Презентация - Hospitality and Osetian cusine

Hospitality and Ossetian cuisine

Ossetian cuisine guide-book. Contents 1.Introduction……………………………………3 2.History of Ossetian cuisine………………………………………5 3.Ossetian traditional dishes.

Hospitality is one of the most important national traditions. Usually there were a lot of guests at funerals and various feasts. The etiquette depended on the purpose of the guests’ visit. In this article we’ll try to observe all range of traditions connected with hospitality. According to Professor Vsevolod Miller, hospitality was the most prominent feature of the Ossetians. 

Nowadays, hospitality has lost its former public importance but it still has its basic elements. In order not to lose this etiquette finally we’ll try to recreate it in the form it existed in the second half of the XIX and early years of the XX centuries. We give our readers the opportunity to decide which rules of hospitality must be followed nowadays and which of them we needn’t any more.

Like everything connected with traditions, hospitality gradually became ritualized and even religious. The best illustration of this fact is an Ossetian greeting: “A guest is God’s guest”. It means a guest is God’s missioner and thus he is sacred no matter who he is and where he is from. That’s why the hosting families expressed their joy about the safe arrival of their guest.

Hospitality was extended equally to everyone. A host had to welcome and give the guest top honors if he didn’t want to become notorious. It was impossible to hide from people how a guest was treated, because the news of the guest’s arrival spread very quickly. Even if the hosting family didn’t have enough resources, they could borrow everything they needed from their neighbors and relatives.

Those families, who took part in a feast in honor of the guest, supported the family with food. Thus, every host did his best to impress and take best care of guests. The names of the most hospitable people were known far beyond their communities and they enjoyed great respect in society. They were also guests.”

A family should be ready to host a guest any time. According to the Ossetian belief “ The God endows every family with a definite number of guests a year. It was the reason of the highlanders’ (Ossetians’) entreaties to the God not to deprive them of their portion of guests. (“Holy, don’t deprive us of our number of guests, please!”) Special respect enjoys the families where guests are never on the wane. Even the richest and most noble persons will never be respected by his countrymen if his living room is not full of guests every day.”

The young men cut meat with their big daggers and put it into the caldron filled with water and all sorts of spicy greens, especially onions. The best pieces of meat were cut for smaller pieces, spread on sharpened stakes and roasted over moderate heat. I had never and nowhere eaten before such a delicious fried meat as in Ossetia. (Say guests from different cities and countries)

Some facts from Literature
Here are some remembering of guests: «The elders of the settlement were entertaining me with talks while the others were cooking. To reward anyhow our kind hosts I ordered my servant to make tea for them. This drink was absolutely new to them and though at first they drank it with care, they eventually liked it and asked to make it again and again. When at last the meal was ready, all the villagers and my companions gathered in the room. Along the wall there were long benches. The older men sat at the table first and then the others followed them. Women and children didn’t participate in the feast.

When everything was ready, the head of the house came up to me and respectfully said,” Sir, my sons and daughters have finished cooking and are ready to set the table. Can I ask your permission to start the feast?”

After that two juniors brought a jug of water and a towel and the guests washed their hands. Another guy laid a long napkin on the knees of the noblest guests. Then the elder of the village cut the boiled and roasted meat with his kinzhal (dagger). Meat dishes in the Ossetian cuisine are made in various ways. The most loved and popular in Ossetia is meat, cooked in a cauldron over an open fire. Ossetians use in their cooking home meat beef or lamb. As soon as all guests took their places according to their age, rank and status the host took a big cup made of horn.

The most famous drink in North Ossetia-the IRON BAGANI. It's a soft drink. It is made of hops and malt. It is a kind of Ossetian beer and an essential part of any Ossetian family holiday .

Here are some examples of prays to the God
“Thank you that you came here and gave us a chance to show our goodness and hospitality. Let happiness and grace power be with you. Let God help you to return home healthy and happy. We wish you happy and long life with your family and those who are dear to you. Let you always be surrounded by sweetly fragrant flowers of love and respect. Thank you again for being our guest.”

. After that he drank some beer from the horn in the honor of the patron gods of the family hearth, and then drank up the rest of the beer. Then to show his high respect he came up to the fire and turned the goblet upside down over it. Not a single drop fell in the burning flame. Less drinking is left in the goblet better is expressed the respect.

Then all the guests sitting at the table had to drink for my health and turn the goblet upside down over the fire. Then the host said,” Everybody at the table was obliged to do the same. After that Knyaz Pavlenko had to drink for the health of any other person. I should note here that it was against the Ossetian etiquette to drink for the health of the host. Cheerful humor and fun characterize such fiestas. From time to time the loud laughter was heard from the accommodation. People teased each other on various occasions, which often dated back to the past events. Mr. Grigoryevskiy told that they could even quarrel during a fiesta. But however during my trip I hadn’t seen anything like that. Probably the demonstration of noisy joy deceived him.

According to Ossetian behaviour, you should stay at the table as long your guest has dinner (is eating)

At the end of the fiesta the host got up from the table and again thanked me for the visit that glorified them and the villagers went home. Then two guys brought water and a towel. We washed ourselves and went to bed to enjoy our sweet sleep.”

Nowadays you can find real hospitality in every Ossetian house. A hosting family is always ready to share the last piece of bread with you.”

Ossetian cuisine is the national cuisine of the region, which is located in the Central part of the Caucasus. The people, historically living on the territory of Ossetia by Ossetians call themselves.
Ossetian cuisine is the national cuisine of the region, which is located in the Central part of the Caucasus. The people, historically living on the territory of Ossetia call themselves the Ossetians.

