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319 recipes

Sweet sorrel pie

In late May and June, sorrel is the first thing to grow thick in dacha gardens around Moscow and Kaluga, and grandmothers turn the sour leaves into a sweet pie that tastes surprisingly like rhubarb. Shredded sorrel is tossed with sugar and a little starch and baked between two layers of soft sour-cream pastry, then eaten in thick slices with tea or cold milk. The common mistake is mixing the sugar into the sorrel too early, which draws out the juice and floods the pastry. Chef's tip: layer the dry leaves into the pie and sprinkle the sugar and starch over them right before you close the lid.

70 minRussianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ZefirApple marshmallow

Zefir sits in a paper box on almost every Russian tea table: pale, airy halves of apple marshmallow pressed together in pairs, softer and fruitier than any marshmallow. Factories in Moscow and Belyov made them famous, but home cooks pipe their own from baked Antonovka-style sour apples, sugar, egg white and agar. Agar keeps them vegetarian, unlike gelatine. The common mistake is undercooking the agar syrup; if it doesn't reach 110 °C, the zefir never sets and weeps. Chef's tip: bake the apples rather than boil them; the purée is thicker and the zefir far lighter.

1500 minRussianDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MuraveynikAnthill cake

Muraveynik is the 'anthill' that Soviet home bakers built for birthdays when shop cakes were hard to come by: crisp shortbread is baked, broken into crumbs, bound with boiled condensed milk and butter, then heaped into a little mountain and sprinkled with poppy seeds for the ants. It needs no tin and no layering, sets in the fridge, and is still a favourite at children's parties from Moscow to Omsk. The common mistake is crumbling the biscuit too fine, which makes a dense block instead of a craggy, crunchy heap. Chef's tip: break the dough through the coarse holes of a mincer or grater before baking so the crumbs are uneven and crisp.

50 minRussianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Anday wala burgerEgg and beef burger

After dark, Karachi's burger carts on Burns Road, Tariq Road and outside every college fire up their griddles for the anday wala burger: a thin, spicy beef patty and a fried egg in a soft buttered bun, with shredded cabbage, onion, ketchup and a sharp green chutney. It is cheap, messy and the city's favourite late snack. A cousin of the anda bun kebab, which uses a lentil and potato patty, this version is all about the meat. The common slip is pressing the egg too thin until it is leathery; cook it in the patty's fat just until the white sets. Contains egg, wheat and milk. Chef's tip: dip each patty in beaten egg before it hits the griddle, as the cart cooks do, so a thin egg jacket forms and keeps it juicy.

35 minPakistaniFast Food
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Doodh pattiStrong milk tea

Doodh patti is poured from a dented pan at every truck stop, university canteen and street-corner dhaba in Pakistan, from Karachi's Saddar to the Murree road, and it is drunk at all hours: before work, after cricket, at midnight with a paratha. The tea is made without any water at all, boiling loose black tea and sugar in milk until it turns a deep caramel colour and tastes rich, malty and strong. The mistake is simmering too gently and pulling it off too soon, giving a weak, milky drink; it needs a proper rolling boil, more than once. Contains milk. Chef's tip: lift the pan off the heat each time the tea froths to the top and return it, three times; each rise deepens the colour and flavour.

11 minPakistaniDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fried potatoes with mushrooms

Every late August, when families come back from the birch woods outside Moscow and Tver with baskets of boletes and chanterelles, the first supper at the dacha is a black iron pan of potatoes fried with those mushrooms. Through the Soviet years the same dish fed students in dormitories and night-shift workers in Ural towns, usually eaten straight from the pan with a jar of salted cucumbers and a spoon of sour cream. The potatoes should be crisp at the edges, the mushrooms browned and the onion sweet. Buy wild mushrooms from a reliable source only; cultivated chestnut mushrooms work very well. The common mistake is crowding the pan and stirring constantly, which steams the potatoes into mush. Chef's tip: fry the mushrooms first and set them aside, then fry the potatoes alone and only combine them at the end.

40 minRussianVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zebra cake

Russian mothers learned the trick of zebra cake from Soviet women's magazines in the 1980s: spoon a vanilla and a cocoa batter alternately into the centre of the tin and the rings spread out by themselves into stripes. Cut open at a birthday tea or on a Sunday afternoon in Moscow flats, it always draws a gasp from children. The sponge is made with sour cream, so it stays moist for days. The common mistake is spreading the batter with a spoon, which smears the stripes. Chef's tip: drop each spoonful exactly in the middle of the previous one and let gravity do the work.

70 minRussianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bird-cherry cake

Bird-cherry trees grow wild along every river in Siberia, and in the Altai, Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk regions their small black fruit is dried and ground, stones and all, into a dark, almondy flour. Steamed in boiling milk and mixed into a sponge, it gives a moist, purple-brown cake that tastes of marzipan and chocolate, layered with thick sweetened sour cream for name days and family teas. The flour is sold in Russian shops and online. The common mistake is adding the flour dry, which leaves the cake gritty. Chef's tip: soak the bird-cherry flour in hot milk for at least three hours, or overnight, so it softens and releases its flavour.

