Experiencing local cuisine is an exciting part of every trip. However, many tourists who come to Crimea on vacation believe that since we live in the same country, our national dishes are the same, which means they shouldn’t even look for establishments that offer something special. And absolutely in vain! Crimean cuisine will offer many unusual dishes, and some may well become your favorites!

What to try in Crimea?

The most original dishes of Crimean cuisine are Tatar. Nowhere except Crimea will you try the national treats of the Crimean Tatars. Meanwhile, even well-known dishes prepared by professional local chefs will acquire a new taste. Another argument in favor of Crimean Tatar cuisine is its cheapness: you are unlikely to find more affordable prices for food in Crimea in 2016.

What will the Crimean Tatars pamper tourists with? The main dish on the menu is pasties. These “meat pies” (that’s how the name is translated from Crimean Tatar) are prepared here according to a special recipe. They are made from flour without yeast, with onions and peppers. According to the classic recipe, lamb is used for the filling, but chebureki with beef and cheese also turn out very tasty. They are fried in oil heated to 200 °C. For those who like less fatty foods, Crimean cuisine will offer yantyk - this is the same cheburek, but fried in a dry frying pan without oil.

Another interesting dish is cubete. This is a juicy pie with lamb, onions and potatoes. Yufakhash are tiny dumplings, again with lamb, which are eaten with broth. Sarma is a local equivalent of cabbage rolls: the meat is wrapped in grape leaves. People in Crimea love lagman - a rich lamb soup with vegetables and special noodles.

Driving along the highways in the direction from Simferopol, you will certainly see large barrels by the road: tandoor samsa is sold here. Be sure to try these pies filled with lamb and onions, generously seasoned with spices. Prices for such food in Crimea in 2016 are very affordable, and a hearty and tasty lunch is guaranteed! By the way, the quality of the dishes is one of the best.

If you are looking for where to eat national cuisine in Crimea, we can recommend visiting cafes and restaurants in Bakhchisarai - for example, next to the Khan’s Palace.

When you come to Crimea on vacation, be sure to try Black Sea fish and seafood. Even if you are not a fan of such dishes, we assure you: they will be much tastier when prepared from fresh ingredients.

The most “Crimean” can be called julienne of rapana and mussels. They are grown or caught right off the coast and delivered to restaurants without freezing. It is difficult to compete with these dishes of Crimean cuisine in terms of their usefulness: they contain protein, collagen, and mineral elements in an easily digestible form. The main secret of cooking seafood is minimal heat treatment. All you have to do is keep them in water or in a frying pan just a few minutes longer than expected and they will become rough.

But as far as fish dishes go, you should definitely try red mullet in Crimea. Its high taste qualities were appreciated by the ancient Romans, buying it “by weight” for silver. It tastes best simply fried and seasoned with spices, so food prices in Crimea in 2016 will pleasantly surprise you. Black Sea flounder and mullet are excellent choices. Where can you eat delicious fish in Crimea? We recommend visiting Balaklava: in numerous restaurants on the embankment you can taste delicious Crimean cuisine while watching the fishermen and enjoying the magnificent view!

What's for dessert? The most obvious answer is baklava. Puff pastries with honey and nuts are sold everywhere in Crimea (however, you should not buy them on the beaches, there is a risk of getting sick - read how). You can wash down your lunch with buza, a low-alcohol drink made from raisins, or aromatic tea made from Crimean herbs.

While vacationing in Crimea, do not miss the unique opportunity to try local cuisine. After all, Crimea is a real find for a gourmet! Over the course of its centuries-old history, the Crimean peninsula was inhabited by different tribes and peoples, which led to a mixture of not only cultures, but also gastronomic traditions. Greeks, Russians, Ukrainians, Turks, Crimean Tatars and many others lived here. Each of the nationalities brought something new and unusual to the dishes they prepared: cooking method, spices, ingredients. This is precisely what contributed to the fact that today kitchen in Crimea represents a unique and inimitable gastronomic tradition. Traditional Russian, Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian dishes, which are in greatest demand among guests of the peninsula and are so loved by local residents, have stood the test of time.

