Varenyky🥟
Varenyky or, in the Western Ukrainian way, pies, is a dish that Bill Clinton included in his Must Be Served list, to which the Jewish poet Saul Chernikhivsky dedicated the poem of the same name and the musical idyll, which Kotlyarevsky mentioned in Aeneid and Gogol in Viya.
Dumplings are prepared from unleavened dough, and the filling can be very different. Potatoes, onions, cracklings, cheese, cherries, and blueberries were considered traditional. In the Chernihiv region they add greaves, in Zacarpathia - cheese, in Polesie - crushed beans. There are even options to stuff the dish with fern, radish or flour with lard.
Many folk customs and traditions are associated with dumplings: they were identified with the Moon and used as sacrificial food; on the Old New Year they prepared a dish with a surprise, hiding something unexpected in the filling (button, beans, peppers, etc.).
Interesting facts: the dumpling is considered a symbol of the Canadian city of Glendon, here there is even a 9-meter-high monument to it. In Ukraine, the dumpling monument was in Cherkasy, but in 2013 it was dismantled. In the same 2013, the largest snow dumpling in the world was made in Bukovel.
Kulish🍽
Kulish was a favorite dish of Ukrainian Cossacks and Chumaks. It was often prepared for lunch on hikes (hence the other name "field porridge") or at home for dinner. Kulish is prepared on the basis of millet with the addition of potatoes, carrots, lard, onions and herbs. But again, depending on the region, the recipes for the dish differed: In the Chernihiv and Poltava regions, they cooked buckwheat, and in the Southern Podolia - corn, in the Right-Bank Polissya, kulesh could be cooked in milk, whey or butter dish. Us
An interesting fact: it is believed that kulesh is useful for the prevention of cancer.
Banosh🌽
Banosh is one of the most popular dishes of Galician cuisine, which is prepared several times a week in Zacarpathia. A real banosh should be cooked in a cast-iron cauldron over an open fire of corn grits on sheep's sour cream or cream, which is stored in a barn for 3 days. Fill the finished banosh with cheese, porcini mushrooms or cracklings. You can stir the porridge only with a wooden spoon and only in one direction.
An interesting fact: all dishes related to the use of sheep products must be prepared by men. Therefore, the preparation of banosh is also considered a male affair.
Stuffed cabbage🥬
A number of countries have their own variation of cabbage rolls, and research is still underway on the etymology and origin of this dish. In Ukraine, cabbage rolls have long been considered a traditional dish, but their preparation and status differ depending on the regions. So, for example, in most of the country, cabbage rolls were considered an ordinary dish, but in some areas of the Right Bank they were prepared only for the festive table.
Cabbage rolls are cabbage leaves (steamed or pickled) with different fillings. At first, minced cereals (corn, millet, rice or buckwheat depending on the region) were used as fillings; fried onions and bacon. Meat was added only on holidays. Stuffed cabbage rolls were stewed in the oven with meat broth, sour cream or kvass.
An interesting fact: in different regions of Ukraine, cabbage rolls had different sizes. On the Left Bank and in the Southern regions they were made large from a whole leaf of cabbage, but in the Western regions the cabbage leaf was cut into several parts, and those who did not do this were considered lazy housewives.
Deruny 🥔
Deruny are traditional Ukrainian potato pancakes, especially popular in the Eastern and Northern regions. Depending on the region, they can also be called kremzliks, tertyukhs, risilovaniks, terchaniks, etc. The main ingredient is a “pulled” potato, to which they add onion, a little flour, an egg and salt. All this is mixed and fried in sunflower oil.
An interesting fact: traditionally potato pancakes were considered a Sunday dish. They were prepared for breakfast or dinner, and sometimes for holidays, in particular, for the Annunciation.
Cutlet in Kiev🍗
The right to be called the birthplace of this dish is still disputed by Ukraine, Germany, France and the United States. Nevertheless, today the Kiev cutlet is a gastronomic symbol of the Ukrainian capital. It is believed that it first appeared on the tables of Kiev residents at the beginning of the 20th century, but was forgotten for a certain period and was revived in the middle of the century in local restaurants. It became a mass dish already in the 60s. Kiev cutlet is made from tender chicken fillet with a liquid filling of butter, herbs and spices and fried in breadcrumbs in deep fat.
An interesting fact: the Kiev cutlet is so popular that it is not only cooked in foreign restaurants called Chicken Kyiv, but also included in the consumer basket in the UK.💫