Borshch with garlic pampushky: this hearty soup traditionally prepared from beets and cabbage and served with a dollop of sour cream is a most popular first course. There are no less than 40 varieties of hot and cold borshch, depending on the vegetables and or meat in them, even some which don't have any beets at all. Like most Ukrainian soups, all borshch recipes are slowly simmered for maximum flavor. The tiny garlic buns which are often served with it are akin to the ubiquitous garlic bread of Italian cuisine.
Kartoplianyky or zrazy: another relative of the better-known latke, this is no ordinary potato pancake. Nestled in the potato dough, beneath the smetana or garlic sauce, you'll find a variety of fillings, including meat, cabbage and carrots. A widespread, traditional Western Ukrainian dish, zrazy are a little harder to find in Kiev restaurants. What's more, by all accounts even the best big city restaurants can't reproduce that special Western Ukrainian touch.
Kovbasky: also known by their regional names - L'vivski, Kyivski, Poltavski -, these smoked peppered sausages in mushroom sauce are very sharp to the tastebuds. They are served hot, with or without sauce. But don't confuse the small kovbasky with their considerably larger relative, kovbasa, which can be used to refer to smoked sausages in general.
Kotleta po Kyivsky: the famous Chicken Kyiv - stuffed and breaded boneless chicken breast, is also called Kotleta stolychna, the Capital Cutlet. Not a traditional Ukrainian dish, it was a delicious soviet era invention to impress high-level officials. Like most of the traditional dishes described here, it has a number of cousins, including one from L'viv, with different stuffings.
Holubtsi: better known as cabbage rolls, holubtsi traditionally consist of tender cabbage leaves stuffed with meat and rice, often baked in tomato sauce, and served with sour cream. Equally common stuffing include plain rice with onion or buckwheat. A standard portion is often filling enough to be a meal in itself.
Kruchenyky: tender beef slices pounded, rolled, and baked in a spicy carrot sauce.
Kvaslianka: this national dish known as riazhenka in Russian, is by all accounts responsible for the difficulties which Western-style yoghurts have had entering the Ukrainian market. Kvaslianka consists of sour curds, quite a bit sharper than yogurt, but with sweet, home-made jam instead of artificial fruit flavorings.
Mlyntsi: one of the most common Ukrainian appetizers, known as bliny in Russian, are these crepes filled with a variety of stuffings, including sweetened cottage cheese and jam, or caviar, then coated in fresh butter and baked, and then served hot with smetana. For a more substantial crepe try nalysnyky with fillings like mushrooms or ground meat, which make a nice combination of light pancake, hearty meat, and sour cream topping.
Okroshka: this spicy, cold Russian soup was a favorite of the rebellious Crimean government. The Ukrainian equivalent is called kholodnyk and there is some debate as to which ingredients compose the quintessential okroshka. All agree that its tangy taste comes from kvas, the pungent drink made from ferrmented bread which serves as its base. And not just Crimeans regularly find inspiration in the combination of diced potatoes, meat, radish, cucumber, green onion, and boiled egg, with milk and hearty helpings of both kvas and fresh dill.
Pechenia: known as zharkoye in Russian, this delicious roast meat, potato and vegetable stew comes in a small crockery pot, somewhat like traditional French onion soup, but deeper.
Smazhenyna: one of Ukraine's simpler national dishes, smazhenyna is fried' beef served hot in a spicy sauce with vegetables.
Smetana: the local variety of sour cream, smetana is often sweeter than is common in the West, closer actually to heavy cream. Smetana is topping for almost all Ukrainian dishes, from borshch to syrnyky.
Deruny or ptiatsky: a small relative of the familiar Jewish potato latke.
Varenyky: also known by the Polish perogies, these are boiled or fried triangular dumplings. The fillings vary tremendously: potatoes, cheese, mushrooms, cabbage, and meat are just as common as, in the summer time, cherries, plums and berries. All varieties are served with either melted butter or smetana. Each Ukrainian region, restaurant, family has its own favorite recipe. Former President Leonid Kravchuk proudly announced during a New Year's 1995 interview that he personally prepared his own varenyky for the holidays, based on careful historical research of the development of this national dish. And during his May 1995 visit to Kiev, US President Bill Clinton declared varenyky "one of his favorite foods."
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