Dishes of Crimean Tatar cuisine

First meal

Yufakhash is considered one of the classic and even ritual first courses among the Crimean Tatars. It sounds, of course, very exotic, but in reality it is nothing more than dumplings with yushka. However, these dumplings are not quite ordinary. Yufakhash have a tiny shape and up to 15 pieces can fit in a spoon. According to the Crimean Tatar tradition, the young wife feeds this dish to her husband the day after the wedding celebration. In this way she shows him her patience, attention and love.

The traditional aromatic soup shurpa, which contains lamb and various vegetables, is especially revered in Crimea. There are several options for preparing this hot dish on the peninsula. As a rule, potatoes, sweet bell peppers, tomatoes, and herbs are used. When serving, raw or pickled onions cut into rings are usually added.

Tokmach, the first dish with a flour dressing, has earned particular popularity among tourists. It is prepared on the basis of turkey or lamb broth and has a particularly delicate taste.

Second courses

Crimean Tatar cuisine in Crimea it is distinguished by an abundance of meat dishes. Most recipes use beef and lamb, add vegetables and various spices. No matter what small restaurant you go to, you can always taste delicious traditional dishes. Lagman, sarma, pilaf are only a small part of this gastronomic diversity.

Lagman is one of the most famous hot dishes of Central Asian cuisine. It is distinguished by a rich taste and appetizing aroma. Classic lagman is cooked in thick, rich lamb broth, to which noodles, vegetables and oriental spices are added.

It is impossible to talk about the gastronomic tradition of the peoples of Central Asia without mentioning pilaf. The dish is prepared in a cast iron cauldron, and its main ingredients are rice, carrots, onions, lamb or poultry. Crimean pilaf is incredibly aromatic and will amaze the taste buds of even the most jaded gourmet.

If you love oriental cuisine and exotic dishes, then be sure to try sarma or dalma (as this spicy dish is also called in Turkey). Outwardly, sarma resembles cabbage rolls, but instead of cabbage leaves, grape leaves are used. To prepare the filling, choose lean lamb and rice. This is a true culinary masterpiece!

Crimean Tatar cuisine is incredibly varied and includes not only meat, but also vegetable dishes, which will especially appeal to vegetarians. The aromatic imam-bayaldy is made from eggplants, which are stuffed with finely chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, raisins and parsley. This dish cannot be classified as traditionally Tatar, because it is prepared throughout Asia. However, the Crimean version is especially appetizing. Vegetarians should also try a vegetable sauté made from stewed tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, onions and garlic.

Bakery

If you love flour products, then you definitely need to try traditional Crimean Tatar pastries. The main distinguishing feature is the wide variety of dough types used in baking. Let us highlight the most popular flour products of the Crimean Tatars.

Samsa is a pie made from unleavened dough and filled with meat, usually in the shape of a triangle. Samsa is prepared in a special clay oven - tandoor. Although the dish was brought to Crimea from Uzbekistan, it became an integral part of the gastronomic tradition of Tatar cuisine.

A pie made from puff pastry, kubete, can be tasted in many Crimean Tatar restaurants, although initially it was baked only on the occasion of major holidays. Potatoes, minced meat and onions are usually used to prepare the filling. Cubete can only be served hot. Traditionally, the dish is served to the table by a woman, and only cut into pieces by a man.

The Crimean Tatar analogue of chebureks is the dish chir-chir. The dough should be tender and literally melt in your mouth. The filling can be meat, vegetable or cheese. Only a few chefs on the peninsula can boast of the ability to cook real chir-chir.

Among sweet pastries, honey and nut baklava made from puff pastry, which is very popular in Eastern countries, stands out.

Beverages

Crimean wines are known far beyond the peninsula. One of the largest wine collections in the region belongs to the Massandra winery.

