If from a gastronomic experience after a trip to the Crimea, you only remembered fatty pasties, boiled shrimp in a bag on the beach and sour wine, then you were terribly unlucky. Because on this peninsula there is certainly something to please the gourmet.

And why? Yes, because from ancient times, Crimea was inhabited by the most diverse peoples with their culinary traditions, which formed the basis of today's delicious local cuisine. Is it a joke - more than 80 nationalities, and all with their delicious secrets and special ingredients! As a result of this mixture of traditions, various culinary achievements of the east and west, north and south are intertwined in local cuisine.

Let's talk about those who left the most significant mark in the Crimean cuisine.

Tatar cuisine

Or rather crimean Tatarsince the local Tatars are a separate large group of peoples, apart from a complex history, they are also divided by place of residence into southern coastal, mountainous and steppe ethnic groups. Therefore, their cuisine, although officially recognized as an offshoot of the Mediterranean, is initially distinguished by the richness of borrowed traditions and great taste diversity. The Uzbek cuisine had a great influence on it (read the history of the Crimean Tatars, you will find out why this is so).

Talking about crimean Tatar  in the kitchen, one can not but mention the classic dishes: pilaf and kebab. The first is cooked with various variations, but it is always incredibly tasty, and its basis is always made up of meat with rice, onions with carrots and spices.

What else is traditional from this cuisine you can taste on the sunny peninsula? For example, lagman is a kind of thick rich lamb soup with noodles and plenty of vegetables. Or dolma (sarma) - small cabbage rolls in pickled grape leaves. Or Shurpu - a strong lamb broth with potatoes and carrots. Or samsa - triangular puff pastries with meat filling, cooked in a tandoor oven.

Or yantykh - local pasties, fried in a dry pan and only then coated with oil. And be sure to baklava - a national sweet from puff pastry with nuts and honey - which is of several varieties.

Finding all this yummy will not be difficult in almost any decent cafe or restaurant in Crimea.

Jewish cuisine

More precisely, not purely Jewish, but Karaite and Krymchak - the cuisine of two small nationalities that have long inhabited the peninsula.

Of these recipes, it is worthwhile to dwell separately on the quartet - once exclusively festive, and now quite everyday dish. However, his taste remains just as wonderful. Imagine a juicy fragrant hot pie with lamb, onions and potatoes, with a crispy baked crust ... Drooling? That's it!

From the rest of the Jewish local cuisine, we can mention cir-cir - another analogue of cheburek, which you can cook even with vegetable filling, and sweet black Jewish bread with garlic. You can taste all this (as well as the traditional booze raisin drink), for example, in the cave city of Chufut-Kale.

Russian kitchen

Russian cuisine, of course, also could not leave its mark on the land here - after all, half of the local population is made up of Russians, who first began to appear here in the Middle Ages, and who massively filled Crimea after it joined the empire in the 18th century.

Okroshka, roasted pig, sturgeon, caviar, dumplings - here the choice is incredible for every taste, from the tsar’s favorite dishes to the daily food of the proletarians.

Ukrainian food

Ukrainians have close ties with the peninsula since the time of the Crimean Khanate, so that Ukrainian cuisine has firmly entered the homes of Crimeans. What is only borscht with garlic and hot donuts!

Try also dumplings with all kinds of fillings (from cabbage or potatoes to cherries and cottage cheese), fish stewed in sour cream, cheesecakes with raisins, hot pastries.

Greek, Caucasian, Turkish, European ...

In the rest of the kitchens that have left a noticeable mark on the Crimean cuisine, we will dwell in less detail, mentioning just a couple of dishes from each - to describe the whole variety of local recipes is simply not enough time and energy! So…

The Greeks, who moved to the peninsula from Greece in several waves, left behind, perhaps, one main dish, but almost everyone knows and loves it - this is a traditional salad of vegetables, olives and fresh white cheese, seasoned with olive oil.

The Armenians, who at one time constituted the main population of the south-west of Crimea, can boast incredibly satisfying beef hash soup and the famous pita bread.

Crimeans got khachapuri (cheese pie) and chakhokhbili (a kind of bird stew) from the Georgians. From the Bulgarians - stuffed sweet peppers, from the Turks - oriental sweets, from the Germans - meat strudel and stewed cabbage ...

