Алексей Сабадырь
Grandmother’s recipes Traditional Russian cuisine. Delicious dishes

© Алексей Сабадырь, 2024

ISBN 978-5-0062-5480-0

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Russian cuisine is an incredibly diverse and rich culinary tradition, which was formed under the influence of different cultures and climatic conditions. At the Russian housewife’s table there is always plenty of food, tasty and satisfying. And in this list above is a list of some popular dishes of Russian cuisine. Let’s look at some of them in more detail.

Borscht is a traditional Ukrainian soup that is very popular in Russian cuisine. It is cooked in meat broth with the addition of beets, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, onions and tomato paste. Borscht is served with sour cream and herbs.

Pelmeni are small dough dumplings filled with meat and seasoned with spices. They are often served with sour cream or sauce.

Stuffed cabbage rolls are cabbage rolls filled with minced rice and meat. Usually served with tomato sauce.

Kiev cutlets are chicken cutlets with butter and herbs hidden inside. They are fried until golden brown and served with sour cream or sauce.

Shish kebab is marinated meat, usually lamb or pork, grilled on a grill. Shish kebab is served with onions, herbs and sauce.

Blinis are traditional Russian pancakes made from thin dough that is rolled out and fried in a frying pan. They can be filled with various fillings such as cottage cheese, jam, honey or mushrooms.

This is only a small part of what Russian cuisine is. It is rich in a variety of dishes that reflect the history and culture of this country. Each dish tells its own unique story and brings joy to those who have the pleasure of enjoying them.

Russian borsh

Russian borscht is one of the most popular and famous dishes of Russian cuisine. Here is the detailed recipe:

 
Ingredients:
 
 
500 g beets
300 g potatoes
300 g carrots
200 g cabbage
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
200 g tomato paste
200 g fresh tomatoes (or 1 can of tomatoes)
200 g meat (beef, pork or chicken)
1 liter chicken broth
salt, pepper, bay leaf
greens (dill, parsley)
sour cream for serving
 
 
Preparation:
 

Wash the meat, cut into cubes and fry in a frying pan until golden brown. Pour the broth into the pan, add the meat, add the bay leaf and simmer over low heat for about an hour.

Peel the beets, grate and fry in a frying pan until soft.

Cut the carrots into cubes, finely chop the onion, and pass the garlic through a press. Cut the potatoes into cubes, cabbage into thin strips.

Place potatoes in hot broth and cook for 10 minutes. Then add onions, carrots and cabbage. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add beets, tomato paste, pureed tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 15 minutes more.

After this, add the greens, stir and let the borscht brew under the lid for another 10 minutes.

Serve hot, with sour cream added.

Russian cabbage soup

Ingredients:

500 g pork or beef

1 large onion

2 carrots

3 potatoes

1/4 head of cabbage

2—3 fresh tomatoes or 2 tbsp. spoons of tomato paste

1 liter of water

2 bay leaves

salt

black peppercorns

dill

Preparation:

Cut the meat into pieces, place in a saucepan, add 1 liter of water and put on fire. When the water boils, skim off the foam, add the bay leaf and simmer over low heat for about 1—1.5 hours.

Cut the onion into cubes, grate the carrots, cut the potatoes, cabbage and tomatoes into cubes.

When the meat is ready, add onions and carrots to the pan and cook for 10—15 minutes.

Then add potatoes and cabbage, cook for another 10 minutes.

Finally, add tomatoes or tomato paste, salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat, let the cabbage soup brew under the lid for 10—15 minutes.

Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped dill on top.

Recipe: dumplings

Ingredients:

 
500 g minced meat (pork, beef or mixed)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
salt, pepper to taste
1 egg
250—300 g flour
100 ml water
 
 
Preparation:
 

First, prepare the filling. Finely chop the onion, pass the garlic through a press. Fry the onion in a frying pan until golden brown.

Place the minced meat in a large bowl, add the fried onion and garlic, salt, pepper, and egg. Mix well.

Add flour gradually, stirring the dough. Add water to form a soft, elastic dough.

Roll out the dough into a thin layer on the table, cut out circles using a glass or mold. Fill each circle with filling, fill them, glue the dough together, pressing the edges.

For dumplings, you can use a mold or simply curl the edges of the dough.

Pour water into a large saucepan, bring to a boil, add salt. When the water boils, drop the dumplings one by one into the boiling water. The dumplings are cooked for 5—7 minutes after they float to the surface.

