came to mind right off the bat, but they are not the only ones.

Recipe: Traditionally, potato pancakes are understood as potato pancakes, and stuffed potato cakes are usually called sorcerers. Although 150-200 years ago, completely different dishes were understood as sorcerers. In this rating, the third place is occupied by classic Belarusian potato pancakes.

Ingredients: potatoes, flour, curdled milk or kefir, salt.

Cooking process: Grate raw potatoes, add flour, curdled milk (kefir), salt and mix. Fry in vegetable oil. Ready potato pancakes are served with chopped, fried onions and fried lard.

In modern Belarusian cuisine, potato pancakes without flour are popular and they are served with sour cream. Also, potato pancakes are perfect as a side dish for the Belarusian "machanka" along with flour pancakes.

The third place with potato pancakes may well be shared by another famous Belarusian dish - a grandmother or "bulbian dragon".

4. Krambambulya

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What is the national cuisine without a unique, local strong alcoholic drink. The Czechs are proud of their Becherovka, the Germans are proud of their schnapps, the British are proud of their whiskey, the Russians are proud of their vodka. You can go on for a long time. We also have our own strong drink, which for the last ten years has been strongly associated with the musical project of Lyavon Volsky. To be fair though, he hadn't been associated with anything before.

Recipe: This drink and its recipe are firmly forgotten by alcohol producers and restaurateurs. And it could turn out to be an interesting brand for tourists.

Ingredients: 0.5 l. vodka or alcohol, a glass of water, a quarter of chopped nutmeg, 1-2 tbsp. spoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 4 teaspoons of crushed cloves, red and black pepper.

Cooking process: Take vodka or alcohol, pour a glass and mix with the same amount of water. Add nutmeg, honey, cinnamon, crushed cloves, 4-5 grains of bitter red pepper. Heat it all up and boil for 10 minutes. Then carefully pour in the rest of the vodka and leave in a sealed container for 5 minutes, strain through 4 layers of gauze into a bottle, throwing 2-3 peas of black pepper into it before that.

5. Belarusian sour black bread

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When I come abroad, I am always surprised at how tasty bread is in Belarus. Black sourdough bread has always been popular with us. Its "industrial" representative is the famous "Narochansky". Such delicious bread, which, moreover, practically does not get stale, you will not try abroad.

Recipe: We present the traditional recipe for making bread, according to which our grandmothers baked it in real ovens.

Ingredients: flour, water, salt.

Cooking process: The dough is kneaded in the evening, and the bread is baked in the morning. Water is added to the flour and kneaded. It should not be a very thick dough. To make the dough sour and fit well, cover it with a lid and put it overnight in a warm place. The dough is fermented with the help of the so-called “roshchyna”, which, as a rule, is a small piece of dough left over from the previous baking.

In the morning, add flour and salt to the dough, knead the dough with your fists. To keep the dough well behind the hands, they are periodically moistened with water. On a wooden shovel sprinkled with flour, put a piece of dough, smooth it with your hands and place it in a hot oven. On the test in front of the stove, they always drew a cross. Bread is considered ready when the steam from it rises evenly.

The Czechs are proud of their Mationi mineral water. This is their brand, in the promotion of which they invest a lot of effort and money. And these efforts are bearing fruit. Belarusian sourdough bread is not just our brand, which has not yet been promoted, it is the pride of the Belarusian people.

6. Chowder of beer

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Czech Republic and Germany are considered beer countries. It is a pity that Belarus did not join this duet. But the beer traditions in their time on the Belarusian lands were very extensive. It is worth reading Henryk Sienkiewicz - whatever feast at Pan Zagloba's, beer or honey or beer stew with cheese or sour cream. But time decreed otherwise and, unfortunately, beer in Belarus gave way to stronger and more harmful vodka.

Ingredients: 1 l. beer, sugar, 6 egg yolks, ginger, bread toasts.

Cooking process: Boil beer, put sugar to taste, whipped yolks, you can add ginger. Serve soup with croutons.

