Kulebyaka

Pastry dishes play an important part in Russian cooking. They include pelmeni, blini, noodles and many others. But pies and tarts are the pride and joy of any Russian housewife. 'A home is made by pies, not by walls, ' 'A birth­day is not a birthday without pies, ' 'Arrows complete a quiver, and pies a dinner' — these Russian sayings bear witness to the long-standing popularity of pies. You don't see them on the table every day, but when you do, it means there's something to celebrate and that guests are expected.

You can see all kinds of pies on the table: open tarts and covered pies, pies made from yeast dough, unleavened dough and puff pastry, large ones and small ones, round ones and square ones, made with meat, fish, cabbage, potatoes, mush­rooms, berries, curd cheese, and jam. But a pie that has been popular for centuries is one called Kulebyaka.

Here is the recipe for it. Dissolve 10-15 grammas of yeast in 50 grammas of warm water or milk, strain through a small sieve and add liquid to make up 150 grammas. Add 400 grammas of flour and knead the mixture. When you have nearly finished kneading the dough, add 50 grammas of butter, two egg yolks and a little sunflower oil. Put the dough in a warm place to rise. Then roll it out, place the filling in the centre, raise the edges or the dough and join them together by pinching. Decorate the kulebyaka with strips of the dough, placing them at intervals across it. Brush the kulebyaka with egg yolk mixed with water, place it carefully on a baking tray and bake in the oven.

Kulebyaka is usually made with a meat or cabbage filling, but sometimes there are two or three layers of different fillings; for example, a layer of boiled rice, then a layer of meat filling and on top a layer of hard-boiled eggs, cut into rings.

To make a meat filling, mince 800 grammas of boiled meat. Sauté some finely chopped onions in a frying pan, add the meat and fry for a further 3—5 minutes. Add three chopped hard-boiled eggs, 1-2 tablespoonfuls of sunflower oil, salt, pepper and dill to taste.

For a cabbage filling, wash and shred a cabbage (1.5-2 kilo grammas), scald with boiling water, drain and rinse in cold water; put the cabbage in a saucepan with 80-100 grammas of melted butter and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly and pouring off the liquid. Then add some chopped hard-boiled eggs and salt.

 

IV. Give Russian equivalents of the proverbs:

“A house is made by pies, not by walls”

“A birthday is not a birthday without pies”

“Arrow complete a quiver and pies a dinner”

 

V. Give English equivalents of Russian phrases:

1. топленое сливочное масло

2. дрожжевое, пресное или слоеное тесто

3. ошпаривать кипятком

4. слой отварного риса

5. замешивать тесто

6. украшать полосками из текста

7. пропускать через мясорубку вареное мясо

8. откинуть на сито и обдать холодной водой

 

VI. Agree or disagree with the statements:

1. Pies and tarts are the pride and joy of any Russian housewife.

2. If you see pies on the table it means that quests are expected.

3. Kylebyaka is usually made with fruits.

4. Kylebyaka is usually decorated with stripes of the dough.

5. There can be only one filling in Kylebyaka.

6. The dough should be put in cold place to rise.

7. Kylebyaka is baked in the oven.

 

VII. Continue the sentences:

1. Pastry dishes play….

2. There are a lot of kinds of pies ….

3. Kylebyaka is usually made with ….

4. To make a meat filling, mince ….

5. For a cabbage filling, wash ….

6. Add some chopped ….

7. Place Kylebyaka carefully on ….

8. Decorate the Kylebyaka with ….

 

VIII. Answer the questions:

1. Do pastry dishes play an important part in Russian cooking?

2. What kinds of pies do you know?

3. What is Kylebyaka brushed with?

4. How can Kylebyaka be decorated?

5. How is a meat filling made of?

6. How is a cabbage filling made of?

7. Where is Kylebyaka baked?

 

IX. How can you make Kylebyaka with a meat filling? What products will you need?

Basil, meat, fish, cabbage, squash, potatoes, mushrooms, berries, curd, cheese, jam, carrot, onion, milk, wine, eggs, oil, melted butter, salt, pepper, dill, radish, flour, kidney beans.

 

X. Translate the recipe from Russian into English:

Кулич

Ингредиенты

5 стаканов муки

1 стакан молока

100 гр. дрожжей

6 яиц

2 столовые ложки сахара

100 гр. сливочного масла

½ стакана изюма

¼ стакана миндаля

1 ст. ложка коньяка

Способ приготовления

Молоко вскипятить заварить ½ стакана муки, перемешать. Влить разведенные в теплом молоке дрожжи. Тесто перемешать и дать подняться. Добавить в тесто взбитые с сахаром желтки. Дать тесту подойти. Влить растопленное масло, всыпать оставшуюся муку, добавить изюм и все перемешать. Выложить тесто в формы, посыпать измельченным миндалем и дать подняться. Выпекать в духовке.