Ossetian pies
The God of Sun sat down on one of the chairs and put Ilija next to him. The Gods smiled at him very friendly.Iljaf felt as he was sitting among brothers. The God of Sun said: “We gathered here to send you to the Earth. You are sitting here not by chance. This is my will. I shall send a mandate to the highlanders. They shouldn’t forget their past, appreciate present and take care of the future. The plate with three pies and a honey drink should be on the table of the highlands as the symbol of the past, present and the future.”

We are separated by the ages since those times. But one thing remains up today: traditional three pies remain an obligatory dish on the holiday table. From the national epic

National cuisine is the wisdom of nation, its pride and treasure. No wonder, it has been stored for centuries. Ossetian pies have kept its historical meaning and have become a popular dish not only in Ossetia but far beyond its borders.

Ossetia Pies Recipe  
some ankhizhan, which is a mix you can make. Also flour, oil, milk, salt, and water.

To prepare a cup of ankhizhan, mix one teaspoon flour, one teaspoon yeast, one teaspoon sugar, and 3/4 cup warm water. Use it in about ten minutes

Ossetian cheese (see the article "Ossetian feta cheese"). 

We will need an aryng if you do not have a counter on which to mix and roll. This one was bought in an IKEA department store. 

About six cups of all purpose white flour, enough to make three balls about the size of a medium grapefruit. 
Add some salt. 

Pour the ankhizhan into the large bowl of flour. 

Adding warm water or 1/2 cup milk, start mixing it from the centre. Important: mix by hand. When it stops sticking to your hands, you have added enough liquid. Optionally, add an egg for richness. 

It will taste better if you add 50-100 g of milk. 

Dough is ready. If you add 30 g of vegetable oil it will be not that sticky. 

Now cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for a few hours. 

It is time to prepare the filling. Let's make tsakharadzhyn this time - pies with beet tops and cheese. 

We can also use dill, parsley and onions, though some Ossetians make tsakharadzhyn without them

Cut leaves into very small pieces. 
Same with other ingredients. 

The dough has risen! 

It is time to form the pies. 
The dough balls for three pies. 

Now we can salt the filling. It is not recommended to do this earlier. 
Add 0.5 - 0.7 kg of fresh Ossetian cheese. 

If the filling is too wet, some flour can be added. 
Filling is ready. 

Roll out dough with your hands. 
Put some filling on the centre
Pull the edges over the filling and stretch to the centre.  

Connect them and cut the top off. 
Now you roll it out again, from the centre toward the edges. The trick on thickness is that you should just be able to see the texture and color of the filling through the dough. 
Flip it over and keep rolling out

Gently press it out to the rim of the pan. Pinch out a hole in the centre to prevent an explosion! 
Time to bake. 
Put the pan on the lower level and keep it there until the bottom of the pie does not stick to the surface of the pan. Then move it to the upper level and put the second pan below, unless your oven is very even.  

Bake the pie until the top gets some browning, but do not overbake. After you take the pie out, use a stick of butter to make the top and sides soft. 

Fizonag
Since ancient times, Ossetians were preparing the kebab («физонаг" in Ossetian) from the flesh of young beef or lamb. Other types of meat were not allowed at the traditional holiday table. Later, however, pork, chicken and fish were added to the menue.

Osetian feta cheese
The history of Ossetian Cheese goes back to ancient times, when the Alans - mostly cattle-breeders, used it as one of the main components of their food. Ossetian cheese can be used fresh (as fromage cheese), often for making well known traditional Ossetian pies and for Dzykka. To keep it longer without refrigerators Ossetians salted it several times until it gets dry and salt penetrates trough. But they also had a technology to store cheese for up to two years. In this case cheese also gets its salty flavor from aging in a brine bath for up to a month. If a crumbly version is desired it can be aged even longer. This is a great cheese for cooking, for salads and other purposes.  

To keep it longer without refrigerators Ossetians salted it several times until it gets dry and salt penetrates trough. But they also had a technology to store cheese for up to two years. In this case cheese also gets its salty flavor from aging in a brine bath for up to a month. If a crumbly version is desired it can be aged even longer. This is a great cheese for cooking, for salads and other purposes.  

DZYKKA 
Dzykka is one of the favourite dishes of the Ossetians. Brewed from the sour cream and wheat or corn flour are sometimes added Ossetian cheese. Dzykka is usually prepared in the pot, because in the pan it may be burnt. Sour cream is heated for 20-25 minutes, constantly storing. Usually it is served hot . Dzykka was a ritual food for the ancestors of the Ossetians, the Alans.

Hush
Hush is a kind of a hot soup

Karzin
Karzin or churek is made of corn flour .Karzin is served on holidays instead of bread. It is baked in a hot oven. This kind of bread is delicious when it is hot. As a rule, it is served with cheese or yogurt.

In this recipe from Ossetia we show how to make chicken with sour cream and herbs. This dish is usually made in a large clay pot, using a whole young chicken. We used a clay pot but the dish can also be made in a pan or in individual small clay pots
Chicken with Sour Cream
Ingredients (serves 6): 1 kilo of chicken breasts, 500 grams of potatoes, 3 medium sized…

Listen to the interview and peoples opinion about our three pies : should they compete with pizza or remain our national food?

So many people , So many opinions , I think pies should remain our national food.

Presentation was prepared by the schoolgirl 8 «v» class Gubaeva Tina