Soups & Mains

Soups in most Eurasian cultures are important dietary staples and often begin a meal or can be the main course. Many, particularly in older generations, consider a meal without soup to be incomplete. Other common mains include dumplings or pies, which can take many forms depending on the individual culture. Again, these can often serve various purposes, either acting as the main course, a side course, or even as dessert. The below resources concentrate on these items, but also other types of traditional main courses, presenting them in bilingual recipes and with histories and descriptions of the food’s current place in the modern culture that consumes them.

Filter recipes for: Slavic, Turkic, or Caucasian.
See also: Food Traditions

Many of these foods may have various regional or national names and/or variations. We have tried to reflect that in the articles as well.

Okroshka: A Refreshing Summer Soup

Okroshka (Окрошка) is a cold soup that probably originated in the Volga region of Russia. Because of its light, refreshing taste, it is popularly served in summer. The soup usually consists of diced vegetables, eggs, and meats in a base of either kvass or kefir and is often garnished with sour cream. Best known in […]

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