Question by J.A.N.E.T. 9: How to make a traditional Russian blini?
Does anyone know of a good traditional Russian blini recipe?
Also, what is usually topped on them? I heard cheese, fish, or fruit? Also, is blini a breakfast food or dinner food?
Answers and Views:
Answer by venesa
CHEESE BLINI
1/2 c. unsifted all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
2/3 c. low-fat (2%) milk
1 lg. egg white
1/4 tsp. butter
1/2 c. low-fat cottage cheese
2 tsp. honey
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
Pinch of ground cinnamon
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and egg white. Make a well in the center of the flour, add the milk mixture and stir just to combine. Grease the bottom of the skillet with the butter and set over moderately high heat.
When the skillet is hot, pour in 2 tablespoons of the batter, rotating the pan the make a thin pancake. Cook for 30 seconds or until set, flip and cook 20-30 seconds longer or until golden. Transfer to a plate, top with a sheet of wax paper and repeat until all the batter is used.
Place the cottage cheese, honey, ginger and cinnamon in a food processor or electric blender and whirl for 1 minute. Spread each blini with a tablespoon of the cheese mixture; fold in half, then fold in half again or roll. Arrange on a plate with mint leaves and a dollop of apricot preserves. Makes 8.
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MINI BLINIS
2 loaves white sandwich bread, sliced
2 egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
1 lb. cream cheese
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
3/4 lb. melted butter
Cream together egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar and cream cheese. Cut crust off of bread slices and roll each very thin. Put 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture in center of bread. Roll up. Mix cinnamon and 1 cup sugar. Dip rolled bread in melted butter, then into cinnamon mixture. Put on cookie sheet with seam down and freeze overnight.
After blinis are frozen, they may be stored in storage bags until ready to use, but you MUST FREEZE before baking. When ready to serve, cut into halves while still frozen. Thaw 10 to 15 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes with folded side down. Serve warm.
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BLINI
1 lg. loaf sandwich bread, sliced
Cut off crust and roll each slice flat with rolling pin. Blend: 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla 2 egg yolks
Spread 1 to 2 teaspoons mixture over each slice. Roll each slice like jelly roll. Cut in one-thirds. Roll in melted butter then in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheet and freeze. When ready to serve, bake frozen at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Add your own answer in the comments!
Yulia says
It's a breakfast food!:)
I know a really easy recipe for the thin blintz:
To make a small amount:
Take 1 egg and break it into a bowl.
Put 3 Table spoons of sugar and mix with the egg, add 1/2 of teaspoon of salt, and mix.
Add 1/2 of teaspoon of baking soda, and mix.
Add milk – about half a liter, you can add alittle less or more, doesn't make a difference.
It's the amount of flour you add, that makes a difference. Put about 4-5 tablespoons of flour to the bowl, and mix well.
Put 1-2 Tablespoons of oil in it, and mix.
The mixture should be runny.
Take a medium pan, put a little oil on it, and spread around the pan, drain all the excess oil. Make sure the pan is hot, and raise it a little tilted. Pour 3/4 of a cup into the pan while tilting it, so that the mixture spreads evenly throughout the pan, covering the entire bottom. If it's too runny, you know to add a little more flour, if it's too thick, and spreads slowly, then add a little more milk.
If the consistency is good, then you can start making blintz.
Just reduce the heat to medium, and when you see the edges of the blin get golden – flip it(take a spreading knife and separate the corner of a blin from the pan, then you can take that corner with our hands, and flip it to the other side). The other side cooks much faster, when you take the blin out of the pan, and into the plate – you should have a fork stuck into 1-2 tbs of butter ready, and after you fill the pan with mixture again, you can spread that butter on the cooked blin, make sure it's well covered with butter.
When you have them done – you can eat them plain(with the butter that you have on them), you can dip them into preserve, you can even do this:
Take cooked meat(beef or chicken), ground it, fry some onion and ground it too with the meat, then fry some portabella mushrooms, and mix with the meat, fry it all on a fan with a little bit of oil or water, just enough so that the meat is sticking to itself. Then you can wrap the meat in the blin. Make sure it's well salted and peppered though.
