Polish Cuisine by Region: Podlachia & The Suwałki Region
One of Poland’s most unique and beloved regional cuisines, the food of the historical regions of Podlasie and Suwalszczyzna, now formally combined into the Podlaskie Voivodeship, is a unique blend of Polish, Lithuanian, Jewish, Belarusian and Tatar influences. Most of the dishes are comforting and delicious peasant fare with potatoes at the forefront, but there are some unusual flavour combinations and techniques to be found in the region as well.
Podlachia (Podlasie) is a historical region in the north-eastern part of Poland. The name has two possible explanations: some say it can be derived from the word las (forest) – which would make sense, since despite some near-sighted political decisions this part of Poland is still filled with trees and a trip to Podlasie for many is almost synonymous with ‘going to the woods’, especially the treasure that is Białowieża Forest. Others believe it comes from the expression ‘pod Lachem’ which means ‘under the Poles’ or ‘under Polish rule’. When it comes to ethnicity and religion, it is probably the most diverse Polish region. As recently as the 20th century, it was difficult for many Podlachians to state what their ethnicity actually was – in the 1920s and 1930s, many just identified as tutejsi (‘from here’).
The best potato cake in the world
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Babka ziemniaczana, photo: Anatol Chomicz / Forum
Probably the most famous of all Podlachian dishes is babka ziemniaczana, which also appears under the name of kartoflak, bugaj, rejbak or kugiel. It came from the east, as it is one of the most important dishes in Belarusian cuisine, where, quite similarly to Poland, potatoes have formed the basis of the daily menu since the early 19th century. The name references babka, which is a sweet yeast cake, well known in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth since the 17th century, and which had quite an impact around the world as well thanks to the Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński.
The connection between this sweet delicacy and the potato bake can easily be explained: in many Polish, Belarusian and Ukrainian dishes, such as dumplings and pancakes, potatoes were used instead of flour: babka ziemniaczana can be best described as a savoury potato cake. It is also related to what in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine is called kugel – a casserole made with different ingredients bound with egg, potatoes being one of them.
It has always been a staple of the humble peasant diet – in the simplest versions, its only ingredients are potatoes, onions, a bit of flour and eggs, which might be enriched with pork jowl or bacon if meat was available – mostly during the holiday season, after pig slaughter. That’s also when a similar dish called kiszka ziemniaczana (‘potato gut’) was prepared –instead of being baked in a large tin, the same onion-potato-pork mixture is put inside a pork intestine to make a sausage of sorts.
The fabulous land of potato dumplings
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Knyszyn, photo: Łukasz Szczepański / East News
When it comes to potatoes, this is just the beginning. Kartacze (also known as cepelinai because of the resemblance of their shape to Zeppelin airships) are a delicious variety of potato dumplings typical of Lithuanian cuisine, and widespread in the northern part of the Podlaskie voivodeship – a region called Suwalszczyzna (from the city of Suwałki).
Kartacze are one of Lithuania’s national dishes: they are made with a mixture of grated raw potatoes and riced cooked potatoes, and filled. They are included on the Ministry of Agriculture’s list of regional Polish specialties. As journalist Paulina Nawrocka-Olejniczak writes in her book about various Polish dumplings Kluski: Teoria i Praktyka (Dumplings: Theory & Practice, available here in Polish):
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According to the ministerial description, a standard kartacz should weigh around 150-200g and be 10-12cm long. In their most classic version, they are filled with raw mince, and the secret of their flavour is a slow cook, that allows both for the meat and the dough to cook through. Different fillings are allowed: sauerkraut, mushrooms, poppy seeds, cheese, chopped kindziuk [a dried and smoked Lithuanian sausage – ed.] or, in the region of Samogitia – farmer’s cheese with fresh mint.
Author
Paulina Nawrocka-Olejniczak
While kartacze are very popular, there are some dumplings only known in particular parts of the region. One of these hidden treasures is zaguby – a dish only served in the vicinity of Drohiczyn, on the bank of the Bug River. To make zaguby you must roll out some simple pierogi dough, spread a filling of chopped onions and grated potatoes fried in oil on it (as with most eastern potato-based dishes, cubes of bacon may be added) and then roll it like a log before cutting into pieces (to me the method vaguely resembles what you do when making cinnamon buns). These pieces are then boiled for around 25 minutes and served with fried onions and/or lardons.
