Another stop that we cannot skip on our journey through Russian cuisine is the Volga Region, the land of delicacies.
The Cuisine of the Volga Region: “kulaga”, “plov” and “strudel”
Different peoples of Russia lived on the banks of the Volga: Chuvash, Tatars, Mountain and Meadow Marios, Erzia, Moksha and others. Each of them preserved ancient culinary traditions, which were gradually adopted by the Russians.
Some recipes passed from one kitchen to another in their original form, while others replaced some products or cooking methods with more familiar ones.
Numerous types of “shi” and “kasha” soup, boiled or baked river fish dishes, forest vegetables and berries are preserved from the culinary traditions of central Russia in this region.
Cold milk soups were prepared from raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, viburnum and cherry were added to the fillings for pies or to the hot sweet dish “kulagu”.
Ethnicities and adaptation
The main dishes of the Marianos were soups and “kasha”. In the “shi” soup, instead of cabbage, sorrel, nettle or other herbs were often placed. Soups were prepared with fish or meat, potatoes, viburnum, mushrooms were added. From potatoes and peas, the Marians fry fritters, similar to the Belarusian “draniki”.
From the Tatar cuisine, in the Volga region, they had the pies with a variety of fillings, “beshbarmak”, “plov” were popular; traditionally they were prepared with hare, lamb or horse meat.
Muslim Tatars did not eat pork. However, recipes of these dishes with pork, beef and chicken soon appeared in Russian cuisine also spices and seasonings, except dill, parsley and onion, they were almost not used in the Volga region.
In the second half of the 18th century, German settlements appeared in the Volga region. They adhered to their own culinary traditions.
German housewives made mashed potatoes and pork schnitzels, pelmeni, and chicken noodle soups; homemade sausages and baked goose were necessarily served on the festive table.
Unlike other peoples of the Volga region, the Germans drank a lot of coffee, sometimes replacing it with a chicory or cereal substitute.
We invite you to enjoy your trip to Russia
If you have plans to travel to Russia, we invite you to visit typical Russian restaurants with our guides in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other cities.
