The Slavic peoples Maslenitsa traditionally associated with pancakes in a variety of ways to make them.
However, in addition to this dish, there are often many others on the table who are somehow connected with this holiday.
Dishes to Shrovetide: no pancakes
Maslenitsa is a good reason to gather for the whole family at the holiday table, in order not only to discuss the latest news, but also to taste delicious dishes. Our ancestors were famous for their hospitality, so the tables were always full of food, and most of the goodies were also considered a symbol of the Carnival week. 
Rolls, pies, cheesecakes, dumplings and many other flour products will complement any table, the main thing is to cook them correctly. How exactly to do this, and what dishes are best to pay attention to in our time - we will tell you now.
Did you know? Until the 17th century, Maslenitsa was known by other names. The entire period of celebrations was often called the "cheese" or "meaty" week.
What to cook on Maslenitsa: ancient recipes
Among the many old recipes that have been passed down in our families for generations, it is worth to distinguish dishes and drinks with such unusual names as drachena, kaymak, sbiten, varenets, and already more familiar to everyone - cheesecakes.
Learn also about the best pancake recipes for Shrovetide.
Despite the intricate names, the recipes themselves are quite simple, and now you are convinced of this.
Cheesecake: video
Royal tart cake (royal)
In fact, cheesecake is the same bun, only with an open filling, but here its “royal” variation in the form of a pie will be more suitable for the festive table. The preparation of this goodies will not take you very much time, and you will not have to spend too much on food.
Ingredients for the dough:
- 3 cups flour;
- 200 g butter;
- 1 cup of sugar;
- ½ tsp salt;
- ½ tsp soda.
Ingredients for the filling of the cake:
- 0.5 kg of cottage cheese (preferably homemade);
- 1 cup of sugar;
- 4 eggs;
- 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Kitchenware: deep bowl, blender, grater, baking dish.
Important! Whenever possible, it is better to use a drop-down form so as not to damage the cheesecake upon removal.
The cooking process consists of the following steps:
- To begin, mix cottage cheese, eggs and sugar to get the filling for the future pie.
- Add vanillin to the blended mixture and mix everything well until complete homogeneity.
- Putting aside the bowl with the filling, proceed to the preparation of the dough and rub the oil in a refrigerator with a large grater.
- Add flour, sugar and a pinch of salt to the bowl with butter.
- Thoroughly knead everything with your hands until you get a fine crumb.
- Take a baking dish, grease it with butter and pour out about half of the dough-crumb obtained.
- Having leveled the surface, we make the sides of our cake, simply pressing the dough along the edges with our fingers.
- Pour the filling.
- We pour out the rest of the crumbs on top, gently leveling the surface.
- Heat the oven to +150 ° C and set the mold with the cake to bake for 40 minutes.
- Ready baked pastry out of the oven, let cool, and then cut and serve to the table.
The filling of the royal cheesecake looks very much like custard and perfectly complements the taste of such an unusual dough.
Kaymak
This dish is not at all like the previous one, and kaymak can hardly be called a dish. In fact, it is a very delicate dairy product, which in its taste characteristics is something between sour cream, butter and cottage cheese.
If desired, it can be used as a filling for pancakes or pies, and can only be served as a dessert.
As a filling, pancakes or pies can also be served with quince jam, white sweet cherry, feijoa, apples, tangerine slices, black currant, grapes, pumpkin and orange, red ash, lingonberries, and cornel.
Boiled cream kaymak: video
Ingredients:
- 3 cups fresh cream;
- 1 cup of sugar;
- 1 lemon;
- ¼ bag of vanilla sugar.
Kitchenware: pan, baking tray (if you decide to bake the product).
Cooking process:
- Mix two glasses of cream with plain and vanilla sugar and cook over low heat until ready (you can determine this moment by simply dropping the mixture into a glass with cold water: if it thickens to thick sour cream consistency, then it's time to remove the saucepan from the fire). When cooking, make sure that the kaymak is not burnt.
- After the process is completed, quickly cool our product (just put the saucepan in a container with cold water), beat it with a spatula and add lemon juice (drop by drop).
- Then add to the resulting mass the last glass of cream and send everything to the fridge.
- After a few hours, the kaymak can be served at the table, both independently and as a filling for pies and cakes.
Important! If you want to give the product some flavor, you can bake the kaymak in the oven by placing it there immediately after cooking. In this case, an interesting brown crust will appear on the surface.
Drachena
This dish of Russian, Belarusian and partly Ukrainian cuisine is cooked in a variety of ways using flour, eggs and milk, and based on potatoes. The last option is considered the Belarusian variety dram and perfectly suited to the holiday table on the Pancake Day.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of potatoes;
- 2 onions;
- 2 carrots (medium or large);
- 2 tbsp. spoons of semolina or flour;
- 2 eggs;
- 200 g of cottage cheese (preferably homemade);
- 0.5 kg of champignons;
- vegetable oil for roasting;
- a pinch of salt and a little pepper (to taste);
- 1 cube of mushroom seasoning.