7. Kulaga

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National cuisine is incomplete without its own dessert. There are many interesting sweet dishes in the Belarusian culinary tradition, but we considered kulaga worthy of being included in the top ten.

Recipe: Kulaga is a wonderfully sweet dish made from fresh berries.

Ingredients: 400 g of berries (blueberries, lingonberries, mountain ash, viburnum or raspberries), 70 g of honey, 2-3 tbsp. spoons of wheat flour.

Cooking process: Sort fresh berries, rinse, put on fire. When the berries are boiled, add wheat flour diluted in a small amount of water, and add honey or sugar. Stir and cook over low heat until the dish acquires the consistency of jelly. Kulaga is served with pancakes, white bread and milk.

8. Piachisto

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Sweet is good, but any cuisine is primarily distinguished by meat dishes. One of them is Pyachisto. This is a lamb dish. An attentive reader will ask: “What kind of lamb is in Belarus, we are not in the Caucasus mountains?” Yes, indeed, we do not have mountains, but before the start of the last war, sheep breeding on the territory of Belarus occupied a leading position in the balance of all animal husbandry. After the devastating war, this industry, traditional for Belarusians, was decided not to be restored. Gradually (and perhaps rapidly) lamb disappeared from the diet of Belarusians. But many recipes remain, and the most interesting of them is "Pyachysty".

Recipe: There are many references to the mysterious “Pyachysto” in the literature. But there is no exact recipe anywhere. Why is that? After all, so many researchers dealt with culinary issues.

Ingredients: Mutton.

Cooking process: Lean lamb is baked in large pieces (usually the entire back).

This is all that is known about this mysterious dish. But this little description paints a very appetizing picture.

9. Sbiten

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The top ten will not be able to do without a soft drink. Sbiten is more than suitable for this role. It is useful, it quenches thirst and it is certainly very tasty. It should be noted that there are many recipes for sbitni. Today it is more associated with a soft drink (you can buy it cold in some stores), but the classic sbiten was consumed very hot. Imagine a traditional recipe.

Recipe: Sbiten can be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. In addition to spices, it is advisable to add herbs to sbiten.

Ingredients: water, honey, pepper, cloves, bay leaf, nutmeg.

Cooking process: Boil water with honey (you can use sugar or molasses), put pepper, cloves, bay leaf, grated nutmeg, and other seasonings to taste. Sometimes beer or alcohol is added to sbiten. Drink hot.

Sbiten was popular in Belarus in the 18th-19th centuries. In folk medicine, it was used as an antiscorbutic.

10. Racks

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In our opinion, the top ten should be closed by a dish that can claim to be the national Belarusian fast food. There were quite a few of these dishes. But for potato pancakes, the role of fast food is not enough, for Belarusian home-made sausages it is trite, but Polissya pancakes “Nalisniki” are great for this role.

Recipe: Nalisniki are traditional Polissya pancakes, the recipe of which was recorded during one of the ethnographic expeditions in the Rechitsa region. I am sure that this dish is familiar to many, but you will never try such pancakes in street stalls.

Ingredients: flour, milk, cottage cheese, cheese, butter.

Cooking process: Flour is mixed with fresh milk and mixed to a rare dough. Thin pancakes are fried in a hot pan. Pancakes are stuffed with cottage cheese or cheese, wrapped in a tube or folded four times. Pancake is smeared with butter on top and fried in a pan. Fried pancakes are put in a pot, butter or sour cream is added and stewed in an oven.

At least two dozen interesting Belarusian dishes did not fit in our rating. One thing pleases, this rating in our blog is the first, but not the last.

Most modern Belarusians will read the title and be surprised: “Where did the author find 10 Belarusian dishes that deserve to be included in some kind of rating?”.

1. Verashchaka

Photo source: oede.by

Recipe: There are several varieties of cooking "Verashchaki", we offer the most original.

Ingredients: 0.5 kg. pork with ribs, 1-2 onions, 1 glass of bread kvass, salt, pepper, bay leaf.