Wines

The history of Crimean cuisine, of course, will be incomplete without mentioning the famous local wines. Grapes on these warm sunny lands have been grown since antiquity, winemaking experienced periods of prosperity and decline. But today lovers of fine drinks have something to try in the Crimea. Ordinary wines, vintage, collection; white, red and pink; dry, sweet, fortified, champagne and liquor - even listing all the local varieties is difficult, not to mention the names. Everyone has their “own” dish, their subtleties of serving and consumption, which you will be happy to tell about during excursions to local wine enterprises, of which there are several dozen on the peninsula - Novyi Svet Champagne Wines, Massandra Yalta, State Farm Plant Koktebel, Inkerman Vintage Wine Factory, Simferopol Winery ... There is everything here: from cognac to champagne, do not get carried away with tasting!

So, we hope that we have convinced you - in the Crimea they know how and love to cook! Still not believing? Come over.

Visiting any country, almost all tourists first of all get acquainted with local cuisine. Many vacationers are unaware of the many original dishes of Crimean cuisine. The most original are dishes of Tatar cuisine. Only on the Crimean peninsula you can try the most delicious and unusual dishes of the Crimean Tatars. In this article we will introduce you to the most popular types of Crimean food.

First dishes in traditional Crimean cuisine

The most popular “hot” dish of the Crimean peninsula is the so-called   Shurpa. Shurpa is a soup with lamb and vegetables.

There are many recipes for making shurpa. Having come to any cafe or restaurant, with a high probability, you will find shurpa in the menu. As a rule, when serving shurpa sweet pepper and several rings of fresh onion are added to it.

Another popular hot dish is tokmach. This soup is made with flour. It has a delicate taste due to cooking on a special turkey broth.

Traditional for Crimean cuisine is yufahash. Despite the unusual name, yufahash can be called ordinary dumplings, but with an important difference. The fact is that these dumplings are very small and can fit in a spoon for several pieces. According to tradition, on the second day after the wedding, the young wife should feed her husband with this treat. This tradition symbolizes her love and care for her husband.

Baking and sweets of Crimea

In Crimea there are a huge number of factories and factories for the production of confectionery. Thanks to this, in any peninsula store you can find a department with sweets and pastries.

Recently, confectionery products have become not only a delicious treat, but also an unusual souvenir. Many tourists buy sweets as a present. On the shelves of tourist cities of Crimea you will find the following sweets:

• Sugar and chocolate puzzles;
• Portraits cakes;
• Chocolate souvenirs;
• Flowers from mastic.

In addition to sweet pastries and chocolate desserts, local Tatars have a dish called “ Kubete". This meat pie appeared among the Tatars under the influence of Greek cuisine. As a rule, Kubete is stuffed with meat, potatoes and onions.

In the territory of Crimea, eastern sweets are most common. The most popular sweet is baklava. Baklava is a small sweet pastry cakes with honey and nuts.

Also, on the peninsula you can find a large number of varieties preserves. Here it is made from apricots, plums, strawberries.

Traditional drinks

The use and preparation of drinks is an integral part of the life of the Tatars. The Tatars have long had bread drinks, but the most common drink remains coffee. In the restaurants and cafes of resort towns, you can find a huge number of varieties of coffee.

Sour milk drinks are also very popular on the peninsula. Especially popular   Ayran and koumiss.

Traditional drinks include different types of wine. Now on the peninsula there is a huge number of plantations of grapes from which local wine is made. Here you can try the following varieties of wines:

• Dry;
• White
• Red;
• Sparkling.

Read also our article. Cognacs, wines and wineries of Crimea: prices, reviews, how to distinguish fake:

Best local restaurants in Simferopol

Most restaurants in Crimea offer their visitors traditional European cuisine, but there are a large number of establishments where you can get acquainted with the national dishes of Crimea.

Restaurant Matisse

This institution is considered one of the most popular in all of Simferopol. It is located at: st. 60 years of October, 37. Here you can both celebrate the holiday and enjoy a snack in a cozy atmosphere. The entire range of menus is prepared with special care and adherence to all national traditions. The main specialization of the restaurant is meat treats and a variety of barbecue.

Restaurant "Matiss" in Simferopol

Restaurant "Kecskemét"

Another popular tourist destination is Kecskemét. It can be found at the address in Simferopol: st. Gagarina, 22A. Here you can try almost any national dish of the Crimean Tatars. In addition to national treats, the restaurant has a choice between traditional and exotic cuisine.

Restaurant Chistye Prudy

Located at: st. Kiev, 80. This restaurant has existed for about 15 years and during this time managed to establish itself as one of the best places in which you can get acquainted with the variety of Crimean cuisine. In addition to many dishes and desserts, visitors have a huge selection of wines.