240 minRussianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fried courgette with garlic mayonnaise

When the dacha beds in the Moscow region overflow with courgettes in July, this is what appears on the veranda table: rounds of courgette dusted in flour, fried until golden, then stacked in a dish with garlicky mayonnaise, tomato slices and dill. It is served cool as a zakuska with bread or beside new potatoes, and it tastes even better after an hour in the fridge. The common mistake is cutting the slices too thin, so they fall apart and soak up oil. Chef's tip: salt the slices for ten minutes and pat them dry before flouring; they fry crisper and spit far less.

30 minRussianSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tertyi pirogGrated shortbread jam pie

Soviet home bakers in Leningrad and Gorky passed this one round on handwritten cards because it needed nothing more than butter, flour and a jar of last summer's jam. Frozen shortbread dough is grated straight into a tin, spread with thick jam, and topped with more grated dough that bakes into a crumbly, craggy lid. It is cut into squares for the tea table or for children coming in from the yard. The common mistake is a runny jam, which bubbles through and burns. Chef's tip: freeze the dough hard for at least 40 minutes so it grates into loose flakes rather than clumps.

50 minRussianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sprat butterbrods

A golden tin of Baltic smoked sprats was once a prized find in Soviet shops, saved for birthdays and New Year's Eve, and sprat butterbrods are still the first plate on many Russian holiday tables. Toasted slices of baguette or rye are spread with garlic mayonnaise and topped with cucumber, a slice of egg and two glossy little fish, eaten standing up with the first toast of the evening. Smoked sprats are ready to eat, but like all smoked fish they are not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system unless heated until steaming. The common mistake is assembling them hours ahead, which turns the bread soft. Chef's tip: toast the bread lightly in a dry pan so it stays crisp under the topping.

15 minRussianSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PastilaBaked apple sheets

Long before chocolate reached Russia, the merchants of Kolomna near Moscow and Belyov in the Tula region were drying whipped apple into thin, cloud-soft sheets in their stove ovens and selling them in tins at winter fairs. Today pastila is again a souvenir and a tea-table treat: whipped baked-apple purée is spread thin, dried slowly until leathery yet tender, then stacked in layers and cut into bars. It is fat-free and naturally gluten-free. The common mistake is too hot an oven, which browns and cracks the sheets. Chef's tip: dry it with the oven door wedged open with a wooden spoon; it needs gentle warmth and escaping steam, not baking.

480 minRussianDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Prague cake

Despite its name, Prague cake was born in Moscow, created in the 1950s by the confectioner at the Praga restaurant on the Arbat, and it became one of the most coveted cakes of Soviet celebrations. Three layers of dark sour-cream chocolate sponge are sandwiched with silky chocolate buttercream made with condensed milk, then brushed with apricot jam and covered in a shiny chocolate glaze. It is served for anniversaries and birthdays in thin slices with black tea. The common mistake is glazing a warm cake, so the glaze slides off the sides. Chef's tip: chill the filled cake for an hour before the jam and glaze go on; the surface sets smooth and glossy.

100 minRussianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

OreshkiCaramel-filled walnut cookies

The cast-iron oreshnitsa, a hinged mould pressed over the gas ring, is in many Russian kitchens just for these: little shortbread walnuts filled with varyonka, condensed milk boiled into caramel. Soviet children helped glue the halves together for New Year and birthdays, and the cookies still come out on a big plate at family tea in Moscow and beyond. A metal oreshki pan or an electric mould is needed. The common mistake is overfilling the halves, so caramel squeezes out and the shells slide apart. Chef's tip: trim the shells with scissors while warm, then fill them only when completely cold.

90 minRussianDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pirog s gribamiMushroom pie

In Arkhangelsk and the villages along the Northern Dvina, where autumn means weeks of mushroom picking, a big closed yeast pie filled with mushrooms, onion and rice is baked for name days and for the table after a funeral or wake. Under a soft golden crust the filling is savoury and juicy with dill and butter. Buy wild mushrooms from a reliable source only; a mix of chestnut and dried porcini works anywhere. The common mistake is a hot, wet filling, which melts the dough and leaves a soggy base. Chef's tip: cook the filling until the pan is dry, then let it cool completely before you fill the pie.

150 minRussianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RybnikFish pie

Along the shores of Lake Onega in Karelia and through the Russian North, rybnik is the Sunday and holiday pie: a whole cleaned fish, traditionally pike-perch, bream or whitefish, sealed in rye dough with butter and onion and baked until the crust turns into its own oven. At the table the top crust is cut away like a lid, the fish is eaten from the bones with the juices, and the crust soaked in them is the best part. The common mistake is underbaking, which leaves the fish raw by the spine. Chef's tip: use a fish no thicker than 4 cm and score it on both sides so the heat reaches the middle; it is done when the flesh is opaque and flakes from the bone.

