The most popular dishes in the USSR. Back to the USSR: the best dishes and recipes

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Every time we talk about food in the USSR and favorite dishes of that time, I remember my grandmother - a classic Soviet woman with large figures, a voluminous hairstyle, wearing gold earrings with rubies and a brooch on her chest. In her house there was always a cult of food, or rather satiety.

The red-orange borscht that the entire Khrushchevka smelled of, so thick that a spoon stood still, was served with a generous portion of sour cream. Pies and sweet donuts were prepared on an industrial scale - in buckets. The honor was the butter-white kaymak with a brown “cap,” for which my grandmother went to the local market.

A special event for me was going to see my grandmother at work, because she worked in one of the best restaurants in the city.

In the room between the kitchen and the banquet hall, I sat at a table and, listening to exclamations of emotion from the waitresses running past, ate a chicken Kiev. You had to bite off the bottom of the cutlet and drink the warm middle, which kept trying to run down your chin. And for tea I received custard cake, which I finished eating to my grandmother’s delight, albeit with difficulty. Yes, I had a happy Soviet childhood!

Now, when the variety of products in stores is incommensurate with what it was in Soviet times, it is food from the USSR that is remembered with particular warmth. with processed cheese, suckling pig, naval pasta, goulash, berry jelly, and the top of it all is cakes: anthill, Napoleon, sour cream... No matter how much modern culinary producers try to imitate their taste, it is useless. No one can cook better than our mothers and grandmothers!

Historical process

Nostalgic for the tastes of childhood, we do not think about the fact that every dish of Soviet cuisine did not appear by chance, but as a result of certain historical processes. I wrote a lot about this in detail. Thus, he noted that after the First World War, the revolution of 1917, as well as the civil war of 1918-1922, global migration of the population began in the country.

Fleeing from hunger, the peoples of the Volga region moved to Ukraine, and many residents of central Russia, in turn, sought happiness in Central Asia. Thus, national dishes penetrated into all-Russian cuisine and were enriched with new culinary recipes.

Siberians and Uralians presented us with homemade dumplings and shanezhki, Ukrainians brought with them lard, dumplings, borscht and Kiev cutlets, residents of Central Asia shared meat dishes that are cooked over an open fire. Uzbek pilaf, Lithuanian cheese, beef Stroganoff imported from Odessa - all this has become familiar and familiar to all citizens of the country.

Favorite canteen

Canteens - school, institute, factory, factory - this is also a sign of the Soviet era. Then the main feature of all catering establishments was an almost identical set of dishes. Let's say goulash with buckwheat porridge, salad with sauerkraut and dried fruit compote.

The thing is that in Soviet times food was supplied to all canteens centrally. In addition, the menu was unified, and this entailed a decrease in the skill level of the cooks: they were only required to cook quickly, economically, and the same thing every day.

The widespread use of semi-finished products completed the picture of simplification of tastes. And it was precisely in Soviet times that it became the main sauce and dressing for all salads - due to its low cost. And now many cannot imagine a classic Olivier salad or herring under a fur coat without mayonnaise.

The secret of taste

And yet it’s amazing how easy it was, living in the USSR, to feel full and satisfied. Drink milk or kefir from a glass bottle with a soft shiny cap, snack on a bagel - and you’re already good! And how can you look forward to a real holiday - a birthday or New Year - when your mother or grandmother bakes duck in apples and makes a “potato” cake...

And now neither bagels nor store-bought cakes bring the desired joy. So what's the secret? Is it because the grass used to be greener and the milk tasted better? Quite possible.

And we also miss not only food from the USSR, but also our childhood and youth, our inexperience and dreams of the future, the times when our grandmothers were still alive and well, full of strength (although, of course, we then considered them 50-year-olds, old ones) and cooked for us with all their hearts. And how wonderful it is when there is a “time machine” in the house - a plump notebook with recipes passed down by inheritance. With its help, you can prepare dishes from your childhood and be transported back to those times of which now you only have pleasant memories.

Back to USSR

Soup with processed cheese, herring under a fur coat, Olivier salad, borscht with sprat in tomato, a sandwich with sprats, chicken Kiev, naval pasta... Surely the names of these dishes make you feel nostalgic. What if we start a New Year's celebration in the Soviet style: prepare dishes from our childhood, dress in our mother's or grandmother's dress, find recordings of songs from those years and have fun until the morning?

Spicy Olivier with shrimps and boiled pork

2-3 boiled potatoes,
1 boiled carrot,
2 pickled cucumbers,
2 hard-boiled eggs
2 tbsp. tablespoons canned green peas, optional
130 g boiled pork,
200g shrimp,
0.5 bunch of green onions,
mayonnaise,
black peppercorns,
Bay leaf,
salt.

1. Cut boiled pork and peeled vegetables into small cubes. Chop the eggs and onions.

2. Place shrimp in boiling water with bay leaf and pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Then drain the shrimp in a colander, cool and peel.

3. Mix the prepared ingredients, add salt and season with mayonnaise. Add peas if desired.

Pickled herring and mackerel

3 herrings,
2 mackerel,
1 liter of water,
100 g salt,
2 tbsp. tablespoons vegetable oil,
6 bay leaves,
7 pcs. allspice peas,
a handful of coriander,
a handful of black peppercorns,
a handful of dried dill,
5 buds of cloves.

1. Pour water into a saucepan, add salt, stir and put on fire.

2. When the water boils, add bay leaf, both types of pepper, coriander, dill and cloves. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Then remove the pan from the stove and cool the marinade to room temperature.

3. Rinse the fish, cut off the heads and tails, gut them and rinse again. Cut into large pieces.

4. Place the fish in jars: herring - in a two-liter jar, mackerel - in a liter jar.

5. Fill with brine. Then add vegetable oil. Seal with plastic lids and shake until the oil is evenly distributed throughout the jars.

6. Place the jars in the refrigerator for 2 days to infuse.

Domestic sprats

1 kg sprat,
2 teaspoons of black tea (infusion),
0.5 cups sunflower oil,
6 pcs. allspice peas,
2 bay leaves,
1 teaspoon salt.

1. Clean the sprat from heads and entrails. Place the fish in a thick-bottomed saucepan and cover with oil.

2. Make strong tea from the tea leaves. Add salt and stir. Pour the marinade over the fish. Add pepper and bay leaf.

3. Simmer the contents of the saucepan under the lid for 1.5 hours. Do not stir.

Marinated fish

500 g white fish fillet,
2 onions,
2 carrots,
2 tbsp. spoons of tomato paste or ketchup,
0.25 glasses of water,
0.5 tbsp. spoons of vinegar (9%),
1 tbsp. spoon of sugar,
flour,
vegetable oil,
Bay leaf,
ground cloves,
ground allspice,
salt.

