Lettera, I will say so! An odd number of pies for a festive joyful table, even - on the contrary!
The method of cutting also has its own sacred meaning, but this is no longer on the topic.
Traditionally, the pie is cut into 8 pieces without moving or rotating the pie itself.
The pie is cut into 8 parts with cuts: from top to bottom, left to right, upper right corner - lower left corner, upper left corner - lower right corner.
Let Ira tell you or I’m in PM.
Today the cuisine of different nations has become more popular than ever. More and more cafes and restaurants are opening, where we can taste sometimes very unusual and exotic dishes from different nations of the world. This is great, because in order to get to know more about the traditional cuisine of a particular country, you do not have to visit this country. Especially popular today is Italian, Chinese, Japanese cuisine, of course, European, but not so long ago we had the opportunity to get to know some dishes of Ossetian cuisine more closely (and more specifically, with Ossetian pies).
Agree that when we eat certain dishes (again, we are talking about national dishes of different peoples), we pay attention to their presentation, ingredients, taste, but at the same time we do not think at all about what is or another dish contains a certain meaning that we do not even know about.
So, today I would like to better acquaint you with such a dish as Ossetian pies, which have recently become extremely popular throughout our country. Here, for example, will you know why such pies are round and triangular in shape and what is the meaning of this?
First, it should be noted that Ossetian pies are a real national dish that has been cooked for more than one century. As for their shape itself, the circle and triangle were not chosen for nothing.
The fact is that, according to the folk philosophy of the Ossetian people, both of these figures are ritual signs. So, the triangle expresses some creative and at the same time fruitful power of the entire surrounding world, but the circle, in turn, symbolizes the earth, which is inherently infinite, as well as infinity as a whole.As you can see, the ancient worldview of this people was preserved and passed down from generation to generation not only in various written sources, but even in such everyday and everyday things as the shape of pies.
So, according to Ossetian traditions, in that village or in the house where any holiday was supposed to be held, three pies were to be served on the table without fail. The peculiarity of serving pies was that they were not placed next to one another, but were laid on top of each other. Why is that? If you follow the philosophy of the Ossetian people, then this is how the three most important components of the world are located, namely the Sun, Earth and God.
The event itself and the feast always began with the fact that the eldest of the family made a certain speech, an appeal to higher powers. After that, the pies moved apart, and only then could they be cut and eaten. But that's not all, because cutting the pies is also necessary for a reason! it is necessary to cut the Ossetian pie exclusively in the shape of a cross, that is, into four parts. Thus, it was possible to "place" two main ritual figures on one table - a circle and a cross. If we follow the Ossetian philosophy and worldview, then it is the circle that is the center of the entire universe, and the cross symbolizes four rays that indicate the directions along which the development of everything in the universe takes place.
If we go deeper into traditions, we can note the following. Let's go back to how much it is customary to cut the pies - as we said, these are four pieces, but you can also cut the pie into eight pieces, and this will in no way contradict any rules or traditions. It's simple - all symbols and meanings are very often divisible, which means that the number four itself can be easily turned into eight. One more point - three pies on the table, it is customary to divide them into four parts - in total, we get the number seven, which in turn is sacred for most of the peoples of Eurasia. As you know, it is the number seven that is the symbol of harmony. Thus, it turns out that while you are eating a real Ossetian pie, you will join the world harmony and beauty.
Another rather interesting point is that if Ossetian pies were prepared directly for performing any ritual rituals, then the process of their preparation was slightly different from the usual one. So, the grain itself began to be processed seven days before the day of the celebration. The dough had to be kneaded in complete silence and in complete silence, while the women had to wash their hands several times, and their mouths had to be covered with clean handkerchiefs.
If an Ossetian pie was prepared in a round shape, then its thickness should not have been more than two centimeters, and its diameter should have been about thirty to forty centimeters. By the way, in the Russian language such pies were called “flat cake”.
The name of the Ossetian pie itself will directly depend on what kind of filling is used in it. If you make out the name as a whole, then it will consist of a certain base and the corresponding suffix, which, in fact, will indicate the content of one or another ingredient directly in the cake itself.
So, let me introduce to your attention only the basic types of pies (although in fact there are many more variations). So, let's start with pies, the main filling in which is precisely Ossetian cheese. Please note that the name of these pies will be different - so. a round-shaped pie with cheese is called "Khabizjin" or "Walibah", but the exact same pie only of a triangular shape is already called "Artadzykhon". If you add wild garlic leaves to the Ossetian cheese, then the pie will be called "Davondzhin". An Ossetian pie in which finely chopped pumpkin is used as a filling is called Nasjin, and if a cabbage filling is used, it is Kabuskadzhin.As we have already said, in most Ossetian pies it is Ossetian cheese that is the main and main ingredient, if beet tops are added to the cheese, then such a pie will be called "Tsakharajin", if potatoes, then this is "Kartofdzhin" (here the name speaks for itself ). It is also possible to have such a filling option as Ossetian cheese along with chopped green onions, this version of the pie is called "Kadyndzdzhin". “Kadurdzhin” is an Ossetian pie with beans, and “Zokodzhin” is an Ossetian pie stuffed with mushrooms. Of course, there is also a pie with meat (and different types of meat are used) - this is "Fidjin". And finally, the sweet Ossetian cherry pie is Baljin.
Thus, you can make sure that, indeed, there are many options for the execution of Ossetian pies and you have plenty to choose from. If you have not tried this dish yet, then you should not waste your time, because having tasted the Ossetian pie only once, you will want to repeat it again and again.