March 2022, Kyiv
34 year old Dasha lives in Kyiv. With the beginning of the full-scale war, she started volunteering: she helps to pack humanitarian aid.
She says that once, in the spring, during battles for Kyiv, there was heavy shelling. Air-raid sirens blared again and again. Dasha’s family and their neighbors would diligently follow safety recommendations and go down to the basement every time they heard it.
“That time we would run to the basement with every siren. Could stay there all night – or all day,” Dasha recalls.
One day, her mother decided to cook something special just in case of another night in the basement. At a family meeting, they decided that it would be varenyky (Ukrainian dumplings) with cherries, since it is a tasty dish that also keeps well. And you can share it with people in the bomb shelter!
Dasha adds: “All the neighbors who were with us that time really liked our varenyky. Everyone even asked my mother for the recipe. She did not stop at it and cooked varenyky for people in the basement 4-5 more times”
Ingredients:
Flour – 300 grams
Starch – 2 tablespoons
Cherries – 150 grams
Sugar – 100 grams
Water – 100 ml
1 egg
Vanilla sugar, salt
How to cook:
1. Make dough (mixing flour, water, an egg, salt, and sugar) and put it in the refrigerator for an hour.
2. Remove pits from cherries. Form varenyky.
3. Boil varenyky. Wrap the pan in something warm. Take with you to the basement in case of an air raid alarm.
The story was told by: Maria, m.ria.v
History was recorded by: Banko Maria
Photo by: Karolina Grabowska, illustrative