National cuisine of Belarus for gourmets

Belarus is a country with an inimitable heritage of farmers’ descendants. It is rich in traditions that pass from generation to generation. Local cuisine also may seem unusual for many travelers. In settlements not far from the country’s capital, travelers can try a traditional local dish called Vereshchaka. It may sound strange, but internationally famous Draniki are less popular in Belarus than this delicious dish. It is very simple to cook Vereshchaka. The recipe of the dish appeared centuries ago, and it is not clearly known who the author of the popular local treat was. Having tried it at least once, tourists often want to repeat this culinary masterpiece at home and amaze friends and family members with a good portion of Vereshchaka. To cook this dish, Belarusian people use pork ribs, salt, pepper, laurel, and a couple of mid-sized onions. Homemade Kvass ads a special flavor to the dish (one glass of Kvass is added per each half kilogram of pork ribs).

The process of cooking the dish is the following: the meat is roasted until it becomes crispy outside (add salt and pepper before roasting) and put on a plate from a frying pan. Then onions are sliced and roasted in the same pan with remains of meat juice. After that, take a clay pot and put meat and onion inside. Pour Kvass in the pot and put the pot into a Russian stove where the dish is cooked for 20 more minutes. The ready dish is served with famous Draniki or mashed potatoes – these garnishes taste well with pork ribs in Kvass.

For the first-course dish, locals like to eat Svekolnik. However, this popular soup is not served hot. In Belarus, there are many types of cold soups, and such a popular dish as Okroshka is also very popular in the country. Belarusian people enjoy using such ingredients as nettle, sorrel, and, of course, beetroot for their cold soups. Svekolnik has an incredible and unusual taste, so a foreign guest brave enough to taste it will definitely not be disappointed. In no other country, travelers can enjoy eating this soup with a perfect balance of beetroot, cucumber, radish, and other ingredients. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Belarusian people prefer to use homemade Kvas, beetroot brew, a bit of vinegar with vegetables and root plants in Svekolnik. It is quite difficult to repeat this masterpiece of Belarus cuisine. The recipe of Svekolnik may look quite complicated for inexperienced cooks. Sliced beetroot is boiled in water with a bit of vinegar. There is a peculiarity in coking the soup at this stage – fresh beetroot leaves are added approximately 5-10 minutes before the beetroot itself is ready. Once the vegetable is cooked, salt is added to the water, and then the water is cooled.

While the “broth” is cooling, local chefs continue making Svekolnik. They dice cucumber (it is better to peel it in advance) and mince radish, fennel, and scallions. When the soup is almost ready, they add a bit of sugar and Kvass. Svekolnik is served cold with sour cream and bread heel. To make it even more exciting for foreign guests to try this soup, many national cuisine restaurants serve Svekolnik in a peculiar way – local people dressed in the national clothes serve the soup and perform folklore songs. After such hospitable greeting, many tourists want to stay at local small settlements longer and sleep there. They will be left sleeping in the front room where they will be provided with feather bed and blanket. This is exactly what tired adventurers need after exploring local natural landmarks and trying national cuisine.

The next gastronomic adventure is perfectly suitable for travelers who plan to visit smaller provincial towns in Belarus. These towns usually have small but comfortable cafes that usually have another popular national dish on the menu – Kolduny. This dish has quite a simple recipe and ingredients list. Kolduny contains potato, ground meat, onion, and spices. All these ingredients are put in the dough, but let’s be more detailed about this dish.

First of all, ingredients are roasted in two frying pans. Onions are roasted in butter until they become golden. The other frying pan is for roasting ground meat (as a rule, local chefs use a mix of beef and pork meat). It is important not to overcook the meat because it will make Kolduny dry and not as juicy as needed. Don’t forget to add salt and pepper. While onions and ground meat are cooking, it is time to get to potatoes. Potatoes are boiled unpeeled and then grated. Add two eggs, flour, and mix all ingredients well, forming potato dough.

Roll out the ready dough and form flatbreads. Put a spoon of cooked minced meat on flatbread and form a Koldun. These semi-ready Konlduny are then boiled for 7 minutes and served hot with roasted onion as a decoration. Kolduny taste particularly well with traditional Kvass. Fans of alcoholic drinks can order Krambambula for the dish. Krambambula is a popular alcoholic mix drink with honey and different spicy herbs.