Syrniki Recipe (Cottage cheese pancakes)

There are foods that when you eat, you are transported to a place and time you miss. Like an old photograph that can evoke smiles or tears or a flood of memories, food can do that ever so well.

Living in a city like Dubai, with people from all over the world, we have the possibility to be privy to some beautiful stories. Especially with food – we are so lucky that Dubai makes food from more or less everywhere in the world readily accessible. Working at a global business school, I personally have access to people from all over the world, just at work. To me, that is being surrounded by lovely stories.

One such food that inspired a bit of a journey was Syrniki, which I was introduced to by two co-workers – one is from Ukraine and the other from Belarus. I was convinced that there was ricotta cheese in it but they assured me it was cottage cheese. And the cream on the side, whipped cream right? Nope, sour cream. My last question – how hard is this to make (because I refuse to live the rest of my life not eating this)? They smiled and said, it’s simple. So simple that even they can make it. So they had to make it for me.

Let me introduce you to who I lovingly call “my chicklings” at work. Tatsiana (on the left) is from Belarus and Yuliia is from Ukraine. I warned them that this cooking session would also be story telling time. They very kindly obliged.

I asked them about some memories they have associated with this dish. Tatsiana said, she didn’t learn how to make these until after college (she was studying in the US) and so when she would go back home over any breaks, the first breakfast she would want to eat with her mom was syrniki.

Yuliia mentioned a very early memory of when she was a child waking up in her childhood home, opening the door to the main hall that was linked to the kitchen and smelling the syrniki cooking on the pan, knowing it would be a delightful morning.

The process can be simple or not, depending on how much of a perfectionist you are – as Tatsiana pointed out (indicating Yuliia’s need for things to be perfect – ah! the joys of knowing someone through work!). As with most things though, two sets of hands, helping each other, made it a lot more fun.

When it came to eating these delightful wee pancakes, Yuliia pulled out all the stops. We had condensed milk she brought all the way from Ukraine and honey from, get this, her grandmother’s backyard. They farm bees and the honey is homemade. I can’t explain how delicious it was, especially with the sour cream (a combo I didn’t know I needed in my life).

Do they speak in Russian (the common language between them)? They said it ends up being a lot of English with a little Russian thrown in because they end up talking about work and they work in English.

Political differences create rifts so strong that we see the cracks for decades to come. There are ties that will always bond us together, histories that have beauty in them – the beauty that has been replaced with horrific realities. When all thrown in the same place, do people from these different spaces look at each other and say “I hate you because I am supposed to” or do you choose to say “Hey, let’s make some syrniki and share stories”?

What’s a breakfast dish that screams “childhood memories” for you?

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Yuliia and Tatsiana’s Syrniki

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 200 grams cottage cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 tbsp. semolina
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla sugar
• Salt (to taste)
• Oil of choice to sear pancakes (we used coconut oil)

Toppings

• strawberries
• blueberries
• sour cream
• honey
• condensed milk

Instructions

1. Using a sieve and a wooden spoon, mash the cottage cheese until smooth (remove any excess water)

2. Add egg, flour, semolina, vanilla sugar and a pinch of salt and continue mixing batter ensuring there are no lumps. This will look more like a think dough than a traditional pourable pancake batter.

3. Scoop out the pancake dough and gently flatten the dough ball into a small pancake. Lightly pat the pancake with flour on both sides. You want these small pancakes to be 2-3 inches.

4. To cook the syrniki: In a skillet, heat 3-4 tablespoons of the oil of your choice (we used coconut oil) and gently place the pancakes into a pan using a spatula. Cook on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes per side, or until each side is golden brown. Be mindful, or they might get a little too well done!

5. Once both sides are a golden brown, remove and let cool for a couple of minutes. Serve with toppings of your choice.