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Culinary Festival Meals of Dobrudzha, Srebarna village

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LOCATION

The Culinary Festival Meals of Dobrudzha is held in the village of Srebarna, Silistra municipality, 429 km away from Sofia. There is three time a day a bus leaving from the Sofia Central Bus Station to Silistra, as well as three time a day a train from the Sofia Central Railway Station.

 

DESCRIPTION

The festival is organized by the Municipality of Silistra, in collaboration with the town hall of the village of Srebarna and the National Cultural Center Vazrazhdane - 1940. It is a culinary event where the participants present themselves with homemade, traditional, regional dishes served in a clay pot, bowl or a tray. Meals are rated in categories - soups, main dishes and desserts, and in some years the categories include soups and wines. The aim of the festival is to preserve and popularize the old dishes in the Dobrudzha region.

HISTORY

The Meals of Dobrudzha is held in 2012 on the initiative of the Municipality of Silistra, the town of Srebarna and the Cultural center Vazrazhdane - 1940. The participants present themselves with home-cooked, traditional dishes from the Dobrudzha region. Dobrudzha is a historical and geographic area located in Southeastern Romania and Northeastern Bulgaria, between the lower reaches of the Danube and the Black Sea.

One of the features of Bulgarian and Balkan cuisine is that most products of one dish are heat treated simultaneously. This is especially true for baking and the explanation is simple - in the past, households barely had their own ovens, but had prepared baking dishes in public bakeries. Even with the advent of modern technology, this tradition of cooking is largely preserved.

Another feature is the inclusion of many fresh or canned vegetables that are processed simultaneously with the meat.

Strong, compared to other cuisines, is the use of spicy spices such as onion, garlic, red pepper, bahar, bay leaf.[1]

Dobrudzha has a specific and interesting culinary culture that combines the traditional Bulgarian tastes with those of the neighboring Balkan people and European influences through trade and hospitality. Typical product for this region is white flour, from which breakfast dishers are made. Among them are "dobrudzhanki" buns, mackerels, cookies and others. The Dobrudzha crust spreading technique is well known.

Besides banitsa, simple and everyday recipes are the so-called "crosses" or "horns", which are a disheveled thin sheet of dough, sprinkled with cheese, folded and baked on a heated plate. This recipe is related to the known Turkish gyuzleme. A forgotten traditional dish from this region is the baked bread in a specific clay pot - a podnitza. Other typical dishes of the authentic Dobrudzha cuisine are stews with a specific touch - the addition of dried plums or quinces, giving a slightly sweet taste of the dishes. The "kachamak" dish, which is called "mamaliga" in Romania, is also popular. a dish of Dobrudzha. Other featured meals are the Dobrudzha pisur, lamb with bulgur and others. The borrowed from the Balkan cuisine dishes are the kavarma, kapama, meatballs, burek, stews etc. The sweets include - baklava, halva, rice milk and others.

The requirements for the Meals of Dobrudzha competition are to have the dish prepared in a clay pot, bowl or tray. Priority in the contest get the dishes prepared according to old recipes[2].

Over the years, there have also been participants from Romania. The idea of ​​the festival is to present not only Bulgarian dishes, but also dishes from the national cuisines of the different ethnic groups inhabiting Dobrudzha. Among these are bulgur with maratura and onion stews with plums. At the one of the festivals over the years there was a sparrow stew. According to a past participant from the village of Dobrotitsa this dish used to be prepared for Easter. The festival encourages people to look for old recipes, ask older people and search for old culinary practices. Traditional local food is lamb kurban with boiled sauce and crunchy stew with chicken or prunes. Significant place among them is given to the the warm pie and the ritual pastry. Cultural centers, retirement clubs, informal groups, children groups, families and individuals participate in the event.[3]

Ethnographers and gourmet specialists from Silistra evaluate the prepared Dobrudzha dishes. All participants in the festival sit together at a common table to eat dishes provided by the municipality. The best dishes receive awards, while the rest - certificates.[4]

All guests and participants taste the dishes and receive a free lunch – Dobroudzha dish. There are always guests from Romania. The accompanying event is the rich program of songs and dances.

SITE SIGNIFICANCE

The festival is a good occasion for the demonstration and tasting of traditional cuisine for Dobrudzha region and a celebration occasion in Silistra Municipality.

VISITOR INFORMATION

It is located outside and is free to visit.

You can contact the Municipality of Silistra to apply for participation by filling in a participation form.

Contacst: Eleonora Georgieva - secretary of the "Vazrazhdane - 1940 Chitalishte.

 

SITE CLASSIFICATION

Culinary tradition - festival


 

[1] Silviqmitkova.wordpress.com<https://silviqmitkova.wordpress.com/%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B1%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0-%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%85%D0%BD%D1%8F/> (24.04.2018)

[2] Culinaryarts.bg <http://culinaryarts.bg/bg/dobrudzhanska-kuhnya> (24.04.2018)

[3] Focus-news.net <http://focus-news.net/opinion/2017/10/20/44506/eleonora-georgieva-nch-vazrazhdane-1940-okolo-190-uchastnitsi-ochakvame-v-shestiya-kulinaren-festival-gozbite-na-dobrudzha-v-selo-srebarna.html> (24.04.2018)

[4] Dobrichmedia.com <http://dobrichmedia.com/news/dobrudzha_3/kulinaren-festival-s-dobrudzhanski-gozbi-organiziraha-v-srebarna_9408.html> (24.04.2018)