Smetana Russian sour cream is used in many recipes, from salads to desserts or casserole dishes. For example smetana can be used as:
As a condiment to various pancakes, including cottage cheese pancakes syrniki or savoury potato pancakes draniki. Also served with dumplings pelmeni or vareniki.
Tvorog is Russian pressed cottage cheese and a great source of protein. It is similar to curd or farmer cheese but somewhat firmer and more dry.
Tvorog is used in many traditional Russian recipes: breakfast pancakes syrniki, zapekanka – tvorog baked in oven, vareniki – dumplings with sweet stuffing, vatrushka cakes or traditional Easter dish paskha.
It can also be eaten on its own as a healthy snack food and a great start to the day. You can mix it with sour cream, jams, honey, nuts, fruit – anything of your choice.
Recipes with tvorog:
Syrniki
Zapekanka
Tvorog with smetana
Chocholate cake with tvorog filling
Quark pancakes: easy, very tasty and good for you.
Doktorskaya bologna sausage (orignial name – Doktorskaya kolbasa) is a chunky pinky spongy sausage with smooth taste and texture. It is made of beef and pork mixture and flavoured with nutmeg. Kolbasa is usually eaten as a snack with a piece of white bread (basic Russian sandwich) and a cup of tea. It can be used in various more complicated sandwiches, including hot sandwiches. In modern cuisine, it can be used for finger food canapé, if cut into cubes and combines with other ingeriends, such as olives and cheese, all pierced with a toothpick.
Doktorskaya bologna is quite often used in a popular version of Olivier salad (called as Russian salad in many countries of the world). Also, Russian bologna sausage can be fried with eggs for breakfast.
Lavash is Armenian thin and soft flatbread, perhaps one of the thinnest flatbreads.
It is by far the most popular type of bread in Armenia and in the Caucasus region, and from there it made its way to Russia. It is nowadays very popular for various healthy wraps.
Lavash is also used at traditional fast-food takeaways: grilled chicken straight off the grill is quite often wrapped in lavash which immediately absorbs its spices and juices. But the most popular lavash fast-food is shawarma – grilled meat and chopped fresh vegetables wrapped with lavash. The wrap is then additionally toasted for a nice crust.
You can keep lavash in the freezer and thaw the necessary amount of layers right before consumption – it only takes a few minutes.
Ayran is a refreshing fermented diary drink made of yoghurt substance. This slightly fizzy sourish drink is a great thirst quencher.
It has made its way to Russia either from Turkic countries such as Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan or from the North Caucasus countries such as Armenia, where this drink is also very popular.
Ayran can give you an energy boost and revive you on a sweltering day. Try it and discover for yourself.