1. Peel the vegetables. Finely chop the onion. Fry in hot oil until transparent.

2. Grate the carrots and add to the onion. Fry, stirring constantly, 5 minutes.

3. Then add tomato paste and water, bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper, cloves, sugar and bay leaf. Boil for another 5 minutes. Pour in the vinegar, bring to a boil again and remove from heat.

4. Wash the fish, dry it and cut it. Roll each piece in flour. Fry in hot oil until done.

5. Place some marinade in the pan, place the fish on top and finish with the remaining marinade. Cover with a lid and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Lard in onion skins

1 kg of lard with meat layer,
5-6 cloves of garlic,
peels from 7-10 onions,
1 glass of salt,
1 liter of water,
3-4 bay leaves,
4-6 pcs. allspice.

1. Pour water into a saucepan and add salt. Bring to a boil. Place the washed onion peels into the resulting brine and cook for 10 minutes.

2. Add lard to the boiling brine (the liquid should completely cover the lard). Bring to a boil, reduce heat (the brine should not boil too much) and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Turn off the heat and leave the lard in the brine for another 15 minutes. Then remove it from the brine and leave it on a plate until it cools completely.

4. Prepare a mixture of spices: peel and chop the garlic, break the bay leaf, crush the peppercorns.

5. Using a knife, make small cuts in the cooled piece of lard. Then rub with spices so that some of them get into the cuts.

6. Wrap the lard in foil and put it in the freezer.

Stuffed eggs

15 eggs.

Filling No. 1:
1 teaspoon mustard,
2 tbsp. spoons of sour cream,
3 tbsp. spoons of mayonnaise,
1 tbsp. spoon of green onion, finely chopped,
ground black pepper salt.

Filling No. 2:
3-4 slices of ham,
3-4 slices of medium-hard cheese, green onions,
1 clove of garlic, fresh parsley mayonnaise,
salt.

Filling No. 3:
4 crab sticks,
1 slice of canned pineapple,
1 clove of garlic,
30 g parmesan,
mayonnaise.

1. Boil the eggs hard, then peel and cut in half. Remove the yolks.

2. For filling No. 1, combine a third of the yolks with mustard, sour cream and mayonnaise, and mash with a fork. Add onion, salt, pepper and stir. Divide the prepared filling among 10 egg halves.

3. For filling No. 2, cut the ham into small cubes, chop the herbs, grate the cheese, pass the garlic through a press. Combine the prepared ingredients with half the yolks. Add mayonnaise, salt and stir. Divide the mixture among 10 egg halves.

4. For filling No. 3, grate the cheese, finely chop the pineapple and crab sticks. Grind the remaining yolks with garlic, passed through a press, and mayonnaise. Mix the prepared ingredients and spread among the remaining egg halves.

Lazy Kiev cutlets

1 kg minced chicken,
100g butter,
3 sprigs of dill,
2-3 cloves of garlic,
flour,
breadcrumbs,
1-2 eggs,
vegetable oil,
ground black pepper,
salt.

1. Chop the dill and pass the garlic through a press. Mix dill and garlic with salt.

2. Cut the cooled butter into equal pieces (you should get 8-10 pieces).

3. Divide the minced meat into 8-10 parts. Form each into a flat cake, put a piece of butter and a little garlic and dill in the middle. Make cutlets.

4. Mix flour, eggs and breadcrumbs with pepper and salt. Roll the cutlets in breading. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

5. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the cutlets and fry over high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side. Then reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes on each side.

6. Transfer the cutlets to a paper towel to drain excess fat.

Ministerial meat

700 g pork tenderloin,
1 large onion,
450 g hard cheese,
1 teaspoon lemon juice,
fresh dill, optional
Khmeli-suneli seasoning, optional
ground black pepper,
salt.

1. Cut the meat, beat it, salt and pepper. Season with suneli hops. Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Cut the onion into half rings, cover with cold water, add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Leave for 20 minutes, then drain in a colander.

3. Place the onions in the bottom of the baking dish. Then add the meat and sprinkle with grated cheese.

4. Bake for 20 minutes at 230°C. Serve sprinkled with chopped dill.

Jewish salad in a new way

150 g cheese,
1 hard-boiled egg
2 cloves of garlic,
3-4 crab sticks,
mayonnaise,
almonds or pitted olives,
green salad leaves, optional.

1. Grate the cheese, egg, crab sticks and garlic on a medium grater and combine. Add mayonnaise and stir.

2. Form a flatbread from a small amount of lettuce. Place an almond or olive in the center and shape the mixture into a ball. Repeat with remaining salad.

3. Place the cheese balls on a plate lined with lettuce leaves.

Fresh cabbage salad

200 g white cabbage,
2 apples,
1 carrot,
1 pickled cucumber,
0.25 bell pepper optional
4 tbsp. spoons of mayonnaise,
beet juice, optional
salt.

1. Cut the cabbage into thin strips, cucumber, pepper and apples, peeled from seeds, into cubes. Grate the carrots on a fine grater.

2. Lightly rub the cabbage with salt. Add cucumber, apples, carrots and pepper. Stir.

3. Add beet juice for color. Add mayonnaise, mix and serve.

Julienne with chicken and mushrooms

2 large chicken thighs or 3 small chicken thighs,
150 g champignons,
1 head of onion,
100 g parmesan,
170 ml cream (25%),
1 tbsp. spoon of flour,
vegetable oil,
ground black pepper,
salt.

1. Rinse the chicken thighs, cover with cold water and cook until tender. Then cool, separate the meat from the bones and chop finely.

2. Peel and chop the onion, cut the mushrooms into thin slices. Sauté the onion in hot oil. Add mushrooms and cook until excess liquid has evaporated (10-15 minutes).

3. Add chicken to the mushrooms, salt and pepper and remove from heat.

4. In a dry, heated frying pan, lightly fry the flour, pour in the cream, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Remove from stove.

5. Combine the sauce with chicken and mushrooms, spread the mixture into baking dishes. Sprinkle with coarsely grated cheese.

6. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for 20 minutes.

Layered vegetable salad

3 beets,
2 sweet carrots,
2 sweet and sour apples,
200 g cheese,
chopped walnuts,
garlic,
fresh greens,
mayonnaise or sour cream,
ground black pepper,
salt.

1. Boil or bake beets. Then peel, grate and, if necessary, squeeze out excess liquid. Add pressed garlic, mayonnaise, pepper and salt. Stir.

2. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater. Add pressed garlic, mayonnaise and chopped herbs. Stir.

