How to prepare a real Belarusian table for Easter? Secrets and traditions

In the agricultural town of Oboltsy, Tolochinsky district, they always prepare for Easter after Lent in a special way. Rituals and traditions that have come down to us from hoary antiquity are supported by members of the Susedzi folk group. Our correspondents went to Oboltsy to find out how one of the main Orthodox holidays is celebrated here.
The agricultural town of Oboltsy, almost 30 kilometers from Tolochin, is known for its rich past. Its preservation is a great merit of the folk collective “Susedzi” at the Obolets House of Folklore. Over 40 years of expeditions, they literally collected the traditions and rituals of their area bit by bit. For example, thanks to them, the unique Krivlyan square dance was restored element by element, which the team took into its repertoire. In the future, this folk dance may receive the status of intangible historical and cultural value.

In the house of folklore itself, on the initiative of the team, a mini-exposition of village life was recreated: tablecloths with lace, bedspreads with embroideries, a cradle, a spinning wheel and chests, in the corner there are fragments of a loom, on the wall - a wedding dress of a rural bride. In this authentic atmosphere, local craftswomen held an Easter master class for us: preparing Easter cake according to one of the old recipes.
“Families in the villages were large, eight to ten children, so at Easter they baked more than one or two pies, like today,” the artistic DIRECTOR of the group, Anna Podbelskaya, begins the story, placing a large wooden container on the table . - This is the bowl where our grannies kneaded dough. The FLOUR must be sifted through a sieve so that it is saturated with oxygen and the cakes turn out airy.

Anna Ivanovna pours warm MILK into the bowl , dissolves yeast in it, adds SUGAR , eggs - always homemade. Mix everything thoroughly with your hands.

“No mixers or blenders can replace our hands, which feel the dough,” she explains, grating two boiled potatoes into a container - this ingredient makes the old recipe special. - This is how our grandmothers and great-grandmothers cooked. We pass on the same recipe to young people.

Then melted margarine is used. The process is completed by sifting flour through a sieve and adding candied fruits and raisins. Next, the container with the dough is covered with a handbrake and sent to a warm place for three hours. We have time to learn more about Easter preparations in this area.
- In the old days, the festive table was prepared in advance, so that on Saturday they could collect a large basket of treats that could not be eaten during Lent, and go to church with them. They stabbed the wild boar, and then neighbors from several farmsteads decided in whose bathhouse the ham and lard would be jointly smoked, explains Anna Ivanovna. “There were no such forms for pies as there are now.” Housewives filled old pots, bowls, pans with dough and sent them to the oven. And instead of candied fruits, dried fruits from apples and pears were soaked, finely chopped and added to the dough.

Everyone sets the Easter table after Lent at their own discretion, but it must be rich: Easter cottage cheese, filled pancakes, homemade sausage , lard, lightly salted cucumbers...

- Breakfast on Easter Day begins with traditional treats. First of all, it is an egg consecrated in the church , which is cut into as many pieces as there are people in the family. Everyone should eat theirs. There is another Easter ritual, which has also survived to this day: two such eggs are lowered into a basin, filled with water, and children must wash themselves with it in order to be ruddy and healthy all year round, - Lilia Avlasenko, HEAD of the Oboletsk House of Folklore, joins the conversation about Easter preparations . - After the festive dinner, it’s time to wait for the guests and meet the wolves, who enter each hut, sing songs and accept treats from the owners.
What else should be on the Easter table, according to our heroines, are sweet pancakes with poppy seeds and aromatic, rich jellied MEAT. Their taste is unforgettable. We personally tried it and took the recipe.
- Jellied meat is a traditional village dish. To make it work, you have to tinker a lot. We soak the meat on the bone, preferably pork legs and ears, chicken drumsticks, wings... Simmer over low heat for at least three hours. The dish turns out even tastier in a rural oven, where the meat is so scalded that it easily falls off the bones, says Anna Podbelskaya. - Cut the finished meat and place it on plates. Strain the broth through cheesecloth to remove excess fat. Pour the broth into plates, decorate with herbs, carrots and let it harden.

Sweet pancakes with poppy seeds are much easier to prepare. It is important, according to Liliya Avlasenko, to know only one secret:

- There is no need to add eggs to the dough, as many housewives do. The remaining ingredients are the most traditional: flour , kefir , soda, SALT . For filling I use richer sour cream. I beat it well with sugar, add pre-fried poppy seeds. I dip the pancakes in this sweet sauce and let them brew.
Time flew by unnoticed with songs and stories - the dough was ready, it was time to bake the cakes. Anna Podbelskaya skillfully puts it in a mold and sends it to the oven. Another 20-30 minutes - and one of the main symbols of Easter will be ready.

- Easter pie is a special type of bread, which is associated with popular belief. If the Easter cake turns out smooth and beautiful, then prosperity will come to the house for the whole year. Therefore, housewives try to use the best products to prepare it,” concludes a local resident, taking out a fragrant, rosy pie from the oven.

| Marina VALAKH, newspaper "7 days". Photo by Vitaly PIVOVARCHIK.

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