120 minRussianFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kartofelnaya zapekankaBaked mashed potato

Kindergarten kitchens across the USSR baked this in huge trays, and it is still the Wednesday supper many Russians remember: a layer of soft mashed potato, a layer of minced beef fried with onion, more mash on top, brushed with egg and sour cream so it browns in the oven. It is Russia's answer to cottage pie, eaten with pickled cucumbers or a beetroot salad. For a vegetarian version, swap the mince for 500 g chopped mushrooms fried until dry. The common mistake is a wet mince layer, which makes the potato slide off when you cut it. Chef's tip: let the bake rest for ten minutes after it leaves the oven; it slices into neat squares instead of collapsing.

75 minRussianMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tawa chickenGriddle-fried chicken

At night on the motorway service roads and Lahore's Gawalmandi, cooks drum their metal spatulas on huge round tawas as they chop and fry chicken to order: boneless pieces scraped about the hot iron with tomato, onion, green chilli and spice until dry, smoky and coated. The noise is half the show, and the chicken is eaten straight off the griddle with naan or paratha. The mistake at home is using a small non-stick pan over a timid flame, which stews the chicken; use your widest heavy pan or griddle and keep the heat high. Chef's tip: chop the chicken into small pieces with the edge of your spatula as it cooks, the way the stalls do, so every bit picks up the charred masala.

60 minPakistaniChickenGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BarankiTea bread rings

Strings of baranki once hung on poles at every Russian fair, and you still see them threaded on twine in Moscow markets and station kiosks. The dough is boiled briefly like a bagel, then baked until hard, golden and glossy, so the rings keep for weeks and soften only when dunked in hot, sweet tea from the samovar. This version is vegan, made with oil instead of butter and eggs. The common mistake is a soft, wet dough, which makes puffy bread rolls instead of crunchy rings. Chef's tip: knead the dough stiff and leave the shaped rings uncovered for 20 minutes to form a skin before boiling; that gives the shine.

100 minRussianBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MannikSemolina cake

In thousands of Russian kitchens, mannik is the cake you make when the cupboard is nearly bare: semolina, kefir, sugar, a couple of eggs and almost no flour. The semolina swells overnight in the kefir, and the result is a plain, damp, slightly springy cake with a golden crust, sliced at the tea table from Smolensk to Vladivostok with a spoon of jam or sour cream. The common mistake is skipping the soak, which leaves the cake gritty with hard grains. Chef's tip: soak the semolina in the kefir for at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge, before adding the rest.

110 minRussianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kefir pie with spring onion and egg

Zalivnoy means 'poured', and this is the pie Russian home cooks make when guests are due in an hour: a runny kefir batter poured over a filling instead of rolled dough. In spring the classic filling is masses of green onion from the windowsill or dacha with chopped boiled egg, and the pie is eaten warm in squares with soup or on its own at the kitchen table. The common mistake is pouring all the batter at once, which lets the filling float to the top. Chef's tip: spread half the batter first, scatter the filling, then pour the rest gently over the back of a spoon.

60 minRussianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sabzi handiCreamy vegetable curry

Lahore and Islamabad restaurants send sabzi handi to the table in its own little clay or copper pot, the vegetarian partner to chicken handi on any family dinner order, scooped up with hot naan. Potato, carrot, beans, cauliflower and peas cook in a gently spiced tomato and yogurt masala, then a spoon of cream turns it silky and pale orange. Vegetables thrown in all together go to mush in places and stay hard in others; add them in stages, the slow ones first. Contains milk. Chef's tip: crush a pinch of dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) between your palms over the handi right at the end for the authentic restaurant aroma.

50 minPakistaniVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fish tikka

On winter nights along Karachi's seafront and in the Do Darya restaurants, skewers of fish tikka go round the table straight from the grill, the chunks blushing red from chilli and yogurt with blackened corners. Firm white fish such as surmai (kingfish) or monkfish holds its shape while the marinade sets into a light, tangy crust, and it needs only lemon, sliced onion and a bowl of raita. The mistake most people make is marinating fish as long as chicken: more than 40 minutes and the lemon and salt start to 'cook' it, so it flakes apart on the skewer. Contains fish and milk. Chef's tip: rub the fish with lemon and salt first, rest it 10 minutes and pat dry before the yogurt goes on, so the marinade sticks and doesn't slide off.

50 minPakistaniFishGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Seekh kebab

The long, charred seekh kebab is the first thing grilled when the coals glow on Lahore's food streets and on Karachi's Boat Basin in the evening, eaten hot off the skewer with naan, onion rings, lemon and green chutney. Coarsely minced beef (or mutton) with some fat is kneaded with onion, ginger, garlic, green chilli and roasted spices until it turns sticky enough to cling to a flat skewer, then grilled until smoky outside and juicy within. The classic failure is a kebab that slides off into the coals, which happens when the onion is left wet or the mince too lean; squeeze the onion dry and use mince with about 20 per cent fat. Chef's tip: chill the shaped skewers for 20 minutes before grilling so the fat firms and holds the meat in place.

45 minPakistaniMeatGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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