Voronezh Housewife's Foolproof Syrniki Recipe

If you«ve never made syrniki (Russian cottage cheese pancakes) before, use our recipe. This one is guaranteed to work – as promised by a Voronezh1 reader. In just 20 minutes, you»ll have a healthy protein-rich breakfast on the table.

Ingredients for 8-10 pieces

• Cottage cheese — 500 g (the drier and crumblier, the better, with 5-9% fat)

• Egg — 1 large or 2 small

• Sugar — 2-3 tablespoons (to taste)

• Salt — 1 pinch

• Vanilla sugar — 1 teaspoon (optional)

• Flour — 5-6 tablespoons (+ more for dredging)

• Vegetable oil — for frying

1. Prepare the cottage cheese. If the cottage cheese is wet, drain it in cheesecloth and squeeze slightly. For an ideal consistency, you can push it through a sieve or mash it with a fork so there are no large lumps.

2. Knead the dough. In a bowl with the cottage cheese, add the egg, sugar, salt, and vanilla sugar. Mix thoroughly until homogeneous.

3. Add the flour. Gradually sift in the flour and quickly knead the dough. It should be soft, slightly sticky, but easy to shape in your hands. If it sticks too much – add a little more flour. It«s important not to overdo it with flour, otherwise the syrniki will become dense.

4. Shape the syrniki. On a table or board, sprinkle some flour. Shape the dough into a sausage and cut it into equal parts. Dredge each piece in flour and shape into round patties about 1.5 cm thick.

5. Fry them. Heat vegetable oil in a pan (it should cover the bottom with a layer of about 3-5 mm) over medium heat. Place the syrniki. Fry on each side for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. The heat should not be too high so that the syrniki have time to cook through inside.

   Place the finished syrniki on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Syrniki go well with various toppings – sour cream, jam, honey, syrups, condensed milk.

A couple of secrets from the housewife:

• Dry cottage cheese is the key to success. If the cottage cheese is paste-like (in tubs), it must be squeezed in cheesecloth or add 1-2 more tablespoons of flour.

• Don«t overdo it with flour. The dough should not be stiff.

• Let the dough »rest« (5 minutes) so that the flour combines with the moisture – this way the syrniki will crack less in the pan.