Serve the dumplings hot with sour cream, herbs or sauce of your choice.

Recipe – cabbage rolls

Stuffed cabbage rolls are one of the most popular and delicious dishes of Russian cuisine. They are cabbage rolls stuffed with minced meat and rice. Preparing cabbage rolls is quite simple, and the result is always incredibly tasty.

To make cabbage rolls you will need the following ingredients:

1 head of cabbage

500 g minced meat (you can use beef, pork or a mixture of both)

1 cup rice

1 onion

2—3 cloves of garlic

salt, pepper, spices to taste

tomato sauce

frying oil

Separate the cabbage from the head and boil in boiling water for several minutes until the leaves become soft and can be easily removed. Place the leaves on a board and let them cool.

While the cabbage is cooling, prepare the filling. To do this, finely chop the onion and garlic, fry them in a frying pan until golden brown. Add the minced meat and fry, stirring, until it turns brown. Add washed rice, salt, pepper, spices to taste. Stir and simmer for another 10—15 minutes.

Stuff the cabbage leaves with minced meat and wrap them in thick rolls. In a large saucepan, spread tomato sauce over the bottom. Place the cabbage rolls directly onto the sauce.

Pour the tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls and add water until they are covered. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for about 1.5—2 hours until the cabbage is soft.

Serve the cabbage rolls hot, sprinkled with herbs. You can serve sour cream with cabbage rolls or mix with tomato sauce.

Recipe – roast

Roast is a classic meat dish that can be prepared from a variety of meats, such as beef, pork, lamb or chicken. In this recipe we will cook roast beef.

Ingredients:

 
500 g beef (it is best to use the flesh or the back of the carcass)
2 onions
2 carrots
2 medium potatoes
2—3 tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2—3 cloves of garlic
salt, pepper, dried herbs (to taste)
vegetable oil for frying
 
 
Preparation:
 

Cut the meat into medium-sized cubes. Fry it in a frying pan in hot oil until golden brown.

Finely chop the onion and add to the meat. Fry together until the onion is soft. Peel the carrots and cut into large circles. Add to meat and onions, simmer together for 5—7 minutes.

Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, remove the skin, cut into cubes and add to the frying pan with the meat and vegetables.

Add tomato paste, chopped garlic, salt, pepper and dried herbs. Fry everything together for another 5 minutes.

Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Add to the pan with the remaining ingredients and simmer until the potatoes are soft.

Serve the roast hot, sprinkled with fresh herbs.

The Kiev’s cutlets

Kiev cutlets are a classic dish of Ukrainian cuisine, which consists of a juicy chicken cutlet, inside of which there is butter with herbs. Below is a detailed recipe for preparing this treat:

 
Ingredients:
 
 
500 g chicken fillet
100 g butter
2 eggs
1 cup crackers
1 cup flour
salt, pepper to taste
greens (dill, parsley)
 
 
Preparation:
 

Pass the chicken fillet through a meat grinder or grind in a blender. Add eggs, salt, pepper to the meat and mix well. Form flat balls from the meat mixture and place on a flat surface.

Prepare butter filling from butter and herbs: melt butter, add chopped herbs, stir.

Place a piece of the filling on each ball of meat, carefully wrap it so that the butter is completely inside.

Place the formed cutlets in the freezer for 1—2 hours.

Then roll each cutlet in flour, egg, breadcrumbs.

Fry Kiev cutlets in vegetable oil over medium heat until golden brown.

Serve the finished Kiev cutlets hot, or with mashed potatoes or vegetable salad.

Recipe – shish kebab

Shish kebab is one of the most popular grilled dishes. It’s no secret that the taste of kebab depends on the preparation of meat. In this recipe, I suggest you prepare a classic pork kebab.

Ingredients:

1 kg pork tenderloin

2 onions

3—4 cloves of garlic

2—3 tablespoons olive oil

salt, pepper to taste

marinade (optional) – you can use kefir, yogurt or any other marinade to your taste

Preparation:

Wash the meat, dry it and cut it into cubes approximately 3x3 cm.

Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely.

In a deep bowl, combine meat, onion, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and marinade (if using) and mix well.

Leave the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for several hours, or preferably overnight, to infuse the flavors into the meat.

Prepare the grill by first brushing it with vegetable oil. Thread the meat onto skewers and place on the grill.

Cook the kebab, turning occasionally and brushing with marinade, until the meat is browned and cooked through.