If you like to drink tea, then you should definitely try herbal teas, which contain mountain herbs that have not only a unique aroma, but also soothing properties. And by adding a spoonful of jam from rose or quince petals to your tea, you will discover a sophisticated range of tastes and aromas.

Don't miss the opportunity to try real honey sherbet, which dates back to the 13th century. In the old days, it was drunk at weddings and holidays, but now it can be bought in many establishments in Crimea that serve Crimean Tatar cuisine.

Buza wheat kvass has an interesting history. From the Tatar language, “buza” is translated as “disorder, scandal,” although its strength does not exceed five degrees. Buza is always served cold, which makes the drink very popular on hot summer days.

Russian kitchen

Russian cuisine came to the Crimean peninsula at the beginning of the 2nd millennium, when the first Russian-speaking inhabitants appeared on its territory. Over time, traditional Russian dishes spread throughout Crimea and today are the dominant gastronomic tradition in the region. Russian cuisine in Crimea is rich in a variety of dishes, among which there are several of the most popular and revered.

The most famous national first dish of Russian cuisine is cabbage soup, the cooking traditions of which have ancient roots. This is a multi-component dish consisting of cabbage, meat, carrots, and onions. During the cooking process it is seasoned with sour dressing. It can be sour cream or brine, sometimes sour apples are added. The main feature of this first course is the absence of preliminary heat treatment of the ingredients. This means that the vegetables included in the soup are not fried or stewed in advance. This is one of the distinctive features of Russian cuisine.

Okroshka is a famous cold soup that is especially popular in the summer. The first mention of the recipe for this soup dates back to the 18th century. The dish is a mix of vegetables (potatoes, carrots, cucumbers), grouse, turkey or pork meat and spicy herbs (parsley, dill, green onions). In some variations of okroshka, fish is added. All ingredients are cut into cubes and seasoned with sour cream, whey or bread kvass.

Pancakes are an ancient traditional dish in Rus'. From before Orthodox times, pancakes had a symbolic meaning and personified the sun, so they were mainly baked on Maslenitsa. Today pancakes are served as an appetizer, main course or dessert.

Shangi are pies made from yeast dough, similar in appearance to cheesecakes. As a filling, it is customary to use potato or pea puree, as well as unsweetened cottage cheese. Lamb or beef fat is used to prepare the dough.

One of the most original dishes of Russian cuisine is pies, baked pies that come with meat, fish and mushroom filling. Rice, cabbage or egg are often added to the pies filling.

The formation of Russian cuisine was influenced by many European culinary traditions. Thus, combining elements of Russian and French cuisine, beef stroganoff appeared - finely chopped fried beef, which is poured with sour cream sauce and served hot.

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Crimea- This is a great place for a family holiday. Sun, sea, clean beaches, water parks and attractions, exciting tourist excursions - there is something for everyone! Active recreation is, of course, good, but Crimea has one more highlight - a wonderful kitchen.

FOOD IN CRIMEA

To visit the peninsula and never try traditional local food is simply 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 - it’s impossible to list them all! They brought many new elements to the local culinary traditions. This is exactly what symbiosis does Crimean cuisine unique and inimitable. The greatest demand in the territory Crimea They enjoy dishes of Ukrainian, Russian and Tatar cuisine.

