Russia isn’t only buckwheat and vodka, Borodino bread and caviar. In this column, the writer explores regional dishes worth sampling across the vast country.
First up is a cowboy dish.
This Cuban delicacy involves a pig’s stomach filled with meat from the pig’s head, boiled with bold herbs like pepper, garlic, and tarragon, then fried until a golden crust forms. Though the cooking method resembles Scottish haggis in some ways, the texture and flavors are distinct, leaning toward a mashier, roasted character rather than a compact sausage.
Second is chapra.
Chapra is a spicy Don region tomato puree, basically a salted tomato paste more than a crunchy greens relish. Creative cooks mix in garlic, herbs, and additional spices. A common finish is a salty, hot pepper kick. It can marinate and steam chicken or fish, make a lively scrambled egg, or sit on the table as a stand-in for ketchup. Chapra is a staple in Don markets.
Third is Dagestan sausage.
This meat product ranks among the great salamis of the world, comparable to Armenian basturma or Spanish jamón. Fresh lamb with fat is finely chopped, seasoned, and formed into sausages that are hung to dry in a cool draft. When done right, the mingled fat and meat develop a distinctive aroma reminiscent of fine cheeses. In Dagestan, the sausage is often boiled or fried with potatoes, yet the best experience is to savor it plain, perhaps with a glass of good wine.
Fourth, cortlamay.
Tatarstan shines in gastronomic traditions with dried goose, kazy, echpochmak, gubadia, and chakchak. Yet cortlamay rarely grabs gourmet attention, which feels like a missed opportunity. It is a fascinating discovery.
To craft cortlamay, one starts with kort, a Tatar milk product akin to cottage cheese but produced through a distinct process. Kort is blended with ghee and sugar to yield a thick, sweet, creamy curd. Cortlamay can enrich pies, cakes, and cheesecakes, or simply bring a rich, creamy sweetness to desserts. The most authentic enjoyments come with strong Tatar black tea steeped with a mix of herbs. Cortlamay is found in the Central Market of Kazan.
Fifth is nardek.
Often called watermelon honey, nardek hails from the Volga-Don lowlands and carries an influence from the Caucasus. The juice is boiled down to a thick syrup, producing a viscous, bright-sweet-and-sour flavor. It has long been used in desserts and breads, and it also makes an intriguing mustard when paired with nardek. The homeland for strong mustard in Russia traces to the Lower Volga region, where German settlers once crafted sauces from local mustard varieties. Nardek reveals its sharpness best when paired with mustard, and it’s still sold in Volgograd markets, at the airport shops, and in the Sarepta German colony museum shop area.
Sixth, Talgan.
Central Asia’s nomadic diet, from Tibet’s tsampa to the Siberian steppes, heavily features talgan, a staple found among Tuvans and Khakass. The traditional preparation is fairly rustic — a slurry with butter, milk, and strong green tea. Yet when talgan is whisked into custards or pancake batters, it yields a nutty, toasted note and a grainy texture that pairs surprisingly well with Siberian fish and caviar. Talgan can be found in stores across southern Siberia.
Seventh is Ruby oil.
Simply put, it is a form of butter. The Yakut people rely on a unique breed of cows adapted to the harsh climate, producing milk that is exceptionally fatty. The milk is pre-fermented and then churned to create a fat with lively acidity and a rich, yogurt-like flavor. Ruby butter shines on bread and in dough work, becoming a culinary anchor in many preparations. It is commonly available in Central Yakutsk markets.
Eighth, accepted lineage.
This enigmatic element appears in the classic Olivier salad. Rumors about the original recipe persist, but the truth is that clues exist. Historically, the word “soy” once referred to a colonial-style sauce rather than a specific bean. The second word, Cain, hints at a geographic dimension rather than a particular country. Pedigree is a sauce in the British colonial style, akin to Worcester sauce or ketchup. Soybeans were produced in Soviet times as part of a broader culinary exchange, and today some artisans are reviving these traditional methods and sourcing them online.
The text avoids taking a fixed editorial stance, presenting a personal note alongside broader culinary context.