The history of delicious and hearty Ossetian pies goes back more than one century. They were mentioned in old legends and fairy tales. Diligent housewives baked thin "cakes" stuffed with potatoes, cheese, meat, mushrooms or pumpkin from yeast dough, rolling the dough not with a rolling pin, but with skillful fingers. After all, the thinner the layer, the more experienced the craftswoman. Now this delicious homemade pastry is known not only in the Caucasus, but throughout Russia. The most popular are potatoes - hearty pies with cheese and potatoes according to an old Ossetian recipe.
Traditionally, in Ossetia, for lunch on weekdays, three hearty potatoes with potatoes and cheese are baked. Such a treat denotes the unity of the great symbols - the Earth, Heaven and the Sun. It takes a little tinkering with the preparation, as with any baked goods, but it's worth it. The taste of Ossetian pies turns out to be excellent, unusually appetizing and rich.
According to an old recipe, light and tasty potatoes are prepared with and without yeast, in milk or kefir. The choice depends on the wishes of the hostess. The diameter of each thin stuffed flatbread is about 30-33 cm. The pies are usually served on a plate as shown in the photo below, cutting into small portions with a sharp knife.
Few facts about Ossetian pastries
A successful combination of evenly rolled out with a thin layer of tender dough and uncomplicated cheese and potato filling will not leave anyone indifferent who has ever tasted a real Ossetian pie called potato. And even if the composition of the classic recipe looks a little austere, it is the duet of rennet cheese with soft potatoes that gives the baked goods an indescribable aroma and taste.
At your own peril and risk, you can deviate from the traditional recipe by adding products such as ground black pepper, herbs or onions fried in oil, but this will no longer be a classic dish, but only a modified variation of it.
Those who will bake an Ossetian pie for the first time at home should know some of the tricks of experienced housewives from the Caucasus:
- put a dough cake with a potato-cheese filling in the oven, preheated to the maximum temperature;
- you need to roll out the dough not with a rolling pin, but with your fingertips, achieving an almost translucent layer - real Ossetian pies are never lush;
- after removing the pastry from the oven, grease the top of the baking with vegetable oil so that it quickly softens the fried crust, gives the treat a delicate creamy aroma;
- it is customary to serve pies to the table hot, hot, hot;
- one cake cannot be put on a plate, as well as an even amount, the ideal option according to the traditions of Ossetia is three pieces, placed on top of each other;
- if the treat is left on the second day, you can cut it into chunks, fry them in butter in a pan.
Classic recipe on water with Ossetian cheese
A real Ossetian pie is made only with local cheese and starchy potatoes, served for lunch as an independent dish or an addition to soup, borscht. Each finished cake is laid out on top of the previous one.
What to prepare for the 3-pie dough:
- 500 g of good wheat flour;
- 360 ml of warm water;
- a teaspoon of dry yeast;
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
- a teaspoon of sugar;
- a teaspoon of salt.
Filling products:
- 700 g starchy potatoes;
- 500 g of pickled Ossetian cheese;
- 1 onion;
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
In addition, you will also need 100 g of butter for abundant lubrication of the finished baked goods.
How to make
- Sift wheat flour twice into a bowl, make a depression in the hill.
- Pour salt, sugar, dry yeast from a bag in the indicated proportions, mix everything with your fingers.
- Pouring water into the recess in a thin stream, knead the elastic dough.
- At the end of mixing, pour in vegetable oil.
- Cover the bowl with the dough with a clean towel, leave for an hour to come up, increase in volume by 2-3 times. This completes a simple step-by-step dough recipe, time to move on to the filling.
- Boil potatoes in advance, mash them with a pestle or a special crush, so that you get an ordinary mashed potatoes without lumps.
- Crumble the cheese with your fingers, if aged, pass it through an ordinary manual meat grinder.
- Mix the mashed potatoes with the cheese mass. If the puree is dry, you can add a little melted butter.
- It's time to divide the dough into 3 parts, form koloboks for rolling out cakes. All parts must be the same.
- Roll out with your fingers, palms, flatten the layers well, place the filling in the middle of the same thickness as the future cake.
- Roll out the dough from the edges with your fingers, raising the sides in order to pull it out in the manner of a kolobok, close the filling on top.
- Sprinkle the bun with flour, form the same thin cakes with the filling inside, and put the pinch down on a baking sheet.
- In the middle of each workpiece, make a hole with your fingers.
- Preheat the oven to a maximum, at least 230-240 degrees.
- First, bake the cake for 5 minutes in the lower compartment, then move it to the highest level for another 4-5 minutes.
- When "freckles" appear on the surface, remove from the oven, grease with butter. When the first pie is rearranged up, the second should be placed on the baking sheet below, also in stages with the third.
- Put three pieces on a plate, on top of each other, serve, cut into pieces in portions.
In the cut, each piece should turn out the same as in the photo below.
Traditional version on milk with Adyghe cheese
An interesting and understandable recipe with raw yeast, milk will allow you to step by step prepare a tender dough, hearty potato-cheese filling, bake a successful Ossetian pie to the delight of all households. It is not prepared so quickly, but there is nothing complicated in the process. The main thing is to know some of the tricks of the Caucasian housewives, to thoroughly knead the ingredients.
What to prepare for the 3-pie dough:
- 500 g of premium flour;
- 500 ml of milk with a fat content of 3.2% (you can take liquid kefir);
- 10 g of pressed (raw) yeast;
- a tablespoon of sugar;
- a teaspoon of salt;
- 50 ml of butter.
Filling products:
- 1 kg of potatoes;
- 500 g of Adyghe cheese Suluguni (or better - natural Ossetian, if there is an opportunity to buy);
- 50 g butter.
How to make
- Mix crumbled pressed yeast with sugar, pour over warm milk, leave for 15 minutes.
- Melt the butter separately in a bowl and let cool.
- Pour flour, salt into a bowl, make a depression in the hill.
- Pour milk dough with yeast there, then - cooled and thickened slightly butter.
- Knead a slightly thin dough, if it rushes a little to your hands - this is normal, you do not need to add flour.
- You need to knead the dough for about 15 minutes, periodically dipping your hands in vegetable oil so that it does not stick to your fingers. From such squeezing and stretching, it will become elastic, smooth, it will well move away from the walls of the bowl.
- Put the dough on a greased table, cover with foil, leave to rise for 1, 5 hours, kneading occasionally. This will make the dough soft and light.
- Prepare the filling. Boil peeled potatoes in salted water, mash in mashed potatoes, mix with butter. Grate Adyghe or Ossetian cheese. Combine foods, add salt. If you want, add to the filling of ground pepper, chopped green onions, mushrooms, but this will no longer be a traditional potato, but its homemade variation.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal parts, roll into balls.
- Stretch each ball with your fingers and palms, put the filling in the center. Pinch. Now you need to stretch the workpiece again into a thin cake without using a rolling pin. Make a small hole in the center with your finger for steam to escape.
- Transfer to a baking sheet, bake as described in the first recipe. Serve hot.
Conclusion
To bake real Ossetian pies, you must strictly follow step-by-step recipes, use only the specified products. When adding greens, onions with feathers, tomatoes, mushrooms, replacing Ossetian cheese with "Russian" or any other, you will get a completely different baked goods that have nothing to do with the Caucasian ones. And most importantly, one must remember that real housewives never use a rolling pin, and roll out the dough in a thin layer.