Crimean Tatar cuisine

First meal
A classic hot dish of Tatar cuisine is shurpa - aromatic soup with lamb and vegetables. In Crimea, there are several options for its preparation. Basically, sweet peppers, different types of tomatoes, a lot of herbs and several rings of raw or pickled onions are added to it, mainly when serving the dish to guests.
Particularly popular among tourists is a soup with flour dressing - tokmach. Cooked in lamb and turkey broth, it has a delicate, pleasant taste.
Yufakhash is considered a traditional and, to some extent, ritual dish among the Tatars. As you can see, the name is quite exotic, but in fact these are banal dumplings, although very unusual. The fact is that yufakhash are tiny in shape; 10 to 15 pieces fit on a spoon. According to Tatar traditions, a young wife is obliged to feed her husband 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
A hearty meat meal made from lamb and beef, combined 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.
Pilaf is rightfully considered the national dish of the peoples of Central Asia. To prepare it, rice, meat (chicken or lamb), carrots and onions are traditionally used. But Crimean pilaf, seasoned with aromatic oriental spices, will amaze even the most sophisticated gourmets.
For lovers of oriental cuisine there are also many exotic dishes. For example, sarma (in Turkish cuisine - dalma) is such an unusual variation on the theme of cabbage rolls that are familiar to many. The only difference is that the filling, which is made from lean lamb, is wrapped in grape leaves. The recipe is original and non-standard, but it is thanks to this that sarma turns into a real culinary masterpiece. Juicy minced meat in combination with grape leaves gives it additional tenderness and piquancy.
Lagman is considered an equally original dish; it is prepared from noodles and lamb, which is simmered in a thick, 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 tasty food for vegetarians. First of all, I would like to mention imam-bayaldy - eggplants stuffed with chopped tomatoes with the addition of onions and garlic, parsley and raisins. It is difficult to call the dish originally Tatar, because it is also common in Asia, but in Crimea it is prepared simply amazingly. Vegetarians will also be pleased with the sauté - a vegetable stew made from eggplant, tomatoes, carrots, garlic and onions. Although sauté is more related to Georgian cuisine, it is no less popular in Crimea.
Bakery
For lovers of baked goods, Crimean pastries are simply bliss. There is such a variety of dishes made from unleavened, rich, liquid and sour dough that it’s simply dizzying. Well, of course, you need to try everything! Several dishes can be distinguished from traditional Crimean pastries.
Kubete is a puff pastry pie. Potatoes, meat and onions are used as filling. Sometimes additional ingredients are added, mainly rice and cheese. Previously, kubete was baked only on holidays, but today it can be ordered in any establishment. It is served exclusively hot. There is a tradition according to which only a woman should place the pie on the table, but only men can cut it.
Chir-chir- analogue of chebureks. By the way, not every cook can cook delicious pasties, so there are only a few places on the entire peninsula where you can try real chir-chir. Unlike regular pies, their dough should be light and literally melt in your mouth. Not only meat, but also cheese and a lot of vegetables are used as filling.
Samsa is a pie with meat filling made from unleavened dough. This dish appeared on the peninsula a long time ago, although it has nothing to do with Tatar cuisine, because Uzbekistan is considered its homeland. Often these pies are triangular in shape. By the way, special clay ovens - tandoors - are used to prepare samsa.
Baklava is a sweet pastry that is more popular in eastern countries; it is a dessert made from puff pastry filled with nuts and honey.
Beverages
Crimean herbal teas. Made from mountain herbs, they are aromatic and have calming properties. If you add a few spoons of jam to the tea, for example from rose petals, quince or raisin-erica (a type of plum), then its taste will become even more refined.
Crimean wines are known in many countries. The Massandra winery boasts the largest collection of these drinks.
Buza - this is wheat kvass. The history of the name of this drink is interesting. Translated from Tatar, “buza” means “scandal, disorder,” although if you take into account the fact that the strength of buza is no more than 5 degrees, then things are unlikely to come to the point of hooliganism. The drink is always served very cold, which is why tourists appreciate it.
Sherbet is a sweet drink; honey is used to prepare it. It has been known since the 13th century. Previously, it was used more for ritual purposes (during weddings and other holidays).