2. Beetroot

Photo source:

Recipe: In second place we placed "Beetroot", prepared according to a traditional recipe. Although there are many varieties of cold soups.

Ingredients: Beets with petioles and tops, cucumbers, green onions, dill, radishes, dill, eggs, vinegar, salt, sugar, sour cream.

3. Draniki

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Ingredients: potatoes, flour, curdled milk or kefir, salt.

Cooking process: Grate raw potatoes, add flour, curdled milk (kefir), salt and mix. Fry in vegetable oil. Ready potato pancakes are served with chopped, fried onions and fried lard.

The third place with potato pancakes may well be shared by another famous Belarusian dish - a grandmother or "bulbian dragon".

4. Krambambulya

Photo source:

Recipe: This drink and its recipe are firmly forgotten by alcohol producers and restaurateurs. And it could turn out to be an interesting brand for tourists.

Ingredients: 0.5 l. vodka or alcohol, a glass of water, a quarter of chopped nutmeg, 1-2 tbsp. spoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 4 teaspoons of crushed cloves, red and black pepper.

5. Belarusian sour black bread

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Recipe: We present the traditional recipe for making bread, according to which our grandmothers baked it in real ovens.

Ingredients: flour, water, salt.

6. Chowder of beer

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Ingredients: 1 l. beer, sugar, 6 egg yolks, ginger, bread toasts.

Cooking process: Boil beer, put sugar to taste, whipped yolks, you can add ginger. Serve soup with croutons.

7. Kulaga

Photo source:

National cuisine is incomplete without its own dessert. There are many interesting sweet dishes in the Belarusian culinary tradition, but we considered kulaga worthy of being included in the top ten.

Recipe: Kulaga is a wonderfully sweet dish made from fresh berries.

Ingredients: 400 g of berries (blueberries, lingonberries, mountain ash, viburnum or raspberries), 70 g of honey, 2-3 tbsp. spoons of wheat flour.

8. Piachisto

Photo source:

Ingredients: Mutton.

Cooking process: Lean lamb is baked in large pieces (usually the entire back).

This is all that is known about this mysterious dish. But this little description paints a very appetizing picture.

9. Sbiten

Photo source:

Recipe: Sbiten can be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. In addition to spices, it is advisable to add herbs to sbiten.

Ingredients: water, honey, pepper, cloves, bay leaf, nutmeg.

Sbiten was popular in Belarus in the 18th-19th centuries. In folk medicine, it was used as an antiscorbutic.

10. Racks

Photo source:

Ingredients: flour, milk, cottage cheese, cheese, butter.

At least two dozen interesting Belarusian dishes did not fit in our rating. One thing pleases, this rating in our blog is the first, but not the last.

The national cuisine of Belarus has been formed over many centuries. Neighborhood with countries such as Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania - had a huge impact on the cuisine of this country. There is a stereotype that potatoes in Belarus are the second bread. Believe me, this is far from true. And although potatoes are widely used for cooking various dishes, the cuisine of Belarus is much more diverse. Incorporating the best culinary traditions of the Slavs, Europeans, Jews, Scandinavians, the local cuisine impresses with its unique flavor and originality.

But, let's not deviate from the already established opinion that potatoes are the No. 1 vegetable in the national cuisine of Belarus. Perhaps, in no other country in the world you will find so many potato dishes. Belarusians are very respectful of potatoes and were able to find the most worthy use for it. What they don’t do from potatoes is boiled, fried, baked, stewed, combined with fish, meat and vegetables, added to salads ... You should definitely try: “ belarusian potato pancakes«, « potato casserole“, “sorcerers”, “watering”, “hoof”, “dumplings”, “grandmother”. It is impossible to list all potato dishes, but dishes from this wonderful vegetable have an excellent and unique taste.

