Taking time to eat in the morning can be a real luxury nowadays. We are all in a hurry, busy with daily tasks and tend to miss one of the important meals of the day. However, we can't help but remember some slightly different times, when traditionally specialties from dough and ala-minutes were prepared for breakfast at dawn, and everyone gathered around the table. Chia and granola were unfamiliar words, and the concept of brunch was far from us. Therefore, with the following lines we decided to go back in time a little and to unravel the traditional Bulgarian breakfast and where we can it now in Plovdiv.
Banitsa/tutmanik
Banitsa is a national specialty and once you tried the fluffy baked crusts, garnished with melting cheese - you can't help but be a fan of it. Each region and even each home has its own modification of the original recipe. Tutmanik is also not inferior in taste and distribution. It is made from dough, and cheese can again be used for the filling, but in some areas it is garnished with meat/minced meat or kneaded as sweet as Easter cake. Last year we personally tried some of the offers of recommended ovens in the city under the hills and we have collected the most delicious among them in an article.
Kifla with marmalade
The name of this product is probably borrowed from Austria, where it was called "kipfen" and was first described in 1227. It is also prepared with various fillings, but if you haven’t eaten Bulgarian kifla, be sure to try it with marmalade . Unfortunately, it turns out that it is increasingly replaced by its French version – the croissant - and if you want to enjoy its taste - we recommend some of the ovens that we have highlighted in the text for the most delicious banitsa in Plovdiv. Their kiflas are also excellent!
Pirogi/mekitsas/buhtas
Photo: Mekitsa and Cafe
It is believed that the recipe for pirogi was borrowed from Slavic cuisine, where they are served with a variety of fillings: meat, vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, cabbage and even fruit. In Plovdiv, they are in the same place (on the side of Hali at the very beginning of Evlogi Georgiev Street) for maybe half a century and are full of marmalade that literally melts in your mouth. They are an alternative to kiflas, but keep in mind that they feel greasy. As for mekitsas and buhtas - in their traditionally Bulgarian form you can hardly find them in many places. Mekitsa and coffee are close to the taste of before, but if you find them available in a bakery, do not hesitate to try (and then share your impressions).
Printsesa
This is a popular breakfast from the Bulgarian cuisine, representing a slice of bread spread with minced meat, a mixture of minced meat, egg and cheese, sometimes only grated cheese or in a variation with a mix of cheese and eggs with spices. Bake until reddened in the oven, usually only at the top. In Eastern and Southeastern Bulgaria this type of ala-minute is called strandzhanka (or strandzhenka). Rarely can you find it cooked this way in bakeries nowadays. In some places they are served with baked cheese and ham, or even mozzarella. If you’d like something like this, we recommend you try Niko in Kapana.
A slice of bread with grease/tsiganska banitsa
It will be difficult to explain why it is so delicious, but the slices of bread with some kind of fat and savory are a memory for many Plovdiv residents. They are not at all compatible with the idea of healthy eating, but they can be part of a high-fat diet.
Popara/trahana
One of the most offered breakfast in the kindergarten is soaked bread in water, tea or fresh milk. Seasoned with sugar and/or cheese. An alternative to oatmeal with frozen fruit, but you can eat it only at home.
Yufka/macaroni with cheese
Again, forgotten tastes from our childhood, which today can probably be prepared only by grandmothers in the villages.
For drinks we will be very short - leave the smoothies and fresh juices, and instead try boza or cold ayryan and if you have other favorite foods from your childhood, feel free to share i
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