Russian cuisine in Crimea

Dishes of Russian cuisine appeared on the peninsula with the arrival of the first Russian-speaking peoples to this territory. This happened at the beginning of the 2nd millennium. Over time, Russian culinary traditions have completely taken root here; at this time, the cuisine is considered the main one in Crimea. Among the dishes that are in greatest demand, several should be highlighted.
Pancakes. The history of their appearance dates back to the Middle Ages. This is a traditional dish of the Eastern Slavs. In Rus' it had a symbolic meaning, because many believed that pancakes are a symbol of the sun. In those days they were baked only on holidays, mainly on Maslenitsa. Now pancakes are an excellent snack, easy to prepare and at the same time very tasty.
Shangi is an ancient Russian dish consisting of pies made from yeast dough that look like cheesecakes. For the filling, mashed potatoes (from potatoes or peas) or unsweetened cottage cheese are often used. Lamb or beef fat is used for the dough, so shangi in Crimea very popular.
Okroshka is a cold soup. The first recipes for okroshka appeared in the 18th century. Essentially, it is a mixture of vegetables, herbs (parsley, dill, green onions), meat (mainly grouse, pork and turkey) and different types of fish. All this is crushed and seasoned with bread kvass and sour cream.
Shchi is another ancient national Russian dish. In fact, it is a multi-component soup. It contains: cabbage, meat, spices, carrots and sour dressing (brine, sour cream or apples). The peculiarity of cabbage soup is that all products cannot be pre-heated. In other words, vegetables are not fried or stewed in advance. This technique is typical only for Russian cuisine.
Rasstegai- a special type of baked pies. The dish got its unusual name due to the fact that it has an open middle through which melted butter was previously poured inside. Over time, traditions and methods of preparing dishes change and now they no longer do this, 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 also 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 fried beef, doused with sour cream sauce. Served exclusively hot.

Ukrainian food

Ukrainian food more popular among Slavic peoples, but the long-term proximity of the two peoples led to the fact that some elements from Ukrainian cuisine penetrated into the territory Crimea.
First meal
Borscht or beet soup- It’s the beets that give it a bright, rich red color. When serving the dish, sour cream is always added or garlic dumplings are offered.
Kapustnyak is a soup made from sauerkraut. It has analogues in Russian, Slovak and Polish cuisine.
Rassolnik is a soup made from pickled cucumbers or cucumber brine.
Second courses
The most popular main courses Ukrainian cuisine in Crimea It is customary to consider several dishes.
Vareniki- a well-known flour product in Slavic cuisine, although they became most widespread in Ukrainian lands. Since ancient times in Ukraine, meat, mushrooms, berries or vegetables have been used as filling for dumplings. But in Crimea they approached their preparation more creatively: the Tatars prefer to use hemp grains (they taste like poppy seeds) and peas for the filling.
Zrazy (meat rolls). They are made from chopped beef meat, which is filled with vegetables, mushrooms and boiled eggs. Mashed potatoes are served as a side dish for zrazy.
Roast (meat stewed with vegetables)- traditional Russian and Ukrainian dish, which gained popularity in Crimea. Served without additional side dishes, often in a pot (this way it retains its temperature longer), sometimes only lightly poured with broth.
Bakery
Connoisseurs of baked goods should definitely try traditional Ukrainian pastries.
Syrniki (cheese pancakes). The basis for their preparation is grated cheese, to which eggs and a little flour are added (by the way, French chefs do not add flour to cheesecakes!). They are fried in a frying pan, sometimes additionally baked in the oven. Goes great with condensed milk, homemade sour cream and jam.
Pampushki are rich round buns made from yeast dough. It is unknown where they first began to be prepared. Many attributed this culinary “miracle” to the French and Italians. Now there is an opinion that donuts are the creation of German chefs, but all these versions have not yet been proven. In Ukrainian cuisine, as well as in Crimean cuisine, they are often supplemented with garlic dressing and served with borscht.
Draniki are delicious potato pancakes that came from Ukraine to Crimea.
Beverages
Traditions for the production of many drinks came from Ukraine to Crimea, which became an integral part of Crimean cuisine.
Kvass is a very ancient drink; it was first consumed in Ancient Egypt. Kvass appeared on Slavic lands approximately a thousand years ago. In Rus', the technology of its preparation was known to everyone, because it was believed that it was a symbol of prosperity, so kvass should have been in every home. In total, 500 varieties of it were known in the Middle Ages. The secret of preparing many of them has been lost: despite this, kvass still remains a popular drink.
Uzvar (according to modern terminology - brew) is a cold drink made from dried fruits, sometimes honey is added to it in addition to berries.

