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Borsch is a signature dish of Ukrainian cuisine, which is greatly enjoyed all over the world. The dish has dozens of variations, due to the wide geography of Ukrainians. The most common are red, green, mushroom, cold borsch and other variations.

The etymology of the word "borsch" comes from the name of the borschivnik plant and literally means “notch, tip". After all, the leaves of this plant were originally used to make borsch. Much later, potatoes and beets came to Europe and Ukraine, without which it is difficult to imagine the main dish of Ukrainian cuisine today.

Ingredients for borscht vary significantly depending on the region of Ukraine. For example, in Podillia housewives add beans to a dish, in the Poltava region — dumplings, in the South — flour, and in Slobozhanshchina there is a variation of borsch with beer.

Ingredients

But for a classic recipe you will need the following products:

  • beef — 250 grams;
  • water — 1.5 cups;
  • cabbage — 150 grams;
  • 1 carrots;
  • 1 onion;
  • 4 white potatoes;
  • ½ medium beet;
  • tomato paste — 1 tablespoon (can be replaced by ½ liters of tomato juice);
  • salt, pepper, herbs — to taste.

For pampushkas:

  • flour — 2 cups;
  • 1 eggs;
  • water — ½ glass;
  • sugar — 1 tablespoon;
  • yeast — 10 grams;
  • sunflower oil — 1 teaspoon.
  • For the sauce:
  • garlic — 2 cloves;
  • water — ⅓ glasses;
  • sunflower oil — ½ tablespoon;
  • salt — ⅓ teaspoon.

Video recipe

The cooking process

  1. First, start cooking the broth. It is better to choose meat on the bone. Boil it until ready and remove from the broth, cut into small pieces, removing bones and tendons.
  2. Meanwhile, cut beet into thin strips and to the broth. Wait until it boils and becomes transparent, and only then add the remaining ingredients. Otherwise, all the vegetables in the dish will be the same red color.
  3. Once the beet is boiled, add finely chopped onions. After a few minutes add finely cut into thin half circles carrot. Then add the finely chopped cabbage and diced potatoes to the boiling broth. When all the vegetables are ready, add the meat from the broth, tomato juice (or tomato paste diluted in water), herbs and spices.
  4. In another variation of this recipe, carrots, onions and beets are pre—fried in a small amount of lard. In this case, the dish will be more fatty and high in calories.
  5. Remove the pan from the heat and let the dish infuse a bit. In the meantime, you can make pampushky. Knead the usual yeast dough. To do this, combine the wet ingredients (eggs, water, oil), add yeast and sugar, gradually add flour. Cover the dough with a towel and place in a warm place until it rises. Then form balls, place them on a greased baking sheet and wait for the dough to rise again. Bake pampushky for 15 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.
  6. Once the pampushky are ready, pour the garlic sauce over them. To prepare the sauce, chop the garlic and grind it with salt and oil, then dilute with hot water.
  7. The most popular dish of Ukrainian cuisine is ready! Enjoy this delicious borsch!

Other dishes

Kapusnyak (Cabbage soup)

Area: Center of Ukraine

Bograch

Area: West of Ukraine

Borsch with pampushkas

Area: Center of Ukraine, North of Ukraine