The abundance of forests and the variety of animals that live there predetermined the widespread use of meat in the national cuisine. In addition, Belarusians have always bred pigs, goats, cows, sheep, and poultry. Therefore, the number of meat dishes is not inferior to potato ones. The most common and popular are:

"bigus" - stew with cabbage;
"sorcerers" - large dumplings;
"gut" and "kindyuk" - Belarusian sausages;
"vendlyanina" - smoked and dried meat;
" smazzhnya" - meat pie;
"Pyachisty" - baked in large pieces, lean pork or lamb.

No less tasty are other meat delicacies - machanka, saltison, zrazy, polendvitsa, cracklings.

As in many Slavic cuisines, first courses are always present in the Belarusian menu. They are cold and hot. Of the cold ones, you should try “ hladnik" - a soup of young beets, cucumbers, onions, eggs, with the addition of celery, dill, red pepper, coriander; "mushroom kvass" - a soup based on bread kvass with porcini mushrooms, onions, parsley, celery, pepper and coriander. From hot soups, try the specific soup "zhur". It can be lean, milky, with vandlina. Other, no less tasty, soups: "gryzhanka", "garbuzok", "watering", "krupenya".

Belarusian rivers are rich in fish, so from ancient times, fish was boiled, fried, dried, salted, and dried here. In addition, the national cuisine of Belarus is rich in vegetable dishes. Belarusian housewives often use swede, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, cabbage, carrots. In high esteem, also, mushrooms. They are dried, salted, marinated, fried. Wild berries complement all this abundance: cranberries, lingonberries, blueberries, wild strawberries, blueberries, raspberries ... Any European cuisine can envy such a variety.

Over the past decades, the majority of Belarusians have formed the opinion that Belarusian cuisine is 3-4 dishes. One can talk about the reasons for a long time, but there is only one conclusion - Belarusians have forgotten their culinary traditions, which are in fact no less rich than German or French ones.

First place. Verashchak

I think that all readers expected to see the famous "Draniki" among the leaders. Draniki is, without exaggeration, the most popular Belarusian dish, but it seems to us that Verashchaka is the real hallmark of Belarus.

Recipe. There are several types of cooking "Verashchaki", the most original one is presented here.

Ingredients. 500 grams of pork with ribs, 1-2 onions, 1 glass of bread kvass, salt, pepper, bay leaf.

Cooking process. Pork cut, pepper, salt, fry on both sides. On the fat that stands out from the pork, fry the finely chopped onion. Transfer the meat with onions from the pan to cast iron (stewpan), pour everything with bread kvass and simmer over low heat for ten minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes or pancakes. If you try to somehow classify "Verashchaka", then according to the method of consumption, this dish is considered "machanka". Among all the dishes of Belarusian cuisine, you can find at least ten different “machankas”. We can only be proud of such specialties.

Second place. beetroot

The second pride of Belarusian cuisine is, of course, cold soups made from beets, nettles, and sorrel. Cold soups are completely Belarusian cuisine, and if something like this is found in neighboring countries, then we can say with confidence that they borrowed it from us, and not we from them. And it's nice.

Recipe. In second place we put "Beetroot", prepared according to a traditional recipe. Although there are many types of cold soups.

Ingredients. Beets with petioles and tops, radishes, cucumbers, green onions, dill, sour cream, eggs, vinegar, salt, sugar.

Cooking process. Peeled, washed, chopped or diced beets (with finely chopped petioles) boil until tender in a small amount of water with vinegar. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, throw a little chopped beet tops, salt, then cool. Wash cucumbers, peel, cut into cubes. Separately sort, wash and chop green onions, radishes and dill. Finely chop boiled eggs. Add kvass, chopped cucumbers, salt, sugar, green onions, radishes, dill, eggs to the chilled beetroot broth. Sour cream is served separately.

Third place. Draniki

It is difficult to imagine a resident of Belarus without potato pancake. And in fact, raw grated potato pancakes are a great invention. It is not for nothing that the neighboring peoples adopted the idea of potato pancakes into their national cuisine, inventing similar dishes. In Ukraine, the so-called pancake festival has recently taken place, and in Germany, potato pancakes are eaten with jam, not sour cream... These facts about analogues of Belarusian potato pancakes came to mind right off the bat, but they are far from the only ones.