3. Grate carrots and apples, drain off excess juice. Add nuts and season with mayonnaise.

4. Cover the bowl with cling film. Add layers of beets, cheese and carrots. Cover with film and refrigerate for 2 hours. Before serving, invert the bowl onto a platter.

Herring under a Fur Coat

2 boiled beets,
1 boiled carrot,
2 boiled potatoes,
100 g soft cream cheese,
150 g mayonnaise,
1 lightly salted herring,
5 g gelatin
salt.

1. Pour gelatin into 0.25 cups of cold water, leave until it swells, then dissolve in a water bath. Cool and mix with mayonnaise.

2. Grate the beets and carrots separately on a fine grater, and grate the potatoes on a coarse grater. Mix each ingredient with 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise.

3. Peel the herring and cut into pieces.

4. Place cling film on the table. Spread the beets in an even layer. Season with salt (then add salt to each layer).

5. Also mix the cheese with 2-3 tablespoons of mayonnaise and place on the beets. The cheese layer should be thinner than the beet layer, and each subsequent layer should be thinner than the previous one. Then add layers of potatoes and carrots. Place pieces of herring in the middle.

6. Carefully, using cling film to help, roll the roll. Wrap in cling film and foil. Place in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Then decorate.

Light vinaigrette with interesting dressing

1 beet, baked or boiled,
1 carrot,
1 can of canned green peas,
6-10 mini cobs of canned corn or a handful of canned corn,
1 head of onion,
2-3 pickled cucumbers,
2-3 tbsp. spoons of apple cider vinegar,
2-3 tbsp. spoons of olive oil,
1 tbsp. spoon of Dijon mustard,
salt,
ground black pepper,
a pinch of sugar.

1. Peel the beets and cut into cubes. Place in a bowl, immediately pour in vinegar and season with mustard.

2. Peel the carrots, cut into small cubes and place in a saucepan. Pour a glass of water, add a pinch of salt and sugar. Cook for 10 minutes until soft. Then drain the water and, without cooling, add the carrots to the bowl with the beets. Stir.

3. Cut the corn cobs into circles, onions and cucumbers into cubes. Place the prepared vegetables in a bowl with the beets and carrots. Add peas and stir.

4. Season the salad with oil, pepper, taste for salt and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to steep.

Increasingly, restaurateurs are returning to recipes from the Soviet past. Here and there, dishes appear in restaurants, slightly modified, but so familiar to everyone from childhood. Many people already treat recipes from the USSR era with disdain. What could be cooked there if there wasn’t even butter on the store shelves? But even without jamon, blue cheese and marzipan, Soviet women created real masterpieces. Here are the most popular ones.

Salad "Olivier"

The Soviet version of the salad was very different from the pre-revolutionary one. It was so “based on” that it could well be called a parody. No hazel grouse, no pressed caviar, no crayfish...

The Soviet version, which is familiar to us, was invented in the Moscow restaurant in the capital immediately after the revolution. All the delicious things disappeared from it, and the hazel grouse were completely replaced with boiled chicken. And during the special “revelry” of developed socialism, many housewives gave up poultry altogether, replacing it with boiled sausage. Oddly enough, it was in this form that the salad became known almost throughout the world. In Europe it is now called “Russian salad”, which, in general, is fair.

How to cook. Everything is very simple. To begin with, they boiled potatoes, meat, eggs, took pickles from a barrel or jar, brought onions from the cellar and opened a jar of green peas. Now the most dreary part remained: they chopped everything into cubes, except for the peas, of course. They added mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and the last magical action: stirred. For a normal bowl of salad, half a kilo of meat, the same amount of potatoes, ten eggs, five cucumbers, two onions and a jar of peas is enough.

How to make it tastier. Firstly, you can make your own mayonnaise with olive oil, rather than buying it at the store. Secondly, it is not forbidden to add shrimp to all this riot. To be happy you need three hundred grams, don’t regret it.

Salad "Shuba"

Believing this story or not is a personal matter for everyone. “Shuba” became popular after the war, and Soviet cooking can be proud of it - this is an absolutely unique dish that immediately became popular. But, unlike “Olivier”, in the world it is known exclusively as “this extravagant Russian salad with herring”, or “oh my God, why do they do that”.

How to cook. There are many variations of the recipe, but they all have one thing in common: you need boiled beets. In addition to it, the usual list includes boiled potatoes, carrots and herring. Not everyone can handle the vegetarian version with seaweed. Vegetables were boiled, cooled, peeled, chopped or grated. The herring was also crushed and vegetable oil was added. The whole point of the salad is that the products were laid in layers and each of them was generously coated with mayonnaise. Herring came first, then carrots, potatoes and beets. Ideal proportions: there should be the same amount of each vegetable in the salad as the herring “base”.

How to make it tastier. Don't skimp on the mayonnaise—the salad loves it. Nowadays, in addition to traditional ingredients, onions and eggs are often added. Neither one nor the other will definitely spoil the “fur coat”. Gourmets use salted red fish instead of herring, but this, you see, is somehow not proletarian.

Salad "Passenger"

There is a version that in the sixties this dish was actively promoted in dining cars. Apart from the memoirs of individual railway workers, no other evidence of this could be found.

How to cook. The salad contains only three main products, plus the usual dressing - mayonnaise. It was made from beef liver, which was first fried in large pieces and then cut into strips. Pickled cucumbers were cut in the same way. Onions, chopped into half rings, were sautéed. Then they mixed it all, salted, peppered and added the magical “Provencal”. Half a kilogram of liver required the same amount of onions and half as many cucumbers.

How to make it tastier. The combination of products is almost perfect; it is unlikely that anyone will be able to achieve better. However, some housewives, at the request of faint-hearted husbands, reduce the amount of onions. The move is questionable.

Soup "Student"

You won’t find this recipe in a Soviet cookbook, but any student who studied then remembers it very well. And even in several versions - depending on the available products and financial capabilities.

For some reason, modern Russian websites and communities dedicated to cooking strongly demand the use of broth in the recipe. Of course, “Student” is similar to French cheese soups, but there was no talk of any special broth. All meat gain was provided exclusively by sausages.

How to cook. As usual, it all starts with peeling potatoes (0.5 kg). In a completely hopeless situation, it was replaced with pasta, but it was not so tasty. Also required were three hundred grams of sausages, a carrot, an onion and two processed cheeses. The simplest grocery set that could easily be bought without using any connections. When the water boiled, finely chopped onions and carrots were thrown in. The sausages were also chopped, usually cut into circles - it’s easier that way. At the very end it was the turn of processed cheese.