Where to try Crimean cuisine in Sevastopol

Caravanserai

Address in Sevastopol: Reed highway 6a. This cafe offers a wide selection of local dishes at fairly affordable prices. “Crown” dishes of the cafe are called manti and shurpa. Most tourists begin their acquaintance with local cuisine in the cafe "Caravanserai".

Cafe Persimmon

This cafe is located on 32 km of the Sevastopol-Yalta highway, before turning on, and for many years has been pleasing its visitors with juicy meat dishes prepared on the grill. You can also relax here with a cup of coffee with sweet baklava.

Authentic restaurants of Yevpatoriya

Restaurant "Ceval"

It is a popular institution with shades of national flavor. Located at: Evpatoria, st. Karaeva, 10. The restaurant is famous for its meat dishes. The institution has a huge assortment of sweets and various pastries. An important feature of the restaurant is the observance of traditions; therefore, there are no alcoholic drinks in Jeval.

Cafe "Eastern night"

The cafe is located in the historic center of Yevpatoriya, at the address: st. Demysheva 2. It is very popular with locals and tourists. The main specialization of the cafe is dishes of Crimean cuisine. In addition to food, the cafe has the opportunity to enjoy the performances and dances of oriental beauties.

National cuisine of Crimea in Yalta

Restaurant "The Seagull"

Located on the waterfront them. Lenin, 15. Great place with a beautiful view of the Black Sea. In addition to local traditional dishes, there are dishes of European, Georgian and Mediterranean cuisine. The restaurant also has hookahs for a wide variety of tastes.

Restaurant "Tyubeteyka"

A small cozy restaurant located at: st. Drazhinsky, 50. In the restaurant menu you can find all the most popular dishes of the peninsula. The assortment is dominated by dishes of traditional oriental cuisine. It has a convenient location near the center of Yalta.

Dear readers, as promised, I reveal to you the secrets and tastes of Crimean cuisine. I propose to go with me through the kitchens of local residents, look under the cover of each pot and pans. Find out what to cook in Crimean; how Crimean dishes differ from the ones we are used to, as well as recipes of Crimean cuisine. Read on.

Crimean cuisine - what is it?

In this article I will tell you about recipes of traditional dishes that are prepared in ordinary kitchens, ordinary Crimean housewives every day.

I will not give recipes for the Crimean Tatar cuisine. More than once, in my articles I talked about how to cook belyash, pasties, samsa, shurpa, lagman or pilaf. And what do Crimeans, our former compatriots, eat?

Crimean cuisine / Culinary notes from Crimea

  Crimean cuisine differs from ours by the abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits grown in the affectionate southern sun. Everything grows nearby, imported is rare, only in the off-season.

Crimean vegetables are a separate story. I have not eaten such tomatoes as in the Crimea for 15 years.

Once, my mother brought several tomatoes from a business trip, my grandmother carefully collected seeds and then grew delicious tomatoes from them. They were of different colors and shapes. I still remember the taste and aroma of those tomatoes.

There are tomatoes in Russia and they are on sale all year round, but I can’t get rid of the idea that they remind me of rubber balls. Just coming here to the Crimea, I remember what tomatoes should really be like.

As befits the southern region, in Crimea there are a lot of fruits. Crimean fruits - a bright multi-colored variety.

On the market stalls are juicy peaches and apricots, sweet cherries, sour cherry plum and plum, honey figs, homemade pears and grapes, melons and, of course, watermelons.

There are many other little-known fruits and fruits that delight the eyes and taste of a middle-class resident so much that you “eat with your own eyes”.

But not only fruits and vegetables are rich in Crimean land. The Crimean peninsula is washed immediately by two seas: Black and Azov.

It cannot be said that fishing is the main industry here; there are quite few fish in these seas. However, southern bazaars or supplies abound in trays with fresh Black Sea fish and seafood delicacies.

Prices bite, and the aromas just drive you crazy, but your hands reach for smoked squid or garfish, dried mullets or gobies, mussels or raps.

The meat and dairy products of local production are much better in quality than ours. The milk from the bag tastes like boiled milk from a domestic cow, the cheese is similar to cheese, and the semi-finished chicken is fresh and accessible to anyone.

Well, how can you not cook something tasty?

Crimean recipes

  If in Crimea you go to a cafe or a restaurant, then the menu offers us mixed cuisine, something semi-European, semi-Crimean, semi-Tatar. That is, in the usual borscht you can find bell peppers, tomato slices, beans, oriental spices, etc.

