Wanted Russian Recipes!

I have always been interested in Russian Cuisine, but most of the recipes I find from the internet are written by non-russians and their authenticity is somewhat in doubt... Milana, Oksana, can you introduce some of your favourite recipes to us? I am partucularly interested in pirozhkies (the ones I tasted were like savoury filled doughnuts), and blinis... oh, I sincerely don't care for caviars, so I would like some other suggested toppings for blinis as well!!

Oh yes! Yes! Pleaaaaase!!! I've searched too Licia but didn't find anything quite convincing

I think I heard that there's no Russian meal considered as a real meal without meat. And that you adore soup, right? Do you have a typical recipe for the солянка, I mean how do you make it at home, personnally? Because I think this is the soup where you put the leftovers, right? So it changes day by day or you like it to have precise ingredients?

As I read, I didn't really understand what the "kvas" is And I saw you have a noodle soup made with milk (бульон).

Girls,I must confess that I am not good with cooking,not my type of interest,really but I can answer your questions I hope.
СОЛЯНКА-Julie,it's an usual soup,you can use pieces of meat but if you don't have it,you can slice sausage,potato and add some cereals,usually pearl-barley,солянка is called that way becouse the general ingridient is salted cucumbers(соленые огурцы),I heard that abroad,in Europa and USA people don't cook salted cucumbers,it's rather a Russian tradition so I don't know if you can find it but it's salted cucumbers which make that soup to be solyanka!
КВАС-it's very old drink,there are many recipes for kvas,in old times each she-householder had her own recipe.The" general sense" of kvas:water,some things(fruit or berries or little pieces of dried bread or some rye flour),sugar,yeast and raisins,one mix it and put in a warm place for 24 hours,(for fermentation) and then gets a kvas,so that it's the product of fermentation.
Licia I will tell about ПИРОЖКИ and БЛИНЫ the next time
КВАС

Hmmmmmmmmmmm looks so good. I wanna try everything Yes, it's true we don't cook salted cucumbers, we eat them in salads or myself, I use to eat them with buttered bread, just like that basically. But I make them myself, so that shouldn't be hard to find

Maybe I can find some Kvas in the Russian grocery store I spotted.

On the second picture, the little loops make me think about that necklace Johnny received in Moscow a while ago. What is it exactly?

Yes,it's them!And Stephane got the necklace in the same style in Piter,when he arrived for KOI in March!!!!Dear,I am not sure if I can recommend you to buy KVAS,nowadays the kvas is often made of some conservants,try to do it yourself,my grandmam was doing the kvas of the dried pieces of black bread!

I love Russian food, and Kulebyaka and Syrniki are my special favourites! Does someone have a good recipe how to make them?

Ok,Pirozki,Blins,Kulebuaka and Sirniki,I will tell you !

ПИРОГИ-PIROGI

Paste-you take a milk(500 ml) and add salt(5-6g),suger(2 big spoons),30g yeast,2 eggs and a piece(maybe50g) of fat((better butter

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then you leave it for a while(1 hour),then smash it and AGAIN leave it for 1-1,5 hour(you formed a kind of ball)
in 1-1,5 hours you divide it into many little balls and AGAIN leave them for a half of hour at least,then you make little layers of them,put a filling(potato,fried cabbage,force-meat,jam,use your imagination) and create a pirozkithen you AGAIN leave them in warm place(cover them with napkins)for 15-20 minutes,then smear them with beaten egg and put them into oven,BUT THE OVEN must be warm,warm it untill 200-250 C and when it's hot you can put pirozki inside,then you can make it colder untill 180 C.When it's done?You will see a golden cover
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Kulebyaka is the sort of pirogi,it's made of the same paste,but you are making it bigger,

Thank you Milana! Those pictures are fabulous! I'm getting so hungry!

Bolshoi Spasiibo Milana!!!!! :-D Kulebyaka looks wonderful too, beautiful to look at as well!! What is used for the filling, anything goes also?
I love the picture of the cat enjoying pirozhkie, I want to join him

Ho-ho,Kati,it was the goal I was reaching posting those pics:))))))
Licia,yes ,you can use any filling,potato,fried cabbage,fruit,fish,jam,rice,mushrooms!

OOOOOOOOOOH MY LORD! This looks just so good, I'm so hungry right now!!! I wanna try all your recipes girls! xD. I should find time for this!

SIRNIKI-it's little scones made of curds
Curds(250 g)+1 egg(you can take more if you want)+sugar(2-3 big spoons)+140g Flour+pinch of salt,all ingridients must be thoroughly rubbed into a homogeneous mass,then you form a little scones,roll them in flour and fry them!

wow Milana, Sirniki looks ochen vkusno!!! I am not sure if I can get "curd" in its original form, but I can ask at a cheese shop. If not I will try with ricotta!! Spasiibo!!!! Are they sour cream (smetana) + raspberry jam accompanying the sirniki?

I went to see in Wiki what is a ricotta like about,I think you can use it but you have to pound it,make a mass of it.Yes,сметана and jam can accompany sirniki but I often eat them just with them

thanks Milana! Yes I have cooked with Ricotta in many ways I think I got a pretty idea how to work the ricotta for this recipe Yes, when scones, bread, croissants are REALLY good and still hot out of the oven, I agree you don't need to add anything, they taste fabulous alone!!

This just all looks so good

BLINS-it's simple,beat up 2 eggs together with 1 big spoon of sugar and salt
then add oil(2 big spoons),mix,add 500 ml milk,mix
add 200g flour and a bit of soda,warm your frying-pan,oil it and

Are "blins" different from "blini"? Blini are, if I am not mistaken, made with buckwheat flour right? This recipe seems very similar to Austrian Palachinken, which I really LOVE!! I wonder if I can substitute the flour with buckwheat flour to make blini, or would I be asking for a disaster?

Суп с фрикадельками!

spasiibo Milanochka!!! Looks like a perfect comfort food on a cold day!!!

btw who is the cute doggie on your profile pic? Looks like a Samoyed puppy :-)

It's because I talked about Swedish Meatballs on my LJ But those ones look YUMMY

Yes, this dog is so very cute, we wanna hug him. He looks so soft & fluffy.

Licia,I wonder you didn't recognize him it's Jiro,in his childhood!