How to make it tastier. This is where the real scope for imagination lies. The students added everything to enrich the taste and out of desperation: from bell peppers to olives. And the taste didn’t lose because of it.

Pea soup

The history of pea soup goes back several thousand years. There are mentions of it in Ancient Greece, Rome, and medieval treatises. In Russia, it has also been known for quite a long time and is even mentioned in Domostroy.

In the USSR, it was prepared from dry peas or special briquettes with a semi-finished product. Due to its cheapness, it was especially loved in workers' and student canteens. At home, “musical soup” was also prepared periodically, but the dish was not at all festive.

How to cook. It is useless to consider the briquette option: the cooking method is written on the wrapper. If it was made from dry peas, they were pre-soaked for 6-8 hours. Onions, carrots, any smoked meats or lard were chopped and fried. Be sure to peel some potatoes, literally two or three. They boiled it together with the peas until half cooked, then added everything from the frying pan. When the soup was ready, croutons were thrown into the plate. For 250 grams of peas it took 200 grams of meat, one carrot, an onion and 0.6 liters of water.

How to make it tastier. It is not at all necessary to stop at one type of smoked meat. A soup with two or even three types of meat will be much better.

Navy pasta

Soviet interpretation of Italian pasta. The exact history of this dish is unknown. It appeared in cookbooks in the sixties, but there were mentions of it before. Most likely, this is a classic “folk art”, which also appealed to culinary professionals. Naval pasta was offered in the canteens of almost all institutions and especially often in sanatoriums, boarding houses and pioneer camps. Their administration simply adored this recipe: it was almost impossible to understand how much meat was actually put in it. The minced meat was mixed with noodles and no tomatoes were used, as is done in modern recipes.

How to cook. The composition is ingenious in its simplicity. It contains only three products: minced meat, one onion and the pasta itself. No complex manipulations were required. Half a kilo of minced meat was fried in oil until cooked, the onion was added and kept on the fire until it darkened. Peppered and salted. At the same time, boil the same amount of vermicelli. Then drain the water and add the minced meat straight from the frying pan. Be sure to mix thoroughly.

It is now impossible to repeat this recipe. The problem is the stew. The one sold in stores is not at all suitable in quality. There is almost no meat there, only some strange “jellied meat”. You can stew the meat yourself, but the taste you get is not quite the same, not at all Soviet. Why this happens is a big mystery. All that remains is to be nostalgic and make do with the current stew. But you should only buy premium products: the rest is too dubious.

How to cook. Probably everyone has already guessed: Soviet cuisine was captivating precisely because of its simplicity. And this time everything is also elementary. The potatoes were peeled, cut into large pieces and set to boil. When it was half cooked, the stew was added. The entire contents of the jar. There is a recipe on the Internet in which the “white fat” is suggested to be removed and discarded. Frankly speaking, this is blasphemy, for this it is necessary to transfer to a lifelong fasting menu.

How to make it tastier. Many women tried to improve this recipe. The easiest way is to add canned green peas. You can also chop and fry some onions and carrots. In general, there is room for delicious creativity.

Chicken Kiev

Many people treat recipes from the USSR era with disdain. What could be cooked there if there wasn’t even butter on the store shelves? But even without jamon, dor blue and marzipan, Soviet women created real masterpieces. Here are just the most popular of them.

Salad "Olivier"

The Soviet version of the salad was very different from the pre-revolutionary one. It was so “based on” that it could well be called a parody. No hazel grouse, no pressed caviar, no crayfish...

Salad "Shuba"

There is a very beautiful revolutionary legend. Say, during the Civil War, caring Komsomol members came up with the proletarian salad Sh.U.B.A., abbreviated to Chauvinism and Decadence - Boycott and Anathema. The salad contained the simplest ingredients, without any bourgeois frills.

Salad "Passenger"

Another invention of Soviet chefs. Unique, although not as popular. Most housewives became acquainted with it thanks to cookbooks of the seventies and were still very surprised: why is it called “Passenger”? Mayonnaise somehow does not require long-term storage, you don’t take salads on camping trips, and you can’t quickly cut it up by the fire.

There is a version that in the sixties this dish was actively promoted in dining cars. Apart from the memoirs of individual railway workers, no other evidence of this could be found.

Soup "Student"

Pea soup

How to make it tastier. It is not at all necessary to stop at one type of smoked meat. A soup with two or even three types of meat will be much better.

Navy pasta

How to make it tastier. Adding something to this perfection means moving away from the original concept and getting closer to what they cook in Italy. Well, okay, cheese or herbs won't be superfluous.

Potatoes with stew

Chicken Kiev

The prototype was the cutlet de volley of French origin. There is only one difference and it is insignificant, to be honest. The French put a sauce inside theirs, usually creamy with mushrooms. Soviet citizens did not engage in such tenderness: a small piece of butter and a green leaf was enough. Initially, only foreigners in the Intourist system were delighted with cutlet Kiev, but from restaurants for the elite, the luxury moved to Soviet kitchens.

How to cook. This is perhaps the most difficult dish to prepare in our review. Don’t be fooled by the simple name “cutlet” - not minced meat was used for cooking, but a chicken fillet chop. And for the filling, finely chop the greens and mix them with butter, which was taken straight from the freezer. The resulting mixture was placed on the cue ball and wrapped to form a neat oval patty. Then it was rolled in egg and breadcrumbs and placed on a heated frying pan. Fry on both sides until a crust appears. The final stage is ten minutes in the oven.

How to make it tastier. No way. Attempts to add mushrooms or cheese inevitably turn it into a “de-volie” cutlet.

Semolina

The invention is not Soviet, but it was in the USSR that it found its way into every home. In Russia, it began to be prepared back in the 19th century, but exclusively in noble families. For the common people, semolina was too expensive. But the Soviet authorities, rebuilding the food industry from scratch, launched its mass production, and flour mills literally filled stores with semolina. And it would be fine if only shops - in schools and pioneer camps it was suppressed almost every morning. And no one, of course, stirred the lumps... Yes, this porridge turned into a nightmare for Soviet children.

How to cook. It’s a shame to call this process “cooking.” They poured the milk into the pan, waited until it boiled, and then added the semolina a little at a time. For half a liter of milk there are only 3 tablespoons of cereal. Stirring slowly, add sugar and a pinch of salt. This stage took 5-10 minutes. At the end, throw in a piece of butter and mix thoroughly again.

How to make it tastier. Semolina porridge is best perceived as the “base” of a sweet dish. You can add fresh and canned fruits, candied fruits, nuts, chocolate and just jam there.