Kartoflaniki are another potato-based regional specialty… or more than one. Let me explain: there are two different dishes you can find under this name, one of Tatar origin and related to Turkish psihalive dumplings – these are big pierogi filled with potatoes, hard-boiled eggs and herbs such as dill, parsley and chives – and the other, a Polish-Belarusian vegetarian delicacy made with mashed riced potatoes bound with egg, filled with mushrooms and fried.
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A 'mrowisko', photo: Anatol Chomicz / Forum
The impressive spit cake sękacz is the most famous sweet delicacy from north-eastern Poland, yet it’s not the only flamboyant dessert unique to the region. Another is the Polish-Lithuanian mrowisko: a mountain of faworki (strips of deep-fried pastry which in English are often called ‘angel wings’ and, apart from pączki, are the most popular Carnival treat throughout Poland) which are topped with honey (which sticks them together a bit) and sprinkled with raisins and poppy seeds. It’s the seeds, which vaguely resemble little insects, that give the cake its most popular name – mrowisko means ‘anthill’.
While the origin of mrowisko goes back to the houses of wealthy Lithuanian bishops and noblemen, marcinek, a delicacy from Hajnówka has a shorter history: apparently it was a family recipe that the grandmother of Mrs. Irena Poskrobko brought to the town from Russia in the 1920s. It became better known thanks to Mrs. Irena, who first worked in a hospital and then in a big nursery and always made the cake for birthdays and other important events. It consists of many wafer-thin rounds of rich, sweet dough made with flour, egg yolks, butter, sugar, cream, and baking soda and layered with a whipped cream-based frosting with a touch of sour cream, lemon and almond. Nowadays, marcinek is a true local delicacy.
Forgotten flavours make a comeback
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Knysze, photo: Michał Kość / Reporter / East News
Due to the turbulent and often tragic history of the region, some of the dishes and products introduced by ethnic minorities, especially by the Jews, were forgotten and are only now being revived by people passionate about the heritage of Podlasie. One of these specialties is bialys or Bialystoker Kuchen – Jewish onion rolls that are now easier to find in the Jewish neighbourhoods in New York than in Białystok. However, you can now try an updated version – and even a bialys pastrami sandwich or a cream cheese & lachs version – when visiting the impressive 16th-century castle in Tykocin.
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Tykocin Castle, photo: Jerzy Ochoński / PAP
Just a 15-minute ride away, you’ll find Knyszyn: a town whose name many New Yorkers will immediately associate with another American-Jewish staple, the knish. This Ashkenazi snack of potatoes, cheese or buckwheat kasha covered with dough and baked or deep fried has a rich and complicated history that has been researched by Laura Silver in her book Knish: In Search of the Jewish Soul Food (2013). Most inhabitants of this predominantly Jewish town were killed during World War II but in the past decades their culinary heritage has been rediscovered – a knish-baking competition was organised and local legends about the pastry have been noted by Tomasz Piotr Krawczuk.
Two glass bottles containing a frothy, opaque liquid called buza with some raisins floating on top, photo: Michał Kość / Reporter / East News If you want to sample the unique cuisine of Polish Tatars, you should visit the village of Kruszyniany right next to the border. And if you’re searching for the most unique Podlachian drinks, you need to visit Białystok and search for buza. It’s a beverage made with fermented millet with raisins, lemon and sugar. It was probably brought to the city before World War I by the Macedonians who started opening buzny – little bars where the refreshing drink was served, often with a bit of halva to go with it. Now you can taste it in Esperanto Café on the market square in Białystok.
‘Buza embodies the history of our multicultural town – a melting pot of cultures and flavours,’ says the café owner, Krzysztof Dmochowski. And that’s something you can say about the whole fascinating region of Podlachia.
Written by Natalia Mętrak-Ruda, January 2022
