The national dish of the peoples of the Caucasus - khychins with potatoes and cheese
The peoples of the Caucasus have their own national dish - it is fried khychins with cheese and potatoes. But the preparation of the dish by the Balkars differs from the Karachai pastry. Khychin is one of the memorable cakes that was "born" with an interesting history.
A bit of history ...
The history of flat pies goes back to the distant past. Even in the descriptions of ancient Greek travelers wandering around the Caucasus, it was mentioned about delicious, hearty pastries ─ khychins. Ethnographers have counted more than 40 types of cakes, which had different filling. Each one was meant for a special occasion. For instance:
- Round-shaped flat cakes, stuffed with meat, were regaled during the hunters' celebration of the deity Apsata.
- Elongated flat cakes with meat, buttered filling were treated to during the closing of the hunting season. And the dishes were intended for the deity Totura.
- Khychins with cheese and meat filling, which were baked when pets were mated, were considered a special cake. During this period, a wish was made about the offspring. A fluffy cake is a symbol of a good offspring.
- The reapers were regaled with cakes stuffed with cheese, sour cream and butter. The baking feature was the dough. It was believed that in order to get a good harvest, the dough must be prepared from fresh, ground wheat, corn, buckwheat, and barley.
Khychins with potato-cheese filling began to bake two centuries ago. And today it is one of the popular dishes of many housewives.
Symbol of generosity and hospitality
It is impossible to imagine a table without this flour dish of Caucasian cuisine, which symbolizes the ancient symbol of the Sun. The khychins are a manifestation of warm, sincere hospitality. Karachais fry flat cakes with thick ─ more than 1 cm, and Balkars are thin, even less than 3 mm. There is a general rule: use 2/3 of the filling material ─ dough. Whichever khychin the hosts offer guests, fat or thin, they have the same amount of hospitality.
Thinly rolled dough makes the dish tastier. We must not forget about the ratio of dough / filling ─ 2/3.
Hychin recipes with potatoes and cheese
Khychins with potatoes and cheese are a wonderful hearty addition to the first course, snack or tea party. Caucasian food is prepared everywhere today. Each housewife uses her own cooking method. Some people like to fry tortillas in oil, while others prefer a dry frying pan. But cooking combines melted butter to grease baked goods. According to the proposed recipes, khychiny with a potato-cheese mixture can be easily prepared by any housewife.
The classic recipe for khychina with potatoes and cheese
Components:
- 5 l of 1% kefir;
- 3-4 tbsp flour;
- 1 tsp salt;
- 500 g potatoes;
- 500 g of cheese;
- 100 g butter.
Cooking technology:
- Pour sifted flour and salt into kefir.
Get the dough like dumplings. And leave to infuse for 30 minutes. - Boil potatoes. Hot along with cheese, it is passed through a meat grinder.
- Divide the dough into equal parts and roll into balls.
- Roll out the dough and put the filling in the middle. Make a round patty, roll it out to 3 mm thick.
- Connect the edges in the form of a round pie.
- Roll out a thin round pie. Shape into a cake.
- Bake on both sides in a dry skillet.
- Grease each one with melted butter. The cakes can be stacked, cut like a cake into 4-8 pieces.
For the filling, you can use different ingredients, and it is better to serve it with a white sauce made of: sour cream (kefir), garlic, herbs and salt.
Balkarian khychins with cheese and potatoes
The baked goods are very thin.
Components:
- 350-450 g of kefir;
- 3-4 tbsp flour;
- 1 tsp salt;
- 1/2 tsp soda;
- 6-7 pieces of potatoes;
- 300 g of feta cheese or Adyghe cheese (their mixture).
Cooking method:
- Knead a non-cool dough from kefir, salt, quick soda, flour. Leave in a dish for 25-30 minutes.
- Boil potatoes, drain the liquid, mash hot. Mix with grated cheese. You can use a meat grinder.
- Divide the dough into balls 4-5 cm in diameter, roll out into a small cake. Fill the middle with the filling, get a round pie, which turns into a flat cake using a rolling pin.
- Use a dry cast iron pan for baking. If the baked goods are "inflated", a puncture can be made with a knife or fork.
- Fold the pastries with a cake, having previously greased with liquid butter.
- Cut into 4-8 pieces.
To prepare unleavened flatbread with Caucasian roots, you can use a variety of fillings. The mixture can be prepared from Adyghe cheese and herbs, minced meat with fried onions, young beet leaves and feta cheese.