Napoleon cake"

The most popular cake of those times. However, it was not sold in stores or served in restaurants; it was exclusively “home-made.” Each housewife had her own recipe and her own secret, although they were all, in fact, very similar.

This cake came to Russia from Europe and, despite the name, most likely from the Italian city of Naples. In the USSR, they began to prepare it especially often in the eighties, when the shortage became simply depressing - the so-called “Napoleons for Poverty,” where the cream was made from melted ice cream.

How to cook. Puff pastry cakes were pre-prepared. It was believed that the thinner they were and the more they were used, the better, but the main secret of taste was still the cream. In the USSR they used custard. For it, put one and a half liters of milk on low heat, simultaneously grind the yolks (8 pieces), sugar (400 g) and a bag of vanilla sugar, then add 100 grams of flour. All this had to be added to the milk that had boiled by that time. Bring to a boil again and stir until the cream thickens. They carefully coated the cakes with it and put it in the refrigerator. The dough itself required three hundred grams of butter, 600 grams of flour, half a tablespoon of vinegar, a little salt, half a glass of water and two eggs.

How to make it tastier. It’s easier to ruin a classic cake than to improve it, but you can give some tips for Napoleon as well. For example, you can add three tablespoons of cognac to the dough, and butter to the cream.

This part of the Soviet menu has always been the center of attention. Which, in general, is quite understandable. The not very rich table of our fellow citizens forced them to consider all other dishes only as a prelude to the main thing - the hot one. That is why, having become the apotheosis of the Soviet table, hot dishes absorbed all the features of our 20th century cuisine.

The turning point was the famous “Book of Tasty and Healthy Food,” which was regularly published in millions of copies from 1939 to 1990. She significantly expanded the range of dishes recommended to the Soviet reader. Next to porridges, pancakes and compotes there were recipes for stuffed carp in sour cream, fried veal, and all kinds of butter sauces. The recommended cooking technique also became significantly more complicated: it was assumed that the Soviet housewife would not only cook and fry, but also bake and stew. The list of the most common and popular Soviet hot dishes is quite predictable: meat dishes based on minced meat or small cuts, since a large piece of good meat was an infrequent guest on Soviet tables; chicken or pork as the most affordable meat products; a hearty side dish in the form of potatoes or pasta, plus thick gravy, as a way to increase the calorie content of the food while maintaining its taste.
Perhaps a classic example of this trend is naval pasta, one of the most iconic and widespread Soviet everyday dishes. This is a kind of lifesaver for both a caring housewife, and for a completely lazy incompetent, and for most catering establishments. It’s all simple: boil the broth and boil the meat, pass it through a meat grinder, mix with pasta or noodles. You can, of course, not be lazy and fry the onions in sunflower oil, and if you use butter, it’s much tastier.

Meatballs with pasta
Another classic Soviet hot dish is cutlets and meatballs. Probably, as many housewives as there are, there are as many family recipes. But as for canteens, restaurants, and the production of semi-finished products - everything is strictly according to the “Collection of Recipes...”, no amateur activities. Cutlets, meatballs, schnitzels, steaks, zrazy and meatballs - all these are dishes primarily made from minced meat and minced meat. Cutlets and meatballs - the minced meat is the same, the difference is in shape - the cutlet is oval, flattened, pointed at one end; cue ball - round, flattened. The addition of white stale bread soaked in water is strictly regulated. Fried in breadcrumbs. Who remembers, a cutlet in the canteen cost 11 kopecks!

The cutlets were different - from canteen ones for 11 kopecks to “pozharsky” ones in a restaurant
The same minced meat, oval, flattened, but slightly larger and fried without breading - steak. Chopped schnitzel is prepared from beef, with the addition of pieces of bacon, and fried without breading. The menu read: “natural chopped schnitzel,” served with sauce, cost 23 kopecks. Zrazy is minced meat with all kinds of filling inside: eggs, buckwheat porridge, mushrooms, and just fried onions. Meatballs are balls of minced meat with the addition of bread or rice, fried and then stewed in sauce (tomato, sour cream, red). And, of course, there are lamb, pork, poultry, fish and vegetable cutlets.
Besides cutlets, probably the best thing that can be prepared from meat ground in a meat grinder is cabbage rolls, our Russian cabbage rolls in cabbage leaves. Some people boil the whole head of cabbage, while others first take it apart into leaves. Some prefer to stew it in sour cream, while others prefer to stew it in tomatoes with fried onions. As they say, it depends on the taste and color... We have our own technology at home. The main thing in it is to buy the right cabbage, the “Slava” variety or something close to it.

Stuffed cabbage rolls are good from Slava cabbage
It seems that only a mysterious Russian soul could give birth to such a dish as lazy cabbage rolls. Meanwhile, despite the uninspiring name, this is a completely independent, tasty and vitamin-rich dish. Plus, you don’t have to worry about cabbage leaves, and the type of cabbage is not important.
Dumplings. Yes, here it is - a clear illustration of the evolution of Soviet cuisine. In the 1939 “Book of Tasty and Healthy Food,” there are only two short recipes about them: broth with dumplings and dumplings in butter (placed at the very end of the “Flour Dishes” section). “Cooking” from 1955 is another matter. There are already dozens of mentions here: Moscow, Siberian, Uzbek dumplings, in butter with cheese, in an omelet, in tomato sauce, baked, fried. And they already appear as hot appetizers, as dough products, and as dishes of national cuisines.

Dumplings
True, sometimes all the differences between recipes come down to a simple phrase: “Moscow dumplings are prepared in the same way as Siberian dumplings, but only they use less dough and more minced meat.” But be that as it may, dumplings are an iconic dish of our cuisine, which made a brilliant “career” under the USSR. Naturally, one of the factors of popularity was ready-made frozen dumplings, the production of which was established by the food industry. It couldn't be simpler - boil water, add some salt and pour in the whole pack, 5 minutes, and you're done. You need a little skill: defrost it so it doesn’t form a lump, calculate the amount of water, and don’t overcook it.
This dish of students and bachelors became truly national by the end of the USSR. Disputes about what the minced meat was made of for them formed an indispensable part of the meal, giving rise to the most fantastic assumptions. However, home cooking was also not far behind. We remember stories about how the whole family in the 1960s prepared about 200-250 dumplings for receiving guests. How my grandfather personally checked the saltiness of the minced meat and the consistency of the dough. And how he later competed with his son-in-law to see who could eat the most for a bet. This dish became especially popular in private kitchens when this form for preparing them appeared in hardware stores. It really made the modeling process easier, allowing you to prepare a batch of 37 dumplings in 5-7 minutes. You only had to try it once to, as they say, “feel the difference.”

