Cuisines Guide Team

👉 Kuchmachi is a beloved Georgian dish of chicken giblets – hearts, gizzards and livers – simmered until tender, then fried with onion and garlic and finished with ground walnuts, coriander, blue fenugreek and a...

👉 Chvishtari is a rustic cornbread from Samegrelo in western Georgia: fine cornmeal kneaded with plenty of grated sulguni cheese and a little butter, shaped into small flat cakes and fried until golden, with cheese...

👉 Chanakhi is a rustic Georgian stew of lamb, eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes and lots of fresh herbs, slowly baked in individual clay pots called ketsi. The meat and vegetables cook in their own juices, so...

👉 Kupati are Georgia's homemade sausages: coarse pork mixed with lots of onion, garlic and warm spices like khmeli suneli, coriander, cinnamon and a hint of cloves, stuffed into natural casings, briefly boiled and then...

👉 Kotlety are Russia's favourite everyday dinner: soft, juicy meat cutlets made from minced pork and beef with milk-soaked bread, onion and garlic, coated in breadcrumbs and pan-fried until golden. Every Russian grandmother has her...

👉 Vinegret is a bright, colourful Russian salad of diced cooked beets, potatoes and carrots mixed with crunchy dill pickles, sauerkraut and onion, dressed simply with sunflower oil. Its name comes from the French vinaigrette...

👉 Holodets (kholodets, studen) is the famous Russian and Ukrainian meat aspic: tender pieces of pork, beef and chicken set in a clear, savoury jelly made only from the natural collagen of the bones. It...

👉 Kapusniak is the classic Polish sauerkraut soup: a warming, slightly sour broth made with pork ribs, sauerkraut, potatoes and carrots, seasoned with bay leaf, allspice and caraway. It is everyday comfort food in Poland...

👉 Kyiv cake (Kievsky tort) is the most famous cake of Ukraine's capital: two crisp, chewy hazelnut meringue layers sandwiched with a smooth vanilla-and-chocolate buttercream and decorated with swirls of cream and nuts. It was...

👉 Solyanka is one of the boldest soups of Russian cuisine: a rich, tangy meat broth packed with several kinds of meat and smoked sausage, sour pickles, olives and capers, finished with a slice of...

👉 Pirozhki (also spelled piroshki) are Russia's favourite hand pies: soft, golden yeast buns stuffed with savoury fillings and either baked or fried. Every Russian and Ukrainian grandmother has her own version – juicy beef...

👉 Makowiec is the Polish poppy seed roll that appears on almost every Christmas table in Poland: a soft, slightly sweet yeast dough rolled around a thick, dark layer of poppy seeds with honey, raisins...

👉 Holubtsi (golubtsi in Russian) are Ukraine's comforting cabbage rolls: tender cabbage leaves wrapped around a filling of minced meat, rice and sweet fried vegetables, then slowly baked or simmered in a rich tomato sauce....

👉 Vareniki (varenyky in Ukrainian) are the beloved boiled dumplings of Ukraine: soft, thin dough folded into half-moons around a savoury or sweet filling. The classic savoury version is filled with creamy mashed potato and...

👉 Samsa are the golden, flaky meat pastries sold hot from clay tandoor ovens in every bazaar in Uzbekistan. The thin layered dough wraps a juicy filling of chopped lamb, plenty of onion, cumin and...

👉 Beshbarmak is the national dish of Kazakhstan and one of the great celebration meals of Central Asia: tender meat slowly boiled on the bone, served over wide, silky homemade noodles and topped with soft...

👉 Ajapsandali is Georgia's beloved summer vegetable stew: eggplant, peppers, onions, tomatoes and potatoes cooked slowly together and finished with a big handful of basil, cilantro, parsley and garlic. It looks a little like French...

👉 Lagman (also written laghman) is the great noodle dish of Central Asia: long, chewy hand-pulled noodles served with a rich sauce of meat, peppers, tomatoes and vegetables. It came to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan...