Ossetian pies - general principles and methods of preparation
Ossetian pie is a closed pie, for the preparation of which they use yeast dough and various fillings of potatoes, meat, cheese, beetroot leaves, pumpkin, berries, cabbage, wild garlic, zucchini, etc. This is a traditional dish of Caucasian cuisine, which today is full law is considered part of the culture of a great nation and its pride.
The process of baking Ossetian pies cannot be called complicated, however, it requires a certain skill from the hostess. It is noteworthy that in Ossetia baking such pies has always been considered exclusively a female affair. Pies having a thin layer of dough and a plentiful, juicy filling are considered good, successful. Pies with a thick layer of dough are given in Ossetia either to an inexperienced or simply inept mistress.
If we talk about the general principles and technology of making Ossetian pies, then they are the same throughout Ossetia, and we will tell about them directly in the recipes. Although, of course, every mistress has her own secrets of making Ossetian pies. From the general rules, we can distinguish that the volume of dough in such a pie should be equal to the volume of the filling. Further, the dough for Ossetian pies is cut without rolling pin, only with the help of hands. Maybe that's why they turn out so tasty and very homemade? Ossetian pies are also good because if the pie is not eaten at a time, then you can warm it up, and this will not affect its taste.
As we have already said, traditional Ossetian pies can have a wide variety of fillings, but it is customary to bake them in an odd amount, unless we are talking about funerals or commemoration.
Ossetian pies - food preparation
For the successful preparation of Ossetian pies, the good quality of flour and yeast is of great importance, only under this condition you will get a soft and lush dough. The flour should be sieved several times, so that it is saturated with oxygen, and the dough is well "fit."
Most recipes for Ossetian cakes use cheese. Of course, according to the classic recipe, Ossetian cheese should be used, but you can take cheese, feta, Adyghe or other brine cheese instead. It is either cut into small pieces or crushed in a blender.
The filling for rydchin, an Ossetian meat pie, is usually made from beef. Previously, meat was manually cut into very small pieces, but now you can simply pass it through a meat grinder.
As for the many other components of the fillings for Ossetian pies, in particular vegetable pies, they are prepared in the same way as for other pies: they are cleaned, washed, finely chopped and, if required by prescription, stewed or fried in sunflower oil.
Ossetian pies - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Ossetian Potato Pies
As a filling for this pie you can use only potatoes, but if you add it with brine cheese or feta cheese, the dish will be more juicy and aromatic. Ossetian pies with such a filling are called Kartofdzhyn, and they are among the most popular.
Ingredients:
for the test:
1 kg of flour;
700 gr. milk;
100 gr. sour cream;
50 gr sunflower oil
50 gr yeast (dry);
1 tsp Sahara;
to taste the salt.
For filling:
1 kg of potatoes;
150 grams of feta cheese or brine cheese;
to taste the salt.
Cooking method
1. Having mixed the flour with yeast, salt and sugar, pour warm milk into it, knead the uncooked dough and, putting it in the heat, wait until the dough rises. After that, we crush it, knead well and put it in the heat for another forty minutes.
2. While the dough rises, boil the potatoes and mash. Then we mix it with grated cheese, sour cream, butter, if necessary, salt and mix the stuffing well.
3. Dividing the dough into equal pieces (about the size of a fist), from each form a cake.
4. Putting the filling in the middle of the tortilla, collect the dough over it with a bag and pinch it. Then, gently patting it with his palm, we level the resulting cake into a flat cake. Then carefully turn it over and also level the second side. In the center of the obtained cake, you need to leave a small hole so that steam can escape.
5. Putting the cake on a baking sheet, grease it with an egg and bake for about 20 minutes, after cooking, grease with butter.
Recipe 2: Ossetian meat pies
Ossetian meat pie, fydchin, is rightfully considered one of the most festive Ossetian dishes. When cooking it, it is important to make sure that the stuffing is neither too fat nor lean, then it will turn out to be juicy and unusually tasty.
