Karelian Kalitki

A kalitka is a small open pie: unleavened rye dough, mixed with soured milk or water and rolled very thin, filled with mashed potato, barley or millet porridge, or curd, with the edges turned up and pinched into a boat or a star, baked hot and then brushed with melted butter while warm. The rye base and the porridge filling are what mark it out - this is northern food built on what grew, since wheat did not. It belongs to the Karelians, Veps and the northern Russian population and is shared with Finnish cooking, where the same thing is a karjalanpiirakka, usually with rice. The saying attached to it is that a kalitka asks for eight, meaning the eight ingredients it takes. They are sold everywhere in Karelia, from station kiosks to good bakeries, and the quality difference is entirely in the crust: thin, slightly crisp and buttered while hot, or thick and dry.

What you actually see

• The rye crust - unleavened dough rolled almost transparent and turned up at the edges.
• The porridge fillings - potato, barley or millet rather than wheat-based ones.
• The butter brush - melted butter applied while the pies are still hot.
• The Finnish cousin - the same pie made across the border with rice.

When to go

All year. A meal or a snack. Buy from a bakery in the morning rather than a kiosk in the afternoon.

Honest expectations

Quality varies enormously; mass-produced versions are thick, dry and dull. They are best within a couple of hours of baking. Fillings are plain by design, so anyone expecting a rich pastry will be disappointed. Village-made ones are the best and hardest to find.

Nearby

Kizhi, Kinerma and Petrozavodsk all sell them; every Karelian market has a stall.