An interesting and rather tasty combination, distinguishes modern Crimean cuisine in a separate culinary direction.

You can be sure that Crimean women cook unusual soups or pies in their kitchens. Even the pasties known to all, they are fried in different ways, with other fillings and on a simple test.

A Crimean friend of mine shared a recipe for fast Crimean pasties and other dishes from her home menu.

Crimean pasties

Ingredients:

• grated cheese
• tomatoes
• garlic
• salt to taste

Cooking method:

1. Cut the tomatoes into small cubes, add a little salt, add the garlic and grated cheese passed through the press.
2. Make dumplings dough.
3. Cut the dough into pieces, roll into balls.
4. Then roll out the dough very thinly.
5. Fill the filling on one edge of the dough, cover with the second edge and trim the excess with a special knife-wheel.
6. Odorless, fry in vegetable oil. Chebureks in this way need to eat while hot. Bon Appetit!

It is interesting that the basis for Crimean pasties is the recipe for Karaite pasties, a traditional national dish of the indigenous inhabitants of Crimea and Yevpatoriya, in particular, Karaites.

In the original recipe, the dough included one or two eggs, flour, salt, and dried garlic powder. Water or any other liquid is not added to Karaite chebureks.

Only eggs, flour and salt to taste. Garlic powder is the last thing. And instead of cheese, cheese was put in the filling, grated with raw eggs, fresh tomatoes and herbs. I like the modern version of pasties more.

Try to cook Crimean pasties yourself and you will definitely want to cook them every day!

Grilled quick pies

Ingredients:

• thin pita bread
• the filling is as on chebureks above, if desired, you can use boiled meat or fish
• olive or corn oil

Cooking method:

1. Prepare the filling for chebureks.
2. Unroll pita bread, cut into squares and grease with any vegetable oil.
3. Put the filling in squares, fold into envelopes and put on the grill.
4. Cook 3-5 minutes on each side of the envelope and serve immediately.

Crimean fish

Ingredients:

• any boneless fish, you can pollock, mullet or even hake
• sugar
• tomato paste
• vegetable oil
• onion

Cooking method:

1. Cut the fish into portions, add salt, roll in flour and fry in vegetable oil.
2. Put the fish on a plate, and fry the onions in small sticks and tomato paste in the same oil. Pour in water and boil the sauce over medium heat to the desired density. Salt and add a little sugar.
3. In a boiling sauce put slices of fried fish, bring to a boil and reduce heat.
4. Simmer the fish in the sauce for several minutes, then close the lid and remove from the stove. Fish should be infused for at least 20 minutes. Ready-made fish is good both in hot and in cold form.

Different vegetables are added to the Crimean borsch, so no one will give an exact recipe. Everything that is in the garden may well turn out to be in soup, borsch, shurpa or stew.

The main thing is not to digest the dish until mashed and add a lot of fresh herbs and spices.

Help yourself with Crimean dishes and be healthy!

Always Yours Alena Tereshina.

Ingredients

Beef brisket 1 kg.
  Onion 3 pcs.
  Beans 200 gr.
  Potatoes 3-4 pcs.
  Garlic 100 gr.
  Bell pepper 3 pcs.
  Carrots 2 pcs.
  Tomato paste 2 tbsp
  Cabbage 500 gr.
  Vegetable oil 250 gr.
  Salt 50 gr.
  Set of traditional spices.
  Cooking method

The main difference from the traditional dishes of other cuisines is in the frying of products in hot oil, typical of Crimean Tatar cuisine
  We put the beans in a separate bowl without a lid. Cut the meat into small pieces and fry in oil. In the process of frying, add chopped carrots (I usually cut into strips, but can also be grated), bell pepper (I used pickled bell pepper), onion ...

Crimean Tatar meal - what is it?

Crimean Tatars are great masters of delicious cooking and no less lovers of a leisurely meal. Any food begins with a cup of strong freshly brewed coffee. Then snacks certainly follow: feta cheese, cheese, olives, sausages, salads from fresh vegetables. In winter, when there are few fresh vegetables, marinades: lecho, pickled and salted vegetables prepared in the fall, and other home-made canned goods. And, of course, freshly baked tandoor cakes.

Only tourists are limited to one or two dishes. In Crimean Tatar families, they take food seriously: they put everything on the table at once: snacks and hot dishes. For breakfast, in addition to snacks, usually milk porridge, cottage cheese and its dishes are eaten, for lunch - lagman, shurpu or yufak ...