Crimean cuisine truly 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, or try unusual meat dishes? Crimean cuisine will give you all this!

Elmara Mustafa, Crimean Tatar blogger and writer

Crimean Tatar cuisine is one of the main attractions of Crimea, which is not inferior in importance to the palaces and natural beauty of the peninsula. The traditional food of the Crimean Tatars reflects notes of Greek, Turkish, Asian, Italian, Caucasian, Ukrainian and Russian dishes.

Subethnic groups also have local dietary features. For example, vegetables, fruits and fish are more common on the table of the southern coastal and mountain Crimean Tatars, while meat and dairy products are more common among the steppe Tatars. But at the same time, national treats are prepared everywhere and, as a rule, it is kamyr ash (flour product) with lamb or beef.

For tourists vacationing in Crimea and wanting to experience new gastronomic delights, we offer 12 of the most popular dishes of the original Crimean Tatar cuisine.

Chiberek

There is hardly a person who has not heard about the indescribably aromatic chiberek. This is the most popular dish of the national cuisine of the Crimean Tatars. And there are all sorts of pronunciation options: chuberek, cheburek, cheberek. In fact, chiberek - "whose berek" - literally translates from Crimean Tatar as "raw pie." So, this is a thin puff pastry pie with a variety of fillings. According to the rules, it must be fried in boiling fat tail fat, but now it is mainly cooked in vegetable or sunflower oil. You can use cheese as a filling.

The dish has long been loved by residents throughout Russia and is considered a folk food of some “Asian” origin. However, in reality the dish has nothing to do with Asia. The fact that Chiberek, for example, was widespread in Uzbekistan, is associated with the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars there.

Cheburek. Archive photo

Yantyk

Yantyk (yantyk, yantykh) is the twin brother of chiberek, differing only in the method of preparation. You can say that they are dressed in different clothes. If chibereks are fried in a frying pan in a large amount of oil, then yantyk is prepared without it. After frying, while still hot, it is generously greased with butter. This is how the yantik becomes soft and tender.

The dish is great for those who limit themselves to fried foods.

© Flickr/Obormotto

Yantyki. Archive photo

Kebab

One of the favorite dishes of the Crimean Tatars is kebab, in other words, shish kebab. Despite the fact that frying meat is typical for many peoples, the Crimean Tatars do it in a special way - before frying over the fire, they cut the lamb into small pieces.

There are different ways of preparing kebab. For example, tash kebabs - kebab baked in ash on sticks, kazan kebabs - kebab stewed in a cauldron, tava kebabs - kebab baked in pots or special frying pans, kyimaly kebab - minced meat kebab, furun kebabs - kebab baked in special ovens or in the oven. Any cooking method enjoys equal success among the local population.

© Flickr/Crocus Group

Kebab. Archive photo

Kashyk-ash and Tatar-ash

Tiny homemade dumplings with meat in broth will delight gourmets. Kashyk-ash - “spoon” soup. Why "spoon"? Because the skill of preparing this dish is directly assessed with a spoon. That is, the more dumplings that fit in the cutlery, the more skillful the hostess is considered to be. And this work is almost like jewelry, since each dumpling should be the size of a fingernail. When finished, up to five to seven of them should fit in a spoon. So, small dumplings are boiled in aromatic meat broth and served as soup. The dish is seasoned with katyk (sour milk), sour cream and herbs.

Also, kashyk-ash is popularly called yufak-ash, which translated means “small food”. Tatar-ash is considered an analogue of this dish. Essentially these are the same dumplings, but larger in size and without broth.