Recipe. Traditionally, draniki means potato pancakes, and stuffed potato cakes are usually called sorcerers. Despite the fact that 150-200 years ago, completely different dishes were understood as sorcerers. In this rating, classic Belarusian potato pancakes are in third place.

Ingredients. Yogurt or kefir, potatoes, flour, salt.

Cooking process. Grate raw potatoes, add flour, curdled milk (or kefir), salt and mix thoroughly. Fry everything in vegetable oil. Ready potato pancakes are served with chopped, fried onions and the same lard.

In modern Belarusian cuisine, potato pancakes without flour in the composition, which are served with sour cream, are widely known and widespread. Also, potato pancakes are perfect as a side dish for the Belarusian "machanka" along with flour pancakes. In third place, along with potato pancakes, there may be another popular Belarusian dish - babka or "bulbian dragon".

Fourth place. Krambambulya

What can be the national cuisine without the original, local strong alcoholic drink?! The inhabitants of the Czech Republic are proud of their Becherovka, the Russians are proud of their vodka, the Germans are proud of their schvaps, the British are proud of their whiskey... This series can be continued for a long time. We also have our own personal strong drink, which for the last 10 years has been strongly associated with the musical project of Lyavon Volsky. Although, to be fair, before that he was not associated with anything at all.

Recipe. This drink, like its recipe, is thoroughly forgotten by alcohol producers and restaurateurs. And it could make a wonderful brand for tourists.

Ingredients. Half a liter of vodka or alcohol, a glass of water, 1/4 chopped nutmeg, 4 teaspoons of crushed cloves, 1-2 tbsp. spoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, red and black pepper.

Cooking process. Pour a glass of vodka or alcohol, mix with the same volume of water. Add nutmeg, crushed cloves, honey, cinnamon, 4-5 grains of red pepper. Boil this mixture for 10 minutes. Then carefully pour in the rest of the vodka and leave in a sealed container for 5 minutes, strain through 4 layers of gauze into a bottle, throwing 2-3 peas of black pepper there before this procedure.

Fifth place. Belarusian sour black bread

Coming abroad, I am always surprised: how delicious bread is in Belarus. We have black sourdough bread has always been popular. Its "industrial" representative is the famous "Narochansky". Such delicious bread, moreover, almost never stale, you will not try abroad.

Recipe. Here is a traditional recipe for making bread, according to which our grandmothers baked it in village ovens.

Ingredients. Flour, water, salt.

Cooking process. The dough is kneaded in the evening, and the bread is baked in the morning. Water is added to the flour and kneaded. The result should be a not too thick dough. To let the dough sour, cover it with a lid and put it all night in a warm place. The dough is fermented using the so-called “roshchyna”, the function of which is a small piece of dough that remains from the previous baking.

In the morning flour and salt are added to the dough, the dough is kneaded by pressing the fists. In order for the dough to stick well from the hands, they are regularly moistened with water. On a wooden spatula, previously sprinkled with flour, put a piece of dough, crush it with your hands and place it in a hot oven. Previously, a cross was drawn on the test in front of the stove without fail. Bread is considered fully cooked when the steam from it rises evenly.

The inhabitants of the Czech Republic are proud of their mineral water "Mationi". This is their own brand, in the promotion of which they give a lot of effort and money. And it must be said that these efforts are yielding noticeable results. Belarusian sourdough bread is not yet our well-known brand, and besides, it is also the pride of the Belarusian people.

Sixth place. Chowder of beer

The main fans and producers of beer are the Czech Republic and Germany. It is a pity that Belarus did not join these countries at the time. After all, beer traditions were once very extensive in the Belarusian lands. At least read Henryk Sienkiewicz - every feast at Pan Zagloba's is beer or honey or beer stew with cheese or sour cream. But the traditions were forgotten and, unfortunately, beer in Belarus was replaced by stronger and more harmful vodka.

