Oladyi (russian: оладьи pl.,

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

: оладушки, ''oladushki'', sg. оладья, ''oladya'') are small thick

pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a Starch, starch-based batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or fryi ...

s or

fritter A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been Batter (cooking), battered or breading, breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-frying, deep-fried. Fritters ar ...

s common in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

cuisines. The batter for oladyi is made from wheat or (nowadays more rarely) buckwheat flour, eggs, milk, salt and sugar with

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

baking soda Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...

. The batter may also be based on

kefir Kefir ( ; also spelled as kephir or kefier; ; ; ) is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt or ayran that is made from kefir grains, a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture. The drink originated in the North Caucasus, in pa ...

soured milk Soured milk denotes a range of food products produced by the acidification of milk. Acidification, which gives the milk a tart taste, is achieved either through bacterial fermentation or through the addition of an acid, such as lemon juice or vineg ...

yoghurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bact ...

. It may contain various additions, such as

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the d ...

s. Oladki are usually served with smetana (

sour cream Sour cream (in North American English, Australian English and New Zealand English) or soured cream (British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, wh ...

), as well as with sweet toppings such as

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

, powidl,

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

etc. Savoury versions may be served with

caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the ter ...

, similarly to

blini A blini (sometimes spelled bliny) ( pl., diminutive: блинчики, ''blinchiki'', dialectal, diminutive: млинчики, ''mlynchiki'') or, sometimes, blin (more accurate as a single form of the noun), is a Russian and more broadly Eastern ...

. Generally, the term ''oladki'' in Eastern Slavic cuisines may also denote fritters made with other ingredients, e.g.

potato pancake Potato pancakes are Frying, shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato, matzo meal or flour and a binding ingredient such as Egg as food, egg or applesauce, often flavored with grated garlic or onion and seasoning. They may be topped with ...

s (картофельные оладьи), carrot fritters (морковные оладьи), bean pancakes (оладьи из бобовых), rice pancakes (рисовые оладьи),

summer squash Summer squash are Cucurbita, squashes that are harvested when immature, while the rind is still tender and edible. Nearly all summer squashes are varieties of ''Cucurbita pepo'', although not all ''Cucurbita pepo'' are considered summer squashes ...

fritters (кабачковые оладьи) etc.

Syrniki Syrniki ( be, сырнікі; russian: сырники) or syrnyky (Ukrainian: сирники) are fried Eastern Slavic Tvorog pancakes. In Russia, they are also known as tvorozhniki (творо́жники). They are a part of Belarusian, Russi ...

(

tvorog Tvorog (russian: творог) is a Russian white cheese. Творог, Творо́г, or тво́рог, is a non-liquid white fermented milk product, traditional for Eastern, Northern and (less often) Central Europe, obtained by fermenting mi ...

pancakes) may also be considered a type of oladyi.

Etymology

The

Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...

word ''oladya'' as a proper noun is first attested in 1470. As a dish it is first mentioned in ''

Domostroy ''Domostroy'' ( rus, Домострой, p=dəmɐˈstroj, ''Domestic Order'') is a 16th-century Russian set of household rules, instructions and advice pertaining to various religious, social, domestic, and family matters of the Russian society. ...

'', the 16th-century Russian book of household rules, instructions and advice. The word derives from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

ἐλάδιον, diminutive of ἔλαιον, "olive oil", "oily substance". The word ' denoting potato pancakes in

Jewish cuisine Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions cen ...

is derived from '.

References

Sources

* [] * * * * A Gift to Young Housewives, English translation (shortened): * * {{Pancakes Belarusian cuisine Russian cuisine Ukrainian cuisine Soviet cuisine Pancakes