Ingredients:
for the test:
500 gr. whey or milk;
800 gr. flour;
1 p. Yeast (dry);
1 tsp. salt and sugar;
a third of a glass of vegetable oil;
For filling:
700 gr minced meat;
1 onion;
2 cloves of garlic;
a third of a glass of broth;
to taste salt, black pepper.
Cooking method:
1. Prepare the dough, mixing 70 gr. warm water with yeast, a tablespoon of flour, 1 teaspoon of sugar and placing it in a warm place. After foaming the yeast, mix in a bowl the resulting dough with flour, warm whey and salt, and add sunflower oil at the end of the batch. We also put the prepared dough in heat so that it fits (about an hour).
2. Prepare the filling: moderately salt the minced meat, pepper it, then mix with finely chopped onions and garlic, and knead everything well with your hands. But he will be ready for baking fydchina only after he has stood for half an hour and the meat is soaked in spices. To make the filling juicy, pour the broth into the minced meat.
3. When the dough is suitable, we, dividing it into 3 parts, form pies from them. You can do this in the traditional way for Ossetian pies described in recipe No. 1, or you can as follows. We divide each piece of dough into two parts, unequal in size. From the largest we form with our hands a cake no thicker than 5 mm, so that it is slightly larger than the size of the form. We shift it into a mold greased with oil, so that the dough goes beyond the edges of the form, spread the minced meat on top. From the second piece of dough we make an even thinner cake, up to 3 mm thick, cover it with minced meat and tightly connect the edges of both cakes (you can draw a rolling pin along the edge of the form to remove excess dough). In the middle we make a hole through which steam will escape.
4. Then put the pies in a well-heated oven and bake until browned. We grease finished products abundantly with butter.
Recipe 3: Ossetian Braised Cabbage Pies
This type of pies, cabuskajin, is also very popular. The filling is prepared quickly for him, but in order to make the pie tastier, it is better to let excess sunflower oil drain from the prepared cabbage.
Ingredients:
for the test:
200 gr. warm water;
1 kg of flour;
200 gr. kefir or milk;
0.5 cups sour cream;
30 gr yeast (fresh);
1 tbsp. l Sahara;
1 tsp salts;
100 gr. sunflower oil.
For filling:
500 gr. cabbage;
2 onions;
50 gr ground walnuts;
to taste thyme and salt.
Cooking method:
1. After dissolving sugar with yeast in a glass of warm water, wait until the yeast foams, then add kefir (milk), sour cream and mix.
2. After pouring flour into a large bowl and making a deep hole in it, we send salt and yeast mixture there. Then, while stirring, we gradually interfere the flour there, until a soft dough is obtained, slightly sticking to the hands.
3. Move the resulting slice of dough into another bowl in which the vegetable oil is poured, and, dropping it there, leave it for about an hour to rise.
4. For the filling, finely chop the cabbage and stew it with onions and spices until soft.
5. Divide the dough into pieces that are about the size of a fist (you should get about 5 pieces), each of them carefully roll in flour and leave for 15 minutes to proof.
6. Putting each piece on the table, sprinkled with flour, kneading his hands, make a small cake. In the center of the cake we put the filling and, lifting its edges above the filling on one side, we gradually pick it up in a circle, pinching it.
7. Then carefully level the resulting “bag” into a cake, turn the product with the seam down and gently pat on the cake, trying to evenly distribute the filling inside the dough so as not to tear it. We make a hole in the middle of the pie or several sharp cuts (for steam to escape).
8. Putting the cake on a baking sheet, grease it with an egg and bake until it is browned. Then generously grease the finished pie with butter so that it is softer.
Ossetian pies - useful tips from experienced chefs
Ossetian pies can be baked both in the oven and in the pan. When baking in a pan, the cake should not be covered until it is turned upside down.
When baking in the oven, the Ossetian pie must first be placed on the lower level of the oven. When its lower surface is baked a little and stops sticking to the pan, the pie should be shifted to the upper level.
If you notice that the cake is very bloated, you can carefully pierce it with a fork to prevent cracking and leakage of juice.
If desired, Ossetian pies can also be fried in a pan, like regular pies, while finished products do not need to be greased with butter.
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