Yufak - ash

Many dishes of the Crimean Tatars are a cross between a very thick soup or a generously flavored second course broth. These are lagman, shurpa and ufak ash
  The word yufak-ash in translation means "little food." And not because there is little food, but because the dish is a lot of tiny dumplings in the broth.
  Women mold them all together quickly and quickly. But the work is almost jewelry, since each dumpling is obtained the size of a marigold, not more. Ready-made in a tablespoon of them should fit six to seven pieces.

We will need the following products:

For the test:
  Flour - 1.2 kg
  Water - 0.5 L
  Salt - 1 tbsp. l
  Eggs - 2 pcs.

For minced meat:
  Meat (beef) - 1 kg
  Onion - 1 pc.
  Salt and pepper -...

Nohutly - al

This is a fragrant beef stew with boiled chickpeas (Turkish peas). In the Crimean Tatar language, chickpeas is called nohut, hence the name of the dish: food with chickpeas.

Meat (beef) - 1 kg
  Chickpea - 1 kg
  Onions - 300 gr
  Carrots - 200 gr
  Vegetable oil - 600 mg
  Salt to taste
  Red and black ground pepper - to taste

We carefully sort out the chickpeas, wash them with cold water and leave them to stand for 3-4 hours. You can soak it at night. Then we add to the chickpea meat edges and seeds for the brew, add water so that it is about twice as much as chickpeas, put on fire and bring to a boil. Remove the foam and continue to cook over low heat until the chickpeas are ready. It may take time for this from 2 ...

Baklava eastern Crimean

1 egg
  50gr oil drain
  1 st.milk
  0.5 tsp soda
  a pinch of salt
  4st.muki
  4 tbsp.meda
  1l.rast oil
  2si sugar
  1 st.water

Melt the butter, add milk, egg, baking soda, salt and knead the steep dough. Roll it thinly, wrap it on a rolling pin and grease the edges with protein so that it does not stick out. Cut into diamonds, unfold and fry in hot oil. After frying, roll in syrup, serve to the table!
  Bon Appetit!
  Sent by Meriem Osmanova

Crimean chebureks

200 grams
  salt 1/5 teaspoon
  water 80 milliliters
  minced meat 150 grams
  onion 1 piece
  vegetable oil to taste
  marjoram to taste
  basil to taste
  freshly ground black pepper to taste

The number of ingredients is designed for 6 pieces.
  Sift flour, add salt ...
  ... and pour water.

Knead the cool dough. Mash it several times into a layer and fold.

NB! The dough is very cool, it’s hard to work with it, but it should be so. After proofing, this will change and it will become softer and more elastic.

Leave the dough at room temperature for 30-40 minutes, covering with a film.

In minced meat (beef, lamb), consisting of meat and fat in a ratio of 4: 1, add 0.5 finely chopped onions. Second half...

Yanty with chicken or turkey minced meat

Yantykh are Crimean pasties that are fried completely without oil. They differ from ordinary chebureks only in a lighter appearance and in that much more onions are put in the minced meat than in chebureks and no water is added. My grandmother made two versions of pasties and yantykhs: holiday, according to the traditional recipe with lamb, and simpler, with chicken, explaining this by the fact that chicken is not greasy and is always perfectly baked. I always make pasties and yanthis either with turkey or chicken - even if this is not entirely traditional, but very gentle. Since my recipe is not strictly traditional, I have quoted the word YANT in quotation marks.

Flour (1.5 cups - in the dough, and also, for adding) - 2 stacks.
  Salt - 0.3 h ...

Ash-kashik

Since childhood, I remember this dish. My mother is a Crimean Tatar, she cooked it incomparably! And the grandmother, my father’s mother, said - your mother is economical, and that’s cooking such small dumplings! Although, in fact, this is a very painstaking work!

Flour - 300 g
  Chicken egg - 1 pc.
  Water (a little for the test, the rest in the broth) - 1.5 l
  Minced meat (any halal) - 200 g
  Onions (medium, one in minced meat, 2nd in gravy) - 2 pcs.
  Carrots - 1 pc.
  Tomato (or tomato paste) - 1 pc.
  Butter - 2 tbsp. l
  Salt (to taste)
  Black pepper (ground, to taste)

Let's start with the preparation of minced meat and dough, count on the number of people you are going to feed.
Add finely chopped onion to the minced meat, salt and ...