© Photo from the page of the Bereket cafe on the VK social network

Tiny homemade dumplings with meat in broth

Kobete

This dish is the main decoration of the festive table and the “calling card” of Crimean Tatar cuisine. "Kob eti" means "lots of meat." And no matter how they call this delicious and satisfying pie - kubete, kobete, kubete. However, its essence does not change. Between two layers of delicious dough there is a filling of meat, potatoes and onions.

Real kobete is not difficult to find on the menu of Crimean restaurants. Its taste will be a healthy competitor to homemade.

Sarma, dolma

These two dishes are considered one of the most appetizing and popular in the repertoire of any national restaurant. In simple terms, sarma are small finger-sized cabbage rolls, the filling of which is wrapped in grape leaves. The combination of meat filling with sourness from grape leaves gives the dish a unique taste.

If you put this filling in bell peppers, you get dolma.

© Sputnik / Aram Nersesyan

Dolma. Archive photo

Imam Bayildy

This is one of the ancient dishes with its own legend and history. Imam Bayildy, also known as Imam Bay Oldy, is translated from the Crimean Tatar language as “the imam (spiritual head of the Muslim community) got rich.” According to legend, one day a stingy and greedy imam allowed his wife to cook something for the visiting guests from what was in the house. They only found a couple of eggplants, bell peppers, a couple of tomatoes and onions. There was only enough vegetable oil to fry onions, peppers and tomatoes. And the eggplants just had to be baked. However, the imam’s wife coped with the task and prepared a delicious dish. Since then, the dish has been considered the food of the poor. Later this name became a household name. This is what greedy people are called at a moment of sudden “generosity.”

© Flickr/Evgenia Levitskaya

Fried vegetables. Archive photo

Sary Burmese (Fulti)

Recently, a new dish has appeared in the assortment of Crimean Tatar establishments - sary burma, although it has long been an important holiday treat for the Crimean Tatars. The name literally translates as “yellow, twisted.” The dish is a golden roll filled with minced meat (with potatoes if desired) or pumpkin. Baked in the oven.

Makarne

With the onset of cold weather, it is also customary for the Crimean Tatars to prepare purely flour dishes. For example, makarne is boiled pieces of dough, seasoned with minced meat, ground nuts or curdled milk with garlic. In other words, bows with minced meat. In different regions of Crimea it is prepared differently. Kaimakly makarne - with sour cream, and dzhevizli makarne - with ground nuts.

Lokum or tawa-lokum

This is another flour dish with a juicy meat filling. Tava is translated as a frying pan, and lokum (lokhum) is a product made from dough. So, the name speaks for itself: buns baked in a frying pan. They are laid one to one in the form of a chamomile and generously greased with butter. Thanks to this, the lokum turns out to be very tender and soft.© Photo: Vitaly Blagov

Baklava. Archive photo

Kurabye

These are shortbread cookies covered in powdered sugar. It is prepared for almost all religious and family holidays. Not a single Crimean Tatar wedding is complete without kurabiye - “butter cookies”, as they are also called. This sweet masterpiece is usually served at duva (traditional Crimean Tatar family prayer) and Eid al-Fitr.

Kurabye can be baked in 12 different ways. Among them, sheker kyyyk are known - these are sweet kerchiefs, dzhevizli parmachiklar - nut fingers or dzhevizli boynuzchyklar - bagels with nuts, dzhevizli yaramailar - nut crescents.

These are not all the masterpieces of Crimean Tatar cuisine. Each has its own characteristics and amazing taste. There are several other dishes that are traditionally prepared by Crimean Tatars. Starting from “fast food” in the form of samsa, wonderful manti to aromatic pilaf. But these incredibly tasty, nourishing and juicy dishes cannot be called originally Crimean Tatar, since they are common in many national cuisines. Under the influence of traditions, the treats only changed their names and appearance features.