Once - and 37 dumplings are ready!
Since we are talking about semi-finished products, it is appropriate here to remember the main one - sausages. Their mass production, established in the early 1930s, made a real revolution in the food system, including at home. Moreover, at that time, along with the loose sausages we are accustomed to today, their canned analogues were produced. In canteens, sausages were served both with green peas and with a “complex” side dish: stewed cabbage and mashed potatoes were placed on a plate. When serving, a teaspoon of melted butter was always splashed on top of the puree prepared in water. And here’s the reconstruction of this Soviet dish we came up with:

Sausages with stewed cabbage accompanied by Zhigulevskoe beer
Now, perhaps, it’s time to move from minced meat dishes to natural meat. Goulash, azu, meat in sweet and sour sauce, beef stroganoff, French meat. This list, of course, can be continued, but in general the set of dishes is clear. Meat subjected to long-term heat treatment (stewing). An alternative to them should have been a variety of schnitzels and steaks. This natural meat was also present in the menus of canteens and restaurants, but they took it with some caution. Due to the fact that the pieces were often very tough.
Adjoining them were rump steaks, splints, and escalopes, which were supposed to differ from each other only by the supposed difference - from which part of the carcass the piece was cut. In fact, I think no one really followed this. It was simply impossible to guess what was breaded under a thick layer of sour breadcrumbs. There was also no question of any degree of roasting; they didn’t even know such words - Medium, Medium Rare, Well Done. In the most famous Soviet restaurants, no one would ask you how to fry meat. They served the same tasteless, tough meat from a cow that had regularly produced record milk yields for many years before slaughter.
The chops differed for the better, from which the relative edibility was beaten out with hammers. By the way, chops from a piece of veal or pork, which was successfully purchased from a familiar butcher or at the market, were successfully prepared in the home kitchen. This was probably the only way to cook a natural piece of meat at home. Therefore, it is not surprising that the main dishes both at home and in public catering were medium-sized pieces of meat with various sauces, popularly called gravies.
For canteens and restaurants, this was much more convenient - finely chopped ones cook faster, chew easier, and behind the sauce you can’t see what quality the pieces actually ended up on the plate. The first meat dish in popularity is undoubtedly goulash. Simple, unpretentious, not requiring a high-quality, expensive piece of tenderloin. Even today there is no particular need to make any adjustments to his recipe.

Goulash
Meat in sweet and sour sauce is not a casual acquaintance with the taste, but a favorite dish on Soviet tables. Moreover, it took root so well in almost any family that many considered it their “family” recipe, regardless of nationality. In reality, this, of course, is a recipe from Jewish (Ashkenazi) national cuisine. Which left a significant mark on Soviet gastronomy.

Meat in sweet and sour sauce
And here is another representative of Soviet multinational cuisine. Azu in Tatar has become an indispensable part of our catering menu. And in home cooking, it was a frequent guest. By the way, here's an amazing fact. Despite such popularity, this dish never appeared on the pages of KVZP (even in later editions), and in “Cooking” it was mentioned simply as “azu” without any Tatar roots.

Another famous dish is beef stroganoff. It was not born, of course, under the USSR. Its roots obviously go back to the end of the 18th century. But the first mentions of beef Stroganoff in Russian cookbooks date back to the 1870s. So by Soviet times, this dish enjoyed equal success both in our country and abroad. And the post-revolutionary Russian emigration finally spread it all over the world. At the same time, this is some kind of very “Soviet” dish. It's hard to say what the secret of his success is. Firstly, the relative ease of preparation, a small range of products, easy technology. Secondly, expressive taste. Thirdly, there are no strict regulations - the tenderloin can be easily replaced with rump, sour cream with cream, tomatoes with Yuzhny sauce.
But let's get back to meat dishes. Here it is - the signature dish of Soviet feasts - meat in French. Honestly, not a single Frenchman would ever think of the bizarre idea of heat-treating mayonnaise, which is usually prepared by every housewife as a sauce for ready-made dishes. The traditional French method of cooking - gratin - involves the formation of a baked golden crust on the surface. There are many recipes for gratins, with different products, including slices of meat, potatoes and onions. But they are baked, of course, not with mayonnaise (this is our Soviet fantasy), but with bechamel sauce, or simply with cream.

Meat in French
It is impossible not to mention offal, which in Soviet times was much cheaper than meat. Lung, kidneys, liver, heart - liver. When fried or stewed, they made an excellent filling for pies. Language – and this was already a delicacy at that time! – it was not easy to buy. Jellied tongue served with hot mashed potatoes, or just a cold slice of it on a sandwich - this still remains both high-quality everyday food and a good treat for a feast. But our best memories are of the liver. Today, not everyone likes this product. But slices of high-quality fresh beef liver, fried with onions in butter - what could be tastier!
Returning to the topic of “Soviet-multinational”, we cannot ignore the memories of two dishes. One of them, of course, is Uzbek pilaf. Another “spicy national” dish is made from chicken. You've probably already guessed what we're talking about. Indeed, Georgian food habits probably won the hearts of the Soviet people forever. Chickens in the USSR were different. Domestic - most often with the head, paws and giblets (liver, heart, stomach and neck). The head and legs of a bird, carelessly wrapped in a square of gray paper, protruded impressively from the string bag, predicting the prospect of aromatic soup or chakhokhbili. Imported - Hungarian or French - were a respected broiler at that time. They also came with all the giblets, neatly wrapped in a separate bag inserted inside.
Imported birds were most often kept in reserve and waited in the freezer until the next holiday - they were destined to become a roasted delicacy. The most “advanced” way was to fry the chicken on a bottle, coating the carcass with mayonnaise. So, of course, the famous tobacco chicken. A hit of resort cooking. One of the favorite items on restaurant menus. Perhaps, by the way, this was due to its technological simplicity. After all, for example, a 6th grade cook according to Soviet standards could cook Kyiv cutlets only 60 pieces per shift. And a chicken - three thousand.

At the end of socialism, for some reason it became fashionable to argue “tabaka” or “tapaka”. Supporters of the latter version referred to the Georgian name for the frying pan, tapa, from which the name of the dish was supposed to come. While they were arguing, the right chickens simply disappeared from sale, replaced by full-breasted but tasteless broilers. So for some time the discussion became strictly theoretical.
Of course, this is far from a complete overview of hot dishes of Soviet cuisine. Each reader will probably be able to add at least a dozen more favorite dishes from childhood. But our task was not to compile an encyclopedia of Soviet food. We just wanted to awaken your memories and recreate the unforgettable atmosphere of a bygone era.

Soviet cuisine absorbed the traditions of completely different peoples, from the northwestern Balts to Central Asian nomads. Therefore, Uzbek shurpa is as familiar and dear to us as Russian cabbage soup. Many soups included in the golden fund of Soviet cuisine have a distinctive feature: they warm you up perfectly, and many even replace the entire lunch, that is, they are very high in calories. Let us remember what warming and hearty soups the republics of the Soviet Union were famous for.

Russia

Solyanka, borscht, rassolnik, ukha... There are a lot of important soups in Russian cuisine. But cabbage soup is our food. And, perhaps, the most important dish for Russia. Borscht, so be it, will be left to Ukraine, although this is our soup, too.

Sauerkraut cabbage soup

Photo: Shutterstock.com

700-800 g lean beef (shoulder or edge)

500 g sauerkraut

608 medium potatoes

3 carrots

3 medium onions

2 parsley roots

Black peppercorns

Bay leaf

Pan - 5 l

Step 1. Rinse the meat, add cold water, bring to a boil, skim off the foam, cook for 1.5 hours after boiling, skim off the foam periodically.

Step 2. An hour after adding the meat, wash and peel the onions and carrots. Finely chop the onion, grate the carrots on a coarse grater.

Step 3. Slowly fry the onion in odorless vegetable oil; when it becomes transparent, add the carrots. Wait until it becomes soft.

Step 4. While the vegetables are fried, peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes.

Step 5. Remove the meat from the broth, remove from the bones, if necessary, cut into large cubes. Place back into broth.

Step 6. Add potatoes to the broth. Cook for 5-10 minutes (depending on the size of the cubes).

Step 7. Add sauerkraut to the soup.

Tip: the cabbage should be good, crispy, not too salty or sweet!

Step 8. Add onions and carrots. Then add parsley root, pepper and bay leaf. Add salt. Wait 5-10 minutes.

Step 9. Turn off and let sit for 20 minutes. Serve with herbs.

Ukraine

Borsch

Southern Russian and Ukrainian borscht is distinguished by its special fatty richness. It is cooked with either beef brisket or pork, or a mixture of two types of meat.

700 g pork ribs

Photo: Shutterstock.com

3 potatoes

2 onions

2 carrots

2 tomatoes

1/3-1/2 head of cabbage

A piece of lard

2-3 teeth. garlic

Black peppercorns and bay leaf

Step 1. Wash the meat, add cold water and cook the broth for 1.5 hours.

Step 2. Peel and cut the potatoes into large cubes and add to the broth.

Step 3. Fry the beets, cut into strips, in a frying pan.

Step 4. Separately, fry the onions and carrots until golden brown. Add them to the beets.

Step 5. Add grated tomatoes or tomato paste to the frying mixture.

Step 6. Remove the meat from the broth, remove it from the bones and cut into small pieces.

Step 7. Add vegetables to the broth, add meat there, and simmer over very low heat.

Step 8. Add shredded cabbage to the soup. Cook it until soft.

Step 9. Crush the lard with garlic and salt. Add to borscht and turn off.

Step 9. Add salt and pepper if necessary, let it brew for 10 minutes. Serve with greens.

Belarus

There are many excellent soups in Belarus. We decided to stick with potato. Because Belarusian cuisine and potatoes are one thing.

Tertyukha

Photo: Shutterstock.com

5 large potatoes

1.5 liters of meat broth

100 g smoked brisket

150 ml cream

20 g butter

Salt, black pepper, herbs

Step 1. Peel and grate the potatoes.

Step 2. Place in boiling broth (you can just use water).

Step 3. Cook for 10 minutes, then add butter

Step 4. Pour in the cream and bring to a boil.

Step 5. Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, herbs.

Step 6. Fry the brisket in a dry frying pan. Add a spoonful to each bowl of soup.

Georgia

Kharcho

Photo: Shutterstock.com

600 g beef

2 onions

4 tomatoes

Piece of tklapi from half a palm

6 tbsp. rice

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 parsley root

Greens (cilantro, parsley, green basil)

1 hot pepper

Khmeli-suneli, saffron, allspice

½ head of garlic

Vegetable oil

Step 1. Cut the beef into large cubes and cook with parsley root and bay leaf, skimming off the foam, in 3 liters of water until tender. About an hour and a half.

Step 2. Remove the beef from the broth and strain the broth. Remove bay leaf and parsley root.

Step 3. Rinse the rice and add to the broth.

Step 4. Peel and finely chop the onion. Sauté in vegetable oil.

Step 5. Grind the walnuts in a blender or grate them, or grind them through a meat grinder. Add them to the onions.

Step 6. Peel the tomatoes, chop finely and add to the onions and nuts. Fry everything for 5 minutes.

Step 7. Add frying to rice. Put the beef in there too. Bring to a boil, add tklapi and turn off.

Step 8. Chop the greens, grind the garlic with salt (you can put it through a press).

Step 9. Add herbs, garlic, and spices to the soup. Close the lid and let sit for 10 minutes.

Moldova

Zama

Photo: Shutterstock.com

1 soup chicken

1 carrot

2 onions

1 parsley root

1 pod hot pepper

Parsley and celery

Kvass for okroshka

homemade noodles

Step 1. Cut the chicken into portions and boil.

Step 2. Add 1 onion in the husk to the chicken, along with carrots, parsley root, hot pepper, a little kvass and herbs.

Step 3. Chop the whole raw onion. And remove the one that was boiled in the broth. Chop the carrots.

Step 4. Boil the noodles separately, rinse and add to the broth.

Step 5. Add celery and sour kvass (can be replaced with lemon juice). Bring to a boil and turn off the heat.

Kazakhstan

Shurpa

Photo: Shutterstock.com

500 g lamb

5 potatoes

2 carrots

2 onions

2 bell peppers

1 head of garlic

1 lemon

Cilantro, suneli hops, black pepper and salt

Step 1. Cook the lamb over low heat, skimming off the foam, adding the onion. Cook the broth for 1.5-2 hours.

Step 2. Remove the meat from the broth and discard the onion.

Step 3. Add chopped potatoes and carrots to the slightly simmering broth. Cook for 30 minutes over low heat.

Step 4. Add diced pepper.

Step 5. Cut the cooked meat into pieces and add to the soup.

Step 6. Throw whole apples into the pan.

Step 7. Cook for half an hour, then remove the apples and add coarsely chopped tomatoes to the soup.

Step 8. Finely chop the garlic, add to the soup, squeeze in lemon juice. Simmer the soup for another 30 minutes.

Step 9. Turn off, add salt and spices, let it brew for 10 minutes. Serve with greens.