Kalakay

Ingredients
  Butter - 200 g, one egg, flour - 3 cups, a pinch of salt, 0.5 teaspoon of soda, slaked vinegar, turmeric (this is not necessary, but will give a bright yellow color)

Melt butter, add one egg to flour, add slaked soda. Combine the resulting mixture and knead the steep dough. You can also add turmeric to the dough - this will give the product a bright yellow color. Put the dough on a baking sheet, bake for 40 minutes at a temperature of 180-200 degrees.
  Recipe from Rustem Ibadlaev
  Photo: Dilyara Sufyanova

Yantyk

Yantyk is a cheburek from unleavened dough, which is fried in a dry pan. It can be cooked with various fillings. We offer one of the cooking methods.

Ingredients
  For the test: water - 1.5 cups, salt - to taste, flour. For the filling: minced meat or cheese, herbs, water.

Knead the dough for pasties, leave for 15 minutes, then knead again. Divide into 8 parts, roll out thinly. Add minced meat to salt, pepper, add greens and a little water (less than in pasties). Arrange on a flat cake, close the edges well so that water does not leak into the pan during frying. Bake in a dry, well-heated pan. Sprinkle with water, grease with butter and cover with a plate.
  rus4all. ru

Crimean Tatar pasties

Ingredients
  flour - 500 g, minced meat - 300 g, water - 190-250 ml, onions - 150 g, meat broth - 4-6 tbsp. tablespoons, salt, spices - to taste, vegetable oil - for frying.

Sift flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt. Mix well and pour a little less than 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil. Rub the flour and butter thoroughly with your hands, knead each lump. Continuing to knead, gradually pour water until a ball is rolled out from the dough. The finished dough will be quite tight and a little lumpy. Wrap it in cling film and leave it on the table for 40-60 minutes. During this time, the flour is saturated with water, the dough will become elastic.
  Stuff the minced meat in a large bowl. Peel and grate the onion ...

Sary burmese

Ingredients
  Flour - 2-3 cups,
  vegetable oil - 2-3 tbsp. spoons (in the dough),
  150-200 g of melted margarine (lubricate),
  water or whey
  salt, seasoning.
  Meat (beef or mutton fatter, it is good to add fat tail fat),
  potatoes - 1-2 pcs.,
  onions - 1-2 pcs.

Prepare the test: flour, water and vegetable oil, refrigerate.
While the dough is infused, we’ll deal with the filling - chop the meat in a convenient way for us - a meat grinder, blender, cut smaller onions, potatoes into small cubes, mix everything. Add seasonings - pepper, cilantro, zru, you can a couple of cloves of finely chopped garlic, etc.
  Divide the dough into 2 parts. Roll each part into a thin layer of round shapes, grease each with oil, lay them on top of each other - it turns out one of the options for puff pastry. Then spread out the filling, roll up, roll in a frying pan greased with oil.
  Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Crimea  - This is a great place for families. The sun, the sea, clean beaches, water parks and attractions, exciting tourist excursions - there is a lesson for everyone! Outdoor activities are, of course, good, but Crimea  It has one more highlight - wonderful cuisine.

FOOD IN CRIMEA

Visiting the peninsula and never tasting traditional local food is just a crime. After all, this place is a real paradise for gourmets. It should be noted that   Crimean cuisine  - This is truly a unique phenomenon. Historically, many tribes and peoples have lived on the peninsula since ancient times. Ukrainians and Russians, Turks and Greeks - and not to list all! They brought many new elements to the local culinary traditions. It is such a symbiosis that makes crimean cuisine  unique and inimitable. The greatest demand in the territory Crimea  enjoy dishes of Ukrainian, Russian and Tatar cuisine.

