Today we are going to move to visit the Southern Russian cuisine to enjoy the warm weather and a very varied kitchen. With this article, we almost reached the end of our journey through Russian cuisine. We would only have one trip to the Russian Far East left.
Southern Russian cuisine: Kuban “borsch”, “dolma”,”kebab”
Natural abundance
The basis of southern Russian cuisine was the culinary traditions of the Kuban. On the fertile lands, cereals, potatoes, vegetables and different fruits grew in abundance, which hardly existed in other regions:
- Eggplants
- Beetroot
- Apricots
- Peaches
- Grapes
So there were always a lot of vegetable dishes on the Kuban table.
As an appetizer for the meat, fresh tomatoes were served; cucumbers or radishes, they also cooked “kasha” with pumpkin and “golubtsi” cabbage rolls from cabbage leaves and meat stuffing.
Many influences in southern Russian cuisine
Later, Kuban housewives adopted “dolma” from Caucasian cuisine – meat wrapped in grape leaves.
Other recipes obtained from the Caucasus to the south of Russia: Unlike other regions, in this southern region meat, fish and vegetables were often cooked over high heat.
One of the most popular dishes was kebab, it was served with fresh vegetables, onions, a thin “pita”, which was baked according to Armenian recipes.
The Muslim peoples of the Caucasus often cooked lamb kebab, and in the Kuban lamb was replaced by pork, beef, and sometimes chicken.
Along with the meat, the aubergines, mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers were grilled on the spits.
Traditionally, meat dishes were complemented by spicy Caucasian sauces: Georgian “tkemali” from sour cherry, “chahohbili” with a lot of onions, “adjika” with hot peppers and chopped vegetables.
“Golubtsy”, “borsch”, “vareniki” with different fillings appeared in the Kuban from adopted ukrainian cuisine. In the “borsch” of Cuisine of Central Russia, a lot of beets were always put, and sometimes beet juice was added to make the dish a deep red color, but in the Kuban, beets will not be allowed to be added in absolute, and the “proper” borsch was bright orange – the tomatoes and peppers gave it color.
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.
