BALESH

BALESH, traditional dish of Bashkir cuisine. It is a round closed pie made of unleavened dough with a stuffing. For stuffing they use meat, goose giblets, cereals (millet, rice), vegetables (potatoes, pumpkin); for sweet B. – berries (cranberries, strawberries). B. without meat stuffing is prepared with the use of a large amount of butter or oil. Meat B. is served hot. They

remove the top of the pie, eat the stuffing first and then the dough base of it). Traditionally B. was baked for a festive meal dedicated to a wedding, child birth, etc. A similar dish is common in Mordva, Russian, Tatar, Chuvash and other national cuisines.