Crimean Tatar cuisine

First meal
A classic hot dish of Tatar cuisine is shurpa - a fragrant soup with lamb and vegetables. In Crimea, there are several options for its preparation. Basically, they add sweet pepper, different types of tomatoes, a lot of greens and a few rings of raw or pickled onions, mainly when serving dishes to guests.
Especially popular among tourists is the soup with flour dressing - tokmach. Cooked on a lamb and turkey broth, it has a delicate, pleasant taste.
Traditional and to some extent ritual food among Tatars is considered yufahash. As you can see, the name is quite exotic, but in fact it is banal dumplings, although very unusual. The fact is that yufahash is tiny in shape, from 10 to 15 pieces are placed on a spoon. According to Tatar traditions, a young wife is obliged to feed her husband with this dish on the second day after the wedding, because it is believed that in this way she shows her love, care and patience.
Second courses
Hearty meat food prepared from lamb and beef, in combination with vegetables and oriental spices, perhaps nothing could be better. Sarma, pilaf, lagman - this is only a small part of what you can try in any cozy Crimean restaurant or small cafe.
The national dish of the peoples of Central Asia is considered pilaf. For its preparation, traditionally use rice, meat (chicken or lamb), carrots and onions. But the Crimean pilaf, seasoned with fragrant oriental spices, will amaze even the most sophisticated gourmets.
For lovers of oriental cuisine, there are also many exotic dishes. Here, for example, sarma (in Turkish cuisine - dalma) - this is such an unusual variation on the theme familiar to many cabbage rolls. The only difference is that the filling, which is prepared from low-fat mutton, is wrapped in grape leaves. The recipe is original and non-standard, but it is thanks to this that the sarma turns into a real culinary masterpiece. Juicy minced meat in combination with grape leaves gives it additional tenderness and piquancy.
Lagman is considered to be no less original; it is prepared from noodles and lamb, which is languished in a rich rich broth with vegetables and oriental spices.
Tatar cuisine is so diverse that, despite the abundance of meat products, there is also a lot of delicious for vegetarians. First of all, I would like to mention imam-bayalds - eggplants stuffed with chopped tomatoes with onions and garlic, parsley and raisins. The dish can hardly be called native Tatar, because it is also common in Asia, but in the Crimea it is simply amazingly prepared. It will delight vegetarians and sauté - vegetable stew of eggplant, tomatoes, carrots, garlic and onions. Although sauté is more related to Georgian cuisine, in the Crimea it is no less popular.
Bakery products
For lovers of flour products Crimean pastries are just bliss. Here is such a variety of dishes from unleavened, pastry, liquid and sour dough that just your eyes run up. Well, of course, you need to try everything! From traditional Crimean pastries, several dishes can be distinguished.
Kubete - puff pastry pie. As the filling, use potatoes, meat and onions. Additional ingredients are sometimes added, mainly rice and cheese. Previously, the quartet was baked only on holidays, but today it can be ordered at any institution. It is served extremely hot. There is a tradition according to which only a woman should put a pie on the table, but only men can cut it.
Chir-chir  - an analogue of chebureks. By the way, not every chef can cook delicious pasties, so there are only a few places on the peninsula where you can try a real chir-chir. Unlike regular pies, their dough should be light and literally melt in your mouth. As the filling, not only meat is used, but also cheese, and a lot of vegetables.
Samsa - a pie with meat filling from unleavened dough. This dish appeared on the peninsula for a long time, although it has nothing to do with Tatar cuisine, because Uzbekistan is considered its homeland. Often these pies have a triangular shape. By the way, for the preparation of samsa use special clay ovens - tandoor.
Baklava is a sweet pastry, which is more popular in the eastern countries, is a dessert of puff pastry, stuffed with nuts and honey.
Beverages
Crimean herbal teas.  Made on the basis of mountain herbs, they are fragrant and have calming properties. If you add a few tablespoons of jam to tea, for example from rose petals, quince or raisins-Eric (plum variety), then its taste will become even more refined.
Crimean wines are known in many countries. The largest collection of these drinks boasts the Massandra winery.
Buza - This is wheat kvass. The history of the name of this drink is interesting. Translated from the Tatar "buza" means "scandal, disorder," although if we take into account the fact that the strength of the buza is no more than 5 degrees, then it’s unlikely to reach hooliganism. The drink is always served very cold, for which tourists appreciate it.
Sherbet is a sweet drink, honey is used for its preparation. He is known since the XIII century. It used to be used more for ritual purposes (during weddings and other holidays).

