Macedonian traditional food

Macedonian traditional food

Macedonian cuisine is the traditional cuisine of Macedonia—a representative of the cuisine of the Balkans—reflecting Mediterranean (Greek and Turkish) and Middle Eastern influences, and to a lesser extent Italian, German and Eastern European (especially Hungarian) ones. The relatively warm climate in Macedonia provides excellent growth conditions for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits. Macedonian cuisine is also noted for the diversity and quality of its dairy products, wines, and local alcoholic beverages, such as rakija.

Tavče-gravče and mastika are considered the national dish and drink of Macedonia, respectively.

 

Malidzano

 Malidzano is traditional Macedonian cream salad made from eggplants, feta cheese, walnuts and spices. It derives its name from the Italian word for eggplant, melanzane . Malidzano is usually served as appetizer along with bread.

   Pinđur or Pindjur is a Bosnian and Macedonian spicy relish form and is commonly used as a summer spread.

Lyutenica ajvar and pindur

Pindjur is similar to ajvar but is generally made with aubergines. In some regions the words are used interchangeably.

The creation of this traditional relish is quite a long process which involves baking some of the ingredients for hours, also roasting the peppers and peeling them.

 

 Pastrmajlija is a Macedonian specialty bread pie made from dough, meat and eggs. Pastrmajlija is oval-shaped with chopped meat on top of it. The name comes from the word pastrma, meaning salted and dried meat of sheep or lamb (cf. pastrami and "pastırma"). Traditional pastrmajlija is a long shape, with a topping of small cubes of dried pork or lamb and served with two fried eggs on the top.

Preparation: Ohrid trout

Clean the fish and cut it on larger pieces, sprinkle salt and roll it in flour. Fry the fish in heated oil and put it aside on hot.
In a pan put two tablespoons of oil, once heated add 2 tablespoons flour. When the flour is half fried add the ground walnuts and stir constantly until the mixture get red color.
In 400 ml of lukewarm water add 2 tablespoons vinegar and finely chopped garlic. Sprinkle the walnuts with this water, stir and boil it. If the mixture is thick, add a little more water.
Place the fried fish in a bowm and pour it with the mixture.
Enjoy.