Ukrainian cuisine has evolved over the centuries under the influence of culinary traditions of various peoples. Therefore, today it distinguishes several directions. The cuisine of western Ukraine is more similar to Polish and Hungarian. In the north of the country, the dishes are similar to Belarusian, in the east - with Russian, and in the south - with Moldavian and Romanian.
However, there are recipes by which Ukrainian cuisine has become famous throughout the world. Among them, one can distinguish the famous Ukrainian borsch. To prepare it, you need to take a pound of meat, 0.3 kg of potato, 0.25 kg of cabbage and beets, one onion and carrot, three tablespoons of tomato paste, three garlic cloves, a teaspoon of vinegar and bay leaf.
The meat is poured with three liters of water and cooked for an hour and a half. The carrots are diced, the onions are half rings, and together they are fried in vegetable oil. Beets need to be cut into strips, fry, add tomato paste, vinegar, a little water and stew for about eight minutes. Chop potatoes and cabbage. Remove meat from the prepared broth, put potatoes there. Slice the meat and put in the broth. Salt everything to taste and bring to a boil.
After this, cabbage is added and boiled for 5 minutes, the beets are laid. Stew the vegetables for another 10 minutes. Then in the borscht you need to put carrots with onions and cook the soup until the beets are ready. Before cooking, a bay leaf and chopped (crushed) garlic are placed in the pan. Ukrainian cuisine, the recipes of which are quite simple, requires strict adherence to the proportions and cooking time. Otherwise, the dishes lose their indescribable taste and aroma.
The menu of Ukrainian cuisine, in addition to the famous soup, includes a variety of dumplings, dumplings, salads, meat and fish dishes. Many adults recall the delicious cherry pies that Ukrainian grandmothers fried for them in childhood. For preparation, one and a half glasses of flour, half a glass of yogurt, a teaspoon of soda, 0.3 kg of seedless cherries, a pinch of salt and a little sugar (tablespoon), three tablespoons of vegetable oil are required.
In sifted flour put soda, salt, sugar and mix everything. Yogurt and butter are added to the mass. A portion of the dough for the pie is laid out on a flour-sprinkled surface, a little flour is added, a cake is formed. At its center is laid cherry, which is sprinkled with sugar. The edges of the cakes are wrapped and pinched. After that, the patties are fried in vegetable oil. Using this recipe as an example, you can see how simple Ukrainian dishes are.
Ukraine is characterized by fertile lands, where many crops are cultivated, used to prepare dishes from fresh vegetables, berries, fruits. For dessert, you need to take a pound of strawberries, 0.3 liters of sour cream or yogurt, sugar (a couple of tablespoons). Strawberries are chopped with a potato masher to leave large pieces. After that, sugar and yogurt (sour cream) are added to the mass. The dessert is laid out in a bowl and decorated with a leaf of mint and a whole berry. Tourists visiting Ukraine believe that thanks to such simple recipes made with the freshest products, Ukrainian cuisine is considered one of the best in the world.