Uzbekistan

Kaymak shurpa

400 g sour cream

2 onions

Several ears of corn

300 g pumpkin

Step 1. Chop the onion, add it to the sour cream and simmer until the onion becomes soft.

Step 2. Pour water, bring everything to a boil and add corn cobs, cut in half.

Step 3. Add diced pumpkin and cook for half an hour.

Step 4. Turn off, add salt, add cilantro.

Azerbaijan

Kufta bozbash

Kufta-bozbash. Azerbaijan Photo: Shutterstock.com

500 g lamb

3 tbsp. rice

2-3 potatoes

1 tomato

1 onion

½ cup chickpeas

A little dried mint

Dried cherry plum

Step 1. Soak the peas two to three hours before cooking.

Step 2. Boil the rice. Let the peas cook.

Step 3. Mince the meat together with cherry plum and onion. Add rice to the minced meat.

Step 4. Roll into large meatballs.

Step 5. Boil water, add salt and add meatballs. When they float to the surface, reduce the heat.

Step 6. Cook for 40 minutes.

Step 7. Peel the potatoes, add to the soup and cook over low heat. Place half-cooked peas in there.

Step 8. Add whole tomato, turmeric.

Step 9. When the potatoes are cooked, turn off the soup, add salt and pepper. When serving, sprinkle with dried mint.

Lithuania

Borscht with ears

Photo: Shutterstock.com

Sugar seed for broth

2 liters mushroom broth

2 medium beets

2 onions

2 carrots

1 parsley root

1 tbsp. vinegar

Bay leaf

Salt and pepper

2 cups of flour

3-4 tbsp. water

Half a handful of dried mushrooms + 2-3 mushrooms for broth

Butter

1 onion

Pepper and salt

Step 1. Make broth from the bones, adding onion, carrots, parsley root, bay leaf and allspice.

Step 2. 40 minutes before the end of cooking, add beets, cut into strips, vinegar

Step 3. Soak the mushrooms, then drain and pass through a meat grinder.

Step 4. Fry the onion and add it to the mushrooms, also add the greens.

Step 5. Cook mushroom broth.

Step 6. Knead the dough from flour and eggs.

Step 7. Roll out and form into dumplings with mushroom filling.

Step 8. Strain the beetroot broth and mix with the strained mushroom broth.

Step 9. Place the ears in the hot soup and cook for a couple of minutes.

Step 10. Serve the ears in hot broth with herbs.

Latvia

Beer soup

Beer soup. Latvia Photo: Shutterstock.com

500 ml beer

100 g sugar

Step 1. Boil beer with caraway seeds.

Step 2. Grind sugar with yolk, dilute with cold beer and pour everything into hot beer, stirring.

Step 3. Place on the fire, heat, but do not bring to a boil.

Step 4. Serve with croutons.

Estonia

Milk-fish soup

Milk-fish soup. Estonia Photo: Shutterstock.com

1 kg cod

1 liter of milk

1.25 liters of water

1 pint jar of chopped potatoes

1 onion

2 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. flour

1 tbsp. chopped dill

Step 1. Boil the fish in boiling water for no more than 10 minutes, then remove.

Step 2. Put potatoes, finely chopped onion, parsley into the broth, add salt and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Step 3. Dilute the milk with water, stir the flour in it and add it to the broth with vegetables.

Step 4. Cook, stirring, until the potatoes are ready, then add the previously removed fish fillet, add dill, oil and heat for another 2 minutes.

Step 5. Remove from heat, close the lid and let sit for 3-5 minutes.

Kyrgyzstan

Lagman Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

150 g beef

2 tbsp. butter

½ onion

10 g tomato puree

80 g radish

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp. 3% vinegar

Pepper, herbs, salt

Step 1. Knead unleavened dough from flour and a small amount of water. Roll it out very thin and cut homemade noodles.

Step 2. Cut the meat into small pieces and fry until crisp.

Step 3. Then finely chop the onion and radish and fry along with the meat. Add pepper and salt.

Step 4. Put tomato puree, chopped garlic into the frying pan, and pour in the broth.

Step 5. When serving, pour the sauce over the heated noodles.

Tajikistan

Nakhudshurak

Nakhudshurak Photo: Shutterstock.com

1 kg lamb

500 g carrots

2 chickpeas

2 cups chickpeas

½ cup chopped kinza

Red pepper and salt

Step 1. Coarsely chop the meat and bones, add 3 liters of water, bring it to a boil and cook over low heat until tender. Soak the peas in cold water for 3-4 hours.

Step 2. Finely chop the onion. Add whole carrots and 200 g of onions to the meat.

Step 3. 20-25 minutes before the meat is ready, add whole peeled potatoes. Remove the cooked meat, carrots and potatoes. Cut the meat and carrots into cubes, potatoes into slices.

Step 4. Boil the prepared peas in the broth until soft.

Step 5 A few minutes before the broth and peas are ready, add salt and pepper.

Step 6. Strain the broth. Combine peas with meat, potatoes and carrots and heat through.

Step 7. Serve sprinkled with remaining onion, red pepper and chopped herbs. ♦

Armenia

Saved

This soup is served both hot and cold. Just like khash, spas relieves hangovers, but it also improves digestion, which is why it is served at the end of dinner.

Photo: Shutterstock.com

500 g matsuna

3-4 tbsp. l. sour cream

0.5 cups of “dzavar” (or bulgur) cereal

3 tbsp. l. flour

bunch of cilantro

bunch of mint

For refueling:

2 onions

3 tbsp. l. ghee

a pinch of ground hot red pepper

Step 1. Rinse the dzavar (or bulgur) wheat grits in cold water and place on a sieve.

Step 2. Cook the soft porridge, place it on a sieve again to remove excess liquid, if necessary.

Sift the flour and beat with the egg. In a thick-walled bowl, beat sour cream with matsun, add flour mixture and stir until smooth. Place the prepared cereal and add enough cold water to obtain a “medium” consistency.

Place the pan over low heat and heat, stirring constantly. You need to stir constantly with a whisk so that the mixture does not curdle. Once the soup comes to a boil, keep the heat to a minimum and let the soup cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Let's prepare the dressing: lightly fry finely chopped onion in hot oil and add red hot pepper.

Pour the hot spas into plates, pour over the dressing, sprinkle with finely chopped mint and cilantro and serve immediately.

Turkmenistan

Umpach-protection

100 g flour

50 g lamb fat

1 onion

Salt, pepper, herbs

Step 1. Fry the flour in a frying pan with lard until brown.

Step 2. Dilute with water.

Step 3. Fry the onion and add to the soup.

Step 4. Salt, pepper and bring to a boil. Serve with greens.

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