Они хранили в жизни мирной

Привычки милой старины;

У них на масленице жирной

Водились русские блины.

А.С. Пушкин

In peaceful life they protected

Sweet olden-time traditions;

With them on fatty Maslenitsa

Was always the Russian blin

A.S. Pushkin

 

Russians revere both blini and Maslenitsa as being “truly Russian” although, ironically, neither is without multiple counterparts among world cultures.

Russian blini are descended from one of mankind’s oldest and most common prepared foods: fried flat bread. Russians, in fact, always translate “blini” as “pancakes” when speaking English, although the ultra-thin, slightly tart Russian blin is more akin to the French crepe and German blintz than it is the thick, sweet American pancake. Even the Mexican tortilla is similar, as the blin is also often stuffed with filling and rolled before eating. The simplicity and versatility of the food has spread it across the planet, yet it is doubtful that Russia invented it.

Maslenitsa is the oldest surviving Russian holiday; archeological evidence suggests it may have been celebrated as early as the 2nd century A.D. The week-long celebration marking the beginning of spring was one of the most important and elaborate for the pagan culture, which is a fact not at all surprising if you have ever lived through a 6-7 month Russian winter. Blini were eaten as symbols of the sun, personified by the ancient and powerful god Volos. This was done not only in thanksgiving, but also as a method of purification as it was coupled with an abstention from meat, which Russians have long regarded as a source of lust and aggression.  Linguistic evidence suggests that Maslenitsa (“Butter-Week”) was formally called “Myasopusta” (“meatless,” though the word form is now archaic).

At Maslenitsa’s peak of elaborateness, there was a day for sharing blini with your sweetheart, a day to give blini to the poor, and a day when mother’s-in-law cooked blini for their son’s wives. Maslenitsa was also known as a “threshold time” in folklore jargon. It was a time when rules (both societal and natural) could be broken; in addition to gorging themselves on blini, people often wore masks and clothing of the opposite gender, role-played, consumed large amounts of alcohol, and generally made merry.

With the arrival of Christianity this pagan tradition was kept and is now a sort of Mardi Gras or Carnival for the Orthodox, marking the week before Lent (Velikii Post). Most Russians no longer abstain from meat (as the Orthodox church still officially requires) and Maslenitsa celebrations are now often dotted with Sashlik (Russian BBQ) stands, but meat still does not play a major role in the festivities (as opposed especially to the meat-stuffed Carnival). In fact, it seems that neither Maslenitsa nor blini have changed very much over the last few centuries, having survived the official ideologies of both Orthodoxy and Communism. This is a fact Russians will point out often and with pride if asked.

To make sure that your blin are not pancakes or crepes, you should make sure that they are made from buckwheat flour and yeast, the two things which set the Russian variant apart from most of its counterparts. Some patriotic Russians will also insist that true Russian blini should be made by a Russian grandmother, since cooking the super-thin dainties requires much practice. For most of us, however, following the recipe below will have to do, along with the advice of Russian grandmothers everywhere: “Первый блин всегда комом.” It means, literaly, “the first blin always lumps up;” but is used in the context of “if at first you don’t succeed…”

 

Ingredients:

 

2/3 cup warm milk

½ tsp honey

1 pkt dry yeast

2 tbl melted butter, cooled

½ cup flour, plus 2 tbl flour

1/4-cup-buckwheat flour

1 pch salt

2 eggs, whisked together

1 potato, cut in half

vegetable oil or butter for frying

 

Preparation: Combine milk, honey and yeast in a medium bowl. Whisk together and let stand until foamy. Stir in cooled butter. In a separate bowl combine the flours, salt and baking powder. Make an indentation in the center of the dry mixture and stir in liquid mixture, slowly, until blended. Without stirring vigorously, blend in whisked eggs just until combined. Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in volume.

Cooking: Heat a thick-bottomed skillet (or a blini, crepe, or plett pan) over medium-high heat. Dip the halved potato in oil, or coat with butter and grease the pan lightly (this is the traditional way, a paper towel or oil brush may also be used). Pour some batter in the pan. Some chefs use a special "blini roller" to spread the batter evenly and paper-thin, otherwise, move the pan while pouring to help spread the batter, or make very small bliny, which will be able to spread themselves (use about 1 tbl.). When the blin is golden brown on its underside (should happen in under 1 minute), flip over and brown the other side. Repeat.

Presentation: Blini are remarkably versatile and may be served with nearly anything from caviar to salmon to cottage cheese to sour cream to jam to honey. Place your filling in the center of the blin. For larger blin, fold once in half, then thrice lengthwise to form a small triangle.

 

www.sras.org