After you wrapped all the blintz, take some butter to the pan, and fry the wrapped blintz to a golden color, and you're done!
Linda G says
Blini or thin Russian blini – are tiny, yeast-leavened, buckwheat pancakes. Classically they are served with sour cream, red caviar, jam, syrup or can be stuffed with meat, rice and other food.
: For 20-22 blini.
All-purpose Flour – 6 (big salad) spoons
Milk – 2 and half glasses
Eggs – 3 large
Salt – one pinch or your taste
Sugar – 4 teaspoons
Buttermilk – half a glass or slightly more for your taste
Kefir – for Russian buttermilk – small family secret, will give you a special test for Blini, especially if you will use a fruit buttermilk like peach or strawberry. You can add it to the regular buttermilk.
1. In a medium size bowl pour 6 full spoons of All-purpose flour.
2. Add 2.5 cup of milk.
3.Add 3 eggs.
4. Beat well to mix all ingredients.
5. Add 3-4 teaspoons of sugar (depending on your taste).
6. Add a pinch of salt (depends on your taste).
7. Add 1 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil.
8. And finally ½ cup of buttermilk (remember, if you like sweeter and a fruity taste, add fruit buttermilk).
9. Like Step 4 mix the ingredients well – until the mixture is smooth and well blended. Remember, the better you mix the ingredients, the better blini will be. Just make sure there are no flour lumps in your mixture.
TIP: I use the a back of a ladle to mash all the lumps. Trust me they will disappear very fast.
If the mass is too thick or sticky you need more milk. You can also add a lit bit more buttermilk. Milk – you can add as much as you feel you need to get a very smooth mass and thin blini.
10. Preheat a 10”or 12” fry pan to medium-high heat.
Add 6-8 drops of vegetable or canola oil to the fry pan.
Rub it all around so your blini will not stick to the pan.
!!!Make sure you add oil before cooking each blini!!!
11. Take a ladle or a regular cup. Dip it into your mixture.
For one thin and big blini you need 2/3 of a cup, or almost fool ladle of mixture.
Poor the mass onto fry pan. It will help, if you poor it on one side of a pan.
Poor it very quickly. Don’t forget your pan is very hot.
12. Spread the mass very quickly over fry pan by moving pan in circular motion.
Do not be afraid, even if you can not do it well the first time, you will get it second time. There is a famous Russian saying: “First blini is always the ugly one”.
Your next one will be better looking and rounder. And even if they are all ugly, they still will taste great!!!
13.As soon as your mass is on the frying pan adjust your burner to a medium heat.
Very high temperature will burn it. We needed a high heat just to warm up the pan.
Cook it on one side until it gets a nice light golden brownish color or edges start to brown and lightly curl – usually takes 1 minute.
14.As soon as one side become ready flip it over. You will ask HOW?
Slide a spatula carefully under the Blini and flip it over with one movement.
Trust me it’s easier then it’s sounds.
15.Cook the other side until it is slightly golden. Usually about 40seconds.
Don’t go far! Blini will burn as soon as you turn your back. Every 10 seconds, take one edge of the blini with a spatula and raise it to see if it’s a nice color. If it’s getting dark you over cooked it and it will taste very dry.
16.
Use a big flat plate for your cooked blini; stack Blini one on top of each other.
To keep them warm. You can also use a non-salted butter to rub it in each cooked blini.
It will keep them moist and tasty.
17.Serve Blini with a jam or syrups of your choice. Personally, I prefer sour cream or caviar. Obviously, they would not be Traditional Russian blini if they are not surrounded by a red caviar.
Enjoy and Bon Appetite!
David H says
I am a former chef and they are mini buckwheat pancakes with a yeast base, and you can serve them with sweet or savoury topping, in Russia they use sour cream and either sturgeon caviar or salmon caviar, for sweet ones, jams, fruit compotes with sour cream unsweetened whipped cream or honey, buckwheat honey and sweet butter.
I have made them several time and it is not much different than regular pancake batter except there is a bit of yeast in them, were normal pancakes use baking powder/soda for the rise.
The first girl must not be Russian as she gave you the recipe for Jewish "Blintz's" not blini's, sorry Venesa your way off.