Old Russian Kulebjakas were first seen in the 17th century. mentioned. I read somewhere that the word Kulebjaka comes from the German Kohlgebäck - since the first fillings were pretty simple: cabbage (sauerkraut), hard-boiled eggs, buckwheat, mushrooms, onions, fish, etc. In the 19th century. the French gourmet chefs who worked in Russia refined the recipe and made it world famous. The new fillings have also been created: with game, mushrooms, rice, salmon, etc.
In Old Russia, Kulebjakas were served in almost every inn. Kulebjaka could not be missing even on the tsar`s banquet table. At the moment, Kulebjaka is unfortunately an almost forgotten dish and is hardly available anywhere - unless you make it yourself.
* For Kulebjaka you make a yeast dough - everyone will surely have a good recipe. But if you don`t have one, you can use my recipe The perfect yeast dough - it always works and is very tender. However, I only use half of the specified amount of ingredients for the Kulebjaka dough - then one Kulebjaka is enough for 6-8 servings.
While the dough is rising, we make the fillings. There are actually a lot of them. The following principles are important: a) choose the right combination of fillings and b) the bottom layer of the filling must always be dry (e.g. buckwheat or rice) so that the kulebjaka does not get mushy.
So that the Kulebjaka is not so heavy in the stomach and still tastes delicious, I have selected the following fillings:
1. Filling:
Pour twice the amount (approx. 1 1/2 cups) of cold water over rice, add a little salt and a bit of butter, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook until the water is completely absorbed; then loosen up with a spoon and let cool.
Hard boil 3 eggs, chop and add to the rice with herbs.
2. Filling:
Cut the chicken breasts into strips, fry them with a little oil, turn them through the meat grinder, add the broth and chopped herbs.
3. Filling:
Chop the onion, coarsely grate the carrot, fry with a little oil.
Now we take the dough and roll it out on a floured cloth into a rectangle about 1 cm thick. Cut off a strip approx. 2 cm wide to decorate and put aside. We mentally divide this flatbread lengthways into 3 equal strips. In the middle strip we put the rice filling, on top the chicken filling, then the onion and carrot filling. Salt and pepper every layer - not so sparingly. Then pull the edges of the dough upwards with the cloth and close lengthways and sides.
Carefully take the Kulebjaka and the cloth (preferably in pairs) and place the seam down on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Whisk an egg and brush the kulebjaka with it. Cut the strips of dough with a sharp knife approx. 1 cm deep and divide into 5 to 7 parts. Turn each part into a flower with the cut side outwards and place on the Kulebjaka, also brush with whisked egg.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes. Take out of the oven, cover with a cloth, let stand for about 15 minutes and serve.
Ingredients
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