 

 

Blini

I. Read the words:

- Shrovetide - масленица

- pagan - язычник

- straw image - соломенное чучело

- thick butter - жидкое масло

- wheat - пшеница

- buckwheat - гречка

- oats - овсянка

- flour - мука

- yeast - дрожжи

- melted butter - топленное масло

- frying pan - сковорода

- caviar - икра

- salted fish - соленая рыба

- salmon - семга

- chum - кета

- herring – сельдь

- clabber – простокваша

- to whip (up) – взбивать

 

II. Read after the speaker and translate:

1. - Shrovetide

- Shrovetide is an ancient festival

- Shrovetide is an ancient festival dating from pagan times.

 

2. - God Volos

- dedicated to the God Volos

- it was a festival dedicated to the God Volos

- At first it was a festival dedicated to the God Volos to celebrate the arrival of spring.

 

3. - ancestor

- ancestor’ graves

- leaving festive food on the ancestor’ graves

 

4. - straw

- a straw image of winter

- burning a straw image of winter

- The festival included such ritual as burning a straw image of winter.

 

5. - Orthodox

- Orthodox Church

- Orthodox Church included Shrovetide

- Then Orthodox Church included Shrovetide among its festivals.

 

6. - significance

- lost its ritual significance

- Shrovetide has lost its ritual significance

III. Read and translate the text:

Blini

In Russia, Shrovetide is an ancient festival dating from pagan times. At first it was a festival dedicated to the god Volos to celebrate the arrival of spring and the start of work on the land. This festival, originating in the an­cients' worship of nature, included rituals (burning a straw image of Winter, lighting fires, leaving festive food on the ancestors' graves) and feasts, the main item at which were blini. Blini were made from a thick batter, and they were round and golden like the sun.

Then the Orthodox Church included Shrovetide among its festivals.

Shrovetide has long since lost its ritual significance and become a purely symbolic festival of seeing off winter and welcoming spring. But as formerly, blini are made in every Russian household.

Blini are so popular that people make them all year round. In many towns you can see the 'Blinnaya' sign hanging out­side cafes where you can eat Russian blini.

You can make blini from flour made from wheat, buck­wheat or oats. Heat 200 grammas of milk or water, dissolve 20 grammas of fresh yeast in it, add 250 grammas of flour and mix the thick batter well. Leave it to stand for 2-3 hours in a warm place, and when it has risen, add 40 grammas of melted butter, a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of sugar, an egg and 250 grammas of flour, and mix well. Then dilute with 600 grammas of warm milk and leave to stand in a warm place. When the batter has risen, beat it down, and leave it to rise again. Now you are ready to cook the blini.

Heat a small frying-pan with a long handle, rub with butter, pour in some batter and swirl the pan lightly to spread it evenly. When one side is cooked, turn the blin over and cook the other side. This is not as easy as it sounds. The first blin might be thick and ugly, but don't worry: it is not for nothing that the Russian proverb says 'The first pancake is always a flop'. After the first two or three, your blini will be thin, golden and good to look at.

Blini are often served with red and black caviar and salted fish, such as salmon, chum or herring. They can also be served with sour cream or melted butter. Many people like their blini sweet, and eat them with all kinds of jam and tea.

 

IV. Give Russian equivalents of the proverbs:

“The first pancake is always a flop”

“The appetite comes with eating”

 

V. Give English equivalents of Russian words and phrases:

- пшеничная мука

- топленое сливочное масло

- жидкое тесто

- нагревать сковородку

- разводить теплым молоком

- подавать с красной и черной икрой

- растворять дрожжи

- когда тесто подойдет

 

VI. Complete the sentences:

1. Shrovetide is …. 2. Blini are made …. 3. Blini can be made from…. 4. The first blini might be …. 5. When one side is cooked …. 6. Blini are often served with …. 7. Many people like their blini sweet and eat them ….

1. red and black caviar and salted fish. 2. an ancient festival dating from pagan times. 3. with all kinds of jam and tea 4. thick and ugly 5. in every Russian household. 6. turn the blini over and cook the other side. 7. wheat, buck wheat or oats

 

VII. Continue the sentences:

1. If you are going to make blini, you should take ….

2. Dissolve fresh yeast in warm milk, add flour and ….

3. Leave the batter to stand ….

4. Add melted butter, salt, sugar, then mix and dilute ….

5. When the batter has risen ….

6. Heat a small frying pan, rub with butter and ….

7. Blini are served with ….

 

VIII. Match the words with their definitions:

1. to swirl 2. sour cream 3. flour 4. pagan 5. ancestor 6. ugly 7. to serve 8. to whip

1. a person who is not a believer in any of the chief religions of the world, esp. not in one’s own religion; 2. a person from whom one is descended, esp. one who lived a long time ago; 3. unpleasant to look at, extremely unattractive; 4. to move quickly with twisting turns; 5. cream made sour by adding a kind of bacteria, and used in various foods; 6. to offer for eating or drinking; 7. to beat (esp. cream or the white part of an egg) until stiff; 8. powder made by crushing grain, esp. used for making bread, pastry, cakes.

IX. Answer the questions:

1. How does Shrovetide celebrate?

2. What is the main dish of Shrovetide?

3. Are blini popular in Russia today?

4. What ingredients should be used for blini?

5. Is it easy to cook blini?

6. How should blini be served?

 

X. How can blini be cooked?

XI. Translate the recipe from Russian into English: