Moscow Recipes: Russian Blini

Blini, cheese, meat, sour cream...yum!

Blini are basically the Russian version of crepes, and they are delicious! Although I learned to make blini outside of Moscow, the blini I made in Moscow were good, and I want to share the recipe.

Ingredients:
For every 1 egg...

• 1 cup of flour.
• 1 Tablespoon of sugar.
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 stick of butter (you won't need the whole thing).
  

A little bit of vegetable oil
Some water based on consistency of mix.

You will need:

• A ladle.
• One or several small to medium-sized pans.
• A large mixing bowl
• Something to mix with, or an automatic beater.
  

Directions:

1. Scramble the eggs in a large bowl.
2. Put in sugar, salt, milk, mix.
   
3. Slowly add the flour to the mixture (1 cup at a time), mixing as you go. The mixture should not have any chunks in it every time you add more flower. Make sure you gradually add the flower, and not all at once, because then your batter will get lumpy. It helps to have an automatic beater.
4. Add some vegetable oil to your mixture.
5. Your mixture should now be moderately thick, but should also easily pour out of a ladle. Adjust the consistency of your mixture by using water.
6. Heat several small to medium-sized pans (or crepe pans, if you have them) on medium heat, and put a little oil on them.
7. Once the pans are hot, use your ladle to get some batter and pour the batter onto the pan.
8. Tilt the pan, rolling the batter along the pan until the pan is covered with a thin layer of batter. It may take you several tries to get the thickness correct.
   
9. Place the pan back on the heat, and fill other pans (if you have them) with the batter.
10. Check the blini to see if they are ready to flip. They are ready when they are slightly brown on one side. When the blini are ready, flip them.
    
11. Once both sides are lightly browned, put the blini on a large plate. You will want to put a thin layer of butter on every other blin that goes onto this plate.
12. Remember to put oil on the pans once the blini start to stick to the pan. If you notice your blini sticking to the pan, this may also be because the blini are not done yet...give them some time!

Of course, you should always test your blini once they're cooked for flavor, to make sure they are cooked right!

You can eat blini with jam, nutella, cooked ground beef (with onions), caviar, or anything else that sounds good!

Thank you to my mom for the recipe.