Russian cuisine in Crimea

Dishes of Russian cuisine appeared on the peninsula along with the arrival of the first Russian-speaking peoples on this territory. It happened at the beginning of the II millennium. Over time, Russian culinary traditions are completely rooted here; at present, cuisine is considered the main Crimea. Among the dishes that are in greatest demand, there are several.
Pancakes.  The history of their appearance dates back to the Middle Ages. This is a traditional dish of the Eastern Slavs. In Russia, it had a symbolic meaning, because many believed that pancakes were a symbol of the sun. In those days, they were baked only on holidays, mainly on Shrovetide. Now, pancakes are an excellent snack, easy to prepare and at the same time very tasty.
Shangi - an ancient Russian dish, which is a pie of yeast dough that looks like cheesecakes. For the filling, mashed potatoes (from potatoes or peas) or unsweetened cottage cheese are often used. For the test, use mutton or beef fat, so the shangs in   Crimea  very popular.
Okroshka is a cold soup. The first recipes of okroshka appeared in the XVIII century. In fact, it is a mixture of vegetables, herbs (parsley, dill, green onions), meat (mainly black grouse, pork and turkey) and different types of fish. All this is crushed and seasoned with bread kvass and sour cream.
Russian cabbage soup is another ancient national Russian dish. In fact, it is a multi-component soup. It includes: cabbage, meat, spices, carrots and sour dressing (brine, sour cream or apples). A feature of the cabbage is that all products do not lend themselves to preliminary heat treatment. In other words, vegetables are not fried or stewed in advance. This reception is characteristic only for russian cuisine.
Pies  - A special kind of baked pies. The dish got its extraordinary name due to the fact that it has an open center through which melted butter was poured inside. Over time, traditions and methods of cooking change and now they don’t do it, but the name remains the same. The assortment of pies is quite large: there are fish, meat and mushroom pies. Rice, eggs and cabbage are often added to the filling.
Beef stroganoff is a simple dish that combines elements of French and Russian cuisine. The basis for it is finely chopped roasted beef, poured with sour cream sauce. Served exclusively in hot form.

Ukrainian food

Ukrainian food  more popular among Slavic peoples, but the long neighborhood of the two peoples led to the fact that some elements from Ukrainian cuisine penetrated the territory Crimea.
First meal
Borsch or beetroot soup  - just beetroot gives it a bright rich red color. When serving dishes, always add sour cream or offer garlic pampushki.
Cabbage - is a soup prepared on the basis of sauerkraut. It has analogues in Russian, Slovak and Polish cuisine.
Pickle - a soup of pickles or cucumber pickle.
Second courses
The most sought after main courses ukrainian cuisine in Crimea  it is customary to consider several dishes.
Vareniki- A well-known flour product in Slavic cuisine, although they were most widely spread on Ukrainian lands. Since ancient times in Ukraine, meat, mushrooms, berries or vegetables were used as fillings for dumplings. But in Crimea, their preparation was approached more creatively: the Tatars prefer to take hemp grains for filling (they taste like poppy seeds) and peas.
Zrazy (meat rolls).  They are prepared from beaten beef meat, which is wrapped in a filling of vegetables, mushrooms and boiled eggs. As a side dish, mashed potatoes are served with zrazas.
Roast (meat stewed with vegetables)  - traditional russian and Ukrainian dish, which gained popularity in the Crimea. Served without additional side dishes, often in a pot (so it keeps its temperature longer), sometimes it is only slightly watered with broth.
Bakery products
Lovers of flour products should definitely try traditional Ukrainian pastries.
Cheesecakes (cheese pancakes).  The basis for their preparation is grated cheese, in which eggs and a little flour are added (by the way, French chefs don’t add flour to cottage cheese pancakes!). Fried in a pan, sometimes additionally baked in the oven. They go well with condensed milk, homemade sour cream and jam.
Pampushki - rich rounded buns made from yeast dough. Where they first began to cook, is unknown. Many attributed this "miracle" of cooking to the French and Italians. Now there is an opinion that donuts are the creation of German culinary specialists, but all these versions are still not proven. In Ukrainian cuisine, however, as in Crimean, they are often supplemented with garlic dressing and served with borsch.
Draniki - delicious potato pancakes, which from Ukraine and went to the Crimea.
Beverages
From Ukraine to Crimea came the tradition of making many drinks, which have become an integral part crimean cuisine.
Kvass is a very ancient drink; it was first used in ancient Egypt. Kvass appeared on Slavic lands about a thousand years ago. In Russia, the technology of its preparation was known to everyone, because it was believed that this was a symbol of prosperity, so kvass should have been in every house. In total, 500 varieties of it were known in the Middle Ages. The secret to the preparation of many of them was lost: despite this, kvass is still a popular drink.
Uzvar (according to modern terminology - broth) is a cold drink from dried fruits, sometimes honey is added to it besides berries.

Crimean cuisine really has a unique flavor, because for many centuries it has absorbed the best culinary traditions of different nations. Do you want to fully enjoy the taste of oriental sweets, wonderful pastries, try unusual meat dishes? Crimean cuisine will give all this to you!