Authentic flavors of Perm's gastronomy are primarily attributed to the Komi-Permyak cuisine. Such cuisine is served in the city center at the national cuisine cafes "Choskyt Kerku" and the cafe-museum "Perm Cuisine". A gastronomic tour featuring local products includes dishes made from various types of meat (even elk), mushrooms, local plants, and berries.
Take, for example, "pishtiki". A true specialty of Perm's cuisine. Essentially, they are young shoots and buds of horsetail, which were only eaten in this region. Horsetail itself is not the most common plant in culinary practice, especially in pies. Well, here's another interesting name, essentially, these are our fried pies, shaped more like mini-chebureks.
To prepare the filling for the pies and baking, horsetail stems are thoroughly washed in running water, then finely chopped and combined with chopped eggs and salt. This is a local variation of sorrel in general. Then the "stuffing" is wrapped in dough, and then the pies are fried in a frying-pan or baked in the oven. It turns out juicy and very unusual!
Pishtiki are an absolute hit of Perm's cuisine, one of the most beloved and popular dishes among the residents of Perm and the Perm region. It is believed that these mini-pies got their funny name because of the unusual way of preparing the filling: the meat for pishtiki was finely chopped, literally chopped, to make the filling juicy and tender. But there is another version - pishtiki are named so because when bitten, they squirt juice, that is, they "pishtik".
There are many ways to prepare pishtiki. Meat is usually used as a filling, but you can also make them with vegetables (for example, with honey radish or steamed turnip), and with horsetail too. The pies are traditionally eaten hot, dipped in a sauce based on vinegar or mustard, in horseradish sauce, sour cream, or kefir-garlic sauce.
In the cafe "Choskyt Kerku" in Perm, you can try many variations of local dumplings. The menu includes dumplings with venison, pikeperch, pike, chicken, and even radish. And there are so many variations of pishtiki - with chicken and turkey, with venison, with cabbage and egg, and again - with radish.
The selection of hot dishes is impressive - here you can find baked rabbit leg with mashed potatoes; venison with quail egg; an assortment of sausages (chicken, liver, venison). And to recall the Russian film "Parma" about the glorious past of the Perm region, we recommend ordering elk stewed with juniper and cranberries. The recipe is authentic and harks back to history. And to make it even more "old-fashioned" - take the monastery ragout (zucchini, potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots - all in cream) or roast with white mushrooms and potatoes.
"Perm Cuisine" is a cafe and museum "in one plate". One of the oldest cafes in Perm. Here you can not only taste local specialties like pies with pishtiki but also immerse yourself in the history of the Kama region, examining the collection of traditional utensils from Perm villages, photographs, and books. A popular place among residents and guests of the city. After all, from the very threshold, you immerse yourself in the unique traditions and history of the Komi-Permyak people. Every corner of the cafe is decorated with great respect and love. There is even a warm stove where you want to take pictures.
The basis of the cafe's menu is dishes from the book "Perm Cuisine", prepared according to Russian, Tatar, Komi-Permyak, Bashkir, and Mari recipes. Order fish soup from Kamchatka sturgeon with a turnover, roast beef with baked roots and cranberry broth, cream soup from pishtiki, ice cream with cones jam, or the popular Komi-Permyak kissel - omidza. All colorful and unusual!
Local gastronomic specialties of the Komi-Permyak cuisine would be incomplete without the famous shangezhki. Shangi or shangezhki are pies made of lush dough with potato filling, which have won wide love far beyond the Trans-Urals. They are often called "poured shangezhki". Another dish that has become part of the national Russian menu from traditional Perm cuisine. Unlike shangi, purely Permian baking is never sweet. You can try them in almost every cafe and confectionery in the Perm region.
The restaurant "Stroganovskaya Votchina" is another interesting place to explore the region's culinary map. Pishtiki and "kolduny", Ural pickles and white mushrooms, dumplings and pies with salmon, shangezhki and berry compote. This establishment combines the traditions of Russian cuisine and the national-folk cuisine of the Kama region. The concept of the establishment provides a variety of sets for acquainting with the national cuisine of Perm. The tasting menu of the world of Perm cuisine includes rural snacks (fragrant sauerkraut and pickles), fish, vegetable soups, or dumplings with broth and hot options.
For something unusual, we recommend soup with pikan. Pikan is a plant of the sorrel genus. It is esteemed in the kitchens of both the Komi-Permyaks and the Russians. Young sorrel leaves are added to soups, broths, and borschts. They can be added as a sour seasoning to dishes - the herb contains a lot of vitamin C and plant protein. During lunch, an ethnographer-historian can tell not only about the history of dishes but also about the traditions and customs of the Komi-Permyaks.
In "Stroganovskaya Votchina" you can also enjoy a traditional Russian merchant tea party. Such a tea party could last for hours. It so happened that the merchants drank up to twenty cups of this drink. The samovar, the aromas of brewed tea and herbs, jams, and fresh pastries - all as our ancestors drank and ate. This can be not only a delicious but also an informative and memorable event of a walk.
Well, if you're not the biggest fan of tea and prefer to enjoy stronger drinks. Your attention is offered sur - dark Komi-Permyak beer made from rye malt. The recipe has been preserved for centuries and looks like this. First, rye is sprouted, then it is ground into flour. A hole is made at the bottom of the vessel for brewing beer, it is plastered with bread, and put in a heated oven for a day. The finished sur is strained and served at the table.
What can we say - in the gastronomy of the Perm region, culinary traditions of various nationalities intertwine - Russians, Komi-Permyaks, Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari, Udmurts. That is why Perm cuisine is diverse and essentially to everyone's taste: on one table, vareniki and dumplings easily coexist with pishtik porridge, shangi, and chak-chak.