Belarusian drachena: video
Kitchenware: pan, grater or mincer, baking pan, baking sheet, silicone brush for the distribution of sunflower oil in the form.
The cooking process is crushed in this case as follows:
- To begin, let's do stuffing: clean and chop the onion (diced) and mushrooms (half rings). Fry them in a pan, salt them, add the mushroom cube and leave to cool.
- While the filling is cooling, we clean the potatoes, carrots and another onion, and rub it all on a grater or skip through a meat grinder.
- Salt and pepper our base to taste, add eggs and semolina, mixing everything carefully.
- Add the cottage cheese to the existing ingredients and mix everything well again.
- We take a baking dish, cover the bottom with parchment paper and lubricate it with sunflower oil (along with the walls).
- Spread half of the potato base, leveling the surface well.
- Fold the top of the mushroom filling and "cover" all the remaining potato mass.
- Forms with a sodder are sent for an hour and 15 minutes in a preheated to 180 ° C oven.
Important! If you cover with parchment paper only the bottom of the form, then you should additionally put it on the baking sheet along with the cracker so that the potatoes do not flow into the cracks.
The finished dish can be served with sour cream or mushroom sauce.
Sbiten
In addition to the recipes of delicious dishes, our ancestors gave us knowledge about the preparation of equally useful and tasty drinks, which are also perfectly suited to the festive table. One of the old versions of such an addition to a feast is Sbiten, an East Slavic drink made from water, honey and spices.
Learn also how to make sea buckthorn compote, mint tea, ginger tea, raspberry leaf tea.
With the right approach to its creation, you will not only be able to quench your thirst with a cold drink in the summer, but also get a tasty, warming and anti-inflammatory elixir for the winter period.
Honey Honey: video
Ingredients:
- 1 l of water;
- 150 g of honey;
- 150 grams of sugar;
- 2-3 cm ginger root;
- 1 stick of cinnamon;
- ½ lemon;
- 4-5 boxes of cardamom;
- 1 star star anise.
Kitchenware: a small saucepan (can be 1.5 liters), a small strainer.
Cooking process:
- Peel the ginger root and cut it into thin slices.
- We combine in a saucepan water, sugar and honey.
- Add to them the spices and zest of half a lemon, all this is well mixed.
- Put the saucepan on the stove and bring its contents to a boil.
- On medium heat boil the mixture for about half an hour, without covering the container with a lid (it is advisable to stir the drink periodically).
- After the specified time has elapsed, turn off the heat, cover the pan and draw the drink for 30 minutes.
- The finished brew must be drained through a fine sieve and heated again before serving.
To enhance the taste, you can add a circle of lemon to the cup. 
Varenets
Another old Russian drink, in this case, prepared on the basis of baked cow milk and sourdough sour cream or cream.
Russian Varenets: video
Ingredients:
- 6 glasses of homemade milk;
- 1 cup homemade sour cream.
Kitchenware: cast iron pan.
Cooking process:
- Pour the milk into the pan and send it to the oven for evaporation until a yellow crust appears at the top (with average heat this process takes about 1.5 hours).
- We take the milk out of the oven and carefully remove the yellowed film.
- After waiting for it to cool slightly, add sour cream to it and gently stir everything.
- We send the drink to the fridge for a few hours.
Ready varenets served to the table as a separate thick drink, or as an appendix to the dumplings or pancakes (it can replace the sour cream). 
Did you know? According to one of the legends, Shrovetide got its name in honor of the pagan goddess Lely, who in these days changed her appearance as a fragile girl into a cheerful and full-bodied woman. It was her people who called her Pancake Day.
How to spend the last day of Shrovetide: we burn a straw effigy
Many people remember Maslenitsa only on the last day of the holiday, when it comes time to burn a straw effigy. Of course, in the cities such a rite is rare, but the villagers still honor this tradition.
The scarecrow personifies the winter and last year's harvest, and its burning should be the beginning of the new year and bring success in growing a new garden. 
In addition, on this day, believers end up consuming dairy products and are preparing for Lent, which will begin on Monday. If you have something to ask for forgiveness from relatives and friends, then the best thing to do is right now - on a Sunday before. Most likely, in response, you will hear: "God will forgive."
Visits and magnificent feasts are, of course, interesting and very pleasant customs, but do not forget about the spiritual component of the holiday. All week long, believers are obliged to prepare for the forthcoming Lent: not only physically, but also spiritually, eradicating all harmful habits and sinful thoughts.