Recipe. The sixth place is occupied by the most popular beer stew, which Belarusians loved to “pasmakavats” in the 16th-18th centuries.

Ingredients. 1 liter of beer, 6 egg yolks, sugar, ginger, bread toasts.

Cooking process. Boil the beer, put sugar to taste in it, beaten yolks, you can add ginger. It is advisable to serve the soup with croutons.

Seventh place. Kulaga

Without a doubt, the national cuisine may seem incomplete without its own dessert. There are many wonderful sweet dishes in the Belarusian culinary tradition, but we settled on kulag.

Recipe. Kulaga is a sweet dish made from fresh berries.

Ingredients. 400 g of berries (viburnum, blueberries, lingonberries, raspberries or mountain ash), 70 g of honey, 2-3 tbsp. spoons of wheat flour.

Cooking process. Sort fresh berries, rinse, put on fire. When the berries are boiled, add wheat flour, previously diluted in a small amount of water, and add honey or sugar. Stir and cook over low heat until the dish acquires a viscous and thick consistency of jelly. Kulaga is traditionally served with pancakes, white bread and milk.

Eighth place. Pyachisty

The heavy artillery of any national cuisine is primarily meat dishes. One of them is Pyachysty, which is a lamb dish. The reader will ask: “What kind of lamb is in Belarus, these are not the mountains of the Caucasus?” Yes, even though we don’t have mountains, but before the start of the war, sheep breeding on the territory of Belarus was extremely well developed and was in the lead in the balance of all animal husbandry. For some reason, after the military devastation, this industry, traditional for Belarusians, was decided not to be restored. Thus, lamb disappeared from the diet of Belarusians. But many recipes remain, and the most remarkable of them is "Pyachysty".

Recipe. There are many references to the mysterious "Pyachysty" in the literature. But there is no exact recipe anywhere. Why? Unknown.

Ingredients. Mutton.

Cooking process. Lean lamb is baked in large chunks (usually the entire back).

That's all that is known about this very mysterious dish. But even this small description gives a very appetizing picture.

Ninth place. Sbiten

A soft drink could not miss the top 10. Sbiten is perfect for this role. It is very useful, it quenches thirst well and it is, of course, very tasty. At the same time, it should be noted that there are extremely many recipes for sbitni. Now it evokes associations with a soft drink (you can buy cold sbiten in stores), but traditional sbiten was consumed very hot. Here's the classic recipe.

Recipe. Sbiten can be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. In addition to spices, it makes sense to add herbs to sbiten.

Ingredients. Water, honey, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, bay leaf.

Cooking process. Boil water mixed with honey (possible with sugar or molasses), throw in pepper, bay leaf, cloves, grated nutmeg, and other seasonings to taste. In some cases, beer or alcohol is added to sbiten. Should be consumed hot. Sbiten was very popular in Belarus in the 18th-19th centuries. In folk medicine, it was used as a remedy for scurvy.

Tenth place. Nalistniki

In our opinion, the last 10th place should be a dish that can claim the status of a national Belarusian fast food. There were a large number of such dishes. Draniki are not very suitable for the role of fast food, Belarusian homemade sausages are also not, but Polissya pancakes “Nalistniki” seem to be born for this role.

Recipe. Nalistniki are classic Polissya pancakes, the recipe of which was recorded by an ethnographer during one of the expeditions in the Rechitsa region. We can say with confidence that this dish is known to many, but you are unlikely to taste such pancakes on street stalls.

Ingredients. Flour, milk, butter, cottage cheese, cheese.

Cooking process. Mix flour with fresh milk and mix until a rare dough. Fry thin pancakes in a frying pan. Stuff pancakes with cottage cheese or cheese, wrap in a tube or fold in four. Top the pancake with butter and fry in a pan. Put the fried pancakes in a pot, add butter or sour cream and simmer in the oven.