© RIA Novosti Crimea. Alexander Polegenko

The cuisine of Crimea has evolved historically over more than one century, experiencing the influence of the peoples living on the territory of the peninsula and the neighbors with whom Crimea came into contact. And these are Tatars, and Ukrainians, and Russians, and Greeks, and Italians, and Turks, and Caucasians. Thus, Crimea literally absorbed the culinary traditions of the peoples surrounding it, preserving and modifying them in accordance with its own ideas and creating its own work of art - the national cuisine of Crimea. The result was one of the best cuisines in the world, which was able to, by incorporating other people’s recipes, create an absolutely unique style.

What, then, is Crimean cuisine? Since some of the people who most strongly influenced it were the nomadic Tatars, these are primarily meat dishes, the favorite of which remains lamb. Since the Tatars were in close contact with the Uzbeks in the mid-20th century, they brought dishes such as pilaf, lagman and sarma (a version of dolma) to Crimea, slightly changing them in accordance with their own preferences. You can try these dishes in almost any Crimean Tatar establishment. The best establishments are located in the historical capital of the Crimean Tatars - Bakhchisarai, but they can also be found on the coast, in particular in Gurzuf and Alupka.

The proximity to the Mediterranean brought an abundance of vegetables and fruits into the Crimean diet, and the local climate also contributed to this. Tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, onions, garlic, olives, herbs, spices - all this is widely used in Crimean cuisine along with cheese, which gives dishes a special Mediterranean piquancy. Thanks to the Italians, a variety of fish and seafood dishes appeared on the Crimean menu, thanks to the Bulgarians - stuffed sweet peppers, and the Greeks enriched it with their famous salad of vegetables and olives with cheese, seasoned with olive oil. Mediterranean cuisine and fish restaurants are quite well represented in Sevastopol.

Shashlik, borrowed from the Caucasian peoples, also became the king of Crimean cuisine. Since the population of Crimea is multinational, it is prepared not only from traditional lamb, but also from chicken, pork (close by!) and even beef. In addition to shish kebab, the peoples of the Caucasus taught the Crimeans to love khash and chakhokhbili, and such people as the Karaites supplemented the cuisine of Crimea with their own very interesting recipes. The most interesting of them are cubete - a type of pie with lamb, potatoes and onions, which was originally baked for the holidays. Thanks to the Jews, Crimeans became acquainted with a version of chebureks called chir-chir, which, in addition to the classic meat filling, can also be filled with vegetables, as well as unleavened bread with garlic.

The Ukrainians, who dominated the country for quite some time, could not help but saturate the local cuisine with their famous dumplings, dumplings, cheesecakes, borscht with pampushkas, fish in sour cream filling, numerous pork dishes and, of course, the legendary lard. There are Ukrainian establishments in both Sevastopol and Yalta.

Well, where would the Crimeans be without Russian cuisine, because, perhaps, it was with the Russians that they had the closest connection. And Russian cuisine is a gastronomic cosmos, the dishes of which cannot be counted: all kinds of aspic, rassolnik, solyanka, baked pig, pancakes, pies, okroshka, caviar, dishes from fish, chicken, mushrooms, cabbage, and many more dishes, from whose names alone appetite flares up.

A large place in Crimean cuisine is devoted to baking. It is as multinational as the Crimean people themselves. These include pasties, lavash, khachapuri, pizza, pies with all kinds of fillings, oriental baklava, and even German apple strudel.

A separate line should be included in the story about Crimean cuisine with a mention of local wines. Winemaking traditions have been developed here since ancient times due to the warm climate in which grapes and other berries and fruits ripen well. Again, interacting with other peoples, the inhabitants of Crimea learned to prepare a wide variety of wines: red, white and rose, dry and sweet, light and fortified, aged and very young. What can we say when there are several dozen wine enterprises in Crimea alone.

In a word, you can write a lot about Crimean cuisine - it is extremely diverse. But if it’s better to see once than to hear a hundred times, then the cuisine of Crimea is exactly what it’s best to try. At least once. And after that you will certainly want more and more.