Can you identify this Serbian street food?

Can you identify this Serbian street food? - Crop anonymous couple sitting at shabby wooden table with strawberries and cookies near cans of soda while spending time in park

Yesterday in Niš, southern Serbia I bought this street food pictured:

Mystery Serbian street food

It looked and tasted like deep fried batter, how fish from a fish and chip shop might look in Australia where I'm from.

It had no filling and I was offered a choice of sugar or salt. It was very inexpensive, maybe 25 Eurocents.

I'm interested in its Serbian name but also if it's more widespread I'm also interested in what it's called elsewhere, variants etc. And of course what it is made of: dough? batter? wheat?



Best Answer

That's not batter, that's yeast dough. It is called ?????? (transliteration: mekitza) in Bulgarian, Google Translate says the Serbian word is ?????? (transliteration: kolachi), which I find somewhat strange, as in Bulgarian, ???????? is a different food. Maybe somebody can supply the correct Serbian word (or affirm that kolachi is correct).

In itself, it is a very simple food. You just take normal bread dough, stretch it thin (the Bulgarian version is flat and more round, this one may have been adapted to street eating) and deep-fry it. There are two types, the evenly thick as you have it in the picture, and the one which is transparently thin in the middle with a very thick edge (the styles don't have their own names). It is usually eaten for breakfast. The simplest way to eat it is with confectioner's sugar sprinkled over it, but you can also spread jam on it or put feta pieces.

I don't know about the geographical spread of ??????. Wikipedia suggests there is a Hungarian equivalent called lángos.

A similar food with much wider distribution is made from a softer, almost liquid yeast dough, which, unlike simple bread dough, contains eggs and fat. The American word is doughnut, in Germany it is called Krapfen, and many European languages have a word derived from Krapfen, e.g. the Serbian ?????? (krofne). Note that the shape differs (the American doughnut is a torus, the Krapfen has an almost spherical lens form, and the French beignet is square), but the dough is roughly the same. There are too many variations to list, Wikipedia has a very long list if you are interested.




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What food is famous in Serbia?

Serbian Food: Top 12 Must-Try Serbian Dishes
  • Sarma. Sarma is possibly one of the best and definitely favourite dish of every Serb. ...
  • \u0106evapi. Another interesting meal you should definitely try in Serbia is \u0106evapi. ...
  • Burek. Burek is a rather controversial dish amongst the Serbs. ...
  • Prebranac. ...
  • Gibanica. ...
  • Punjena Paprika. ...
  • \u010cvarci. ...
  • Kajmak.


What kind of food is Serbian food?

MUST-TRY TRADITIONAL SERBIAN DISHES
  • Ajvar. Serbian ajvar is a vegetable relish, made principally from red bell peppers and eggplant. ...
  • Srpska Salata. Srpska Salata is the Serbian version of the famous Bulgarian salad known as shopska salad. ...
  • Punjene Paprike. ...
  • Sarma. ...
  • Gibanica. ...
  • Prebranac. ...
  • Podvarak. ...
  • \u0106evap\u010di\u0107i.


What is traditional Yugoslavian food?

Traditionally, it begins with some type of soup or broth. People here firmly believe that \u201ceating with a spoon\u201d , as they call it, is very important for good health. The liquids are usually followed by meat or fish along with some vegetables and a salad. The Yugoslavs eat lots of potatoes prepared in different ways.



First time trying SERBIAN STREET FOOD! 🇷🇸




More answers regarding can you identify this Serbian street food?

Answer 2

I'm serbian and KOLACI means cake in Serbian. What you are looking for iz MEKIKE in balkan countries

and it is called USHTIPAK plural: USHTIPCI in SERBIA

Answer 3

The Serbian term is mekika (singular) or mekike (plural). This simple food is made from yeast dough - you just deep-fry pieces of it in a pan.

The size and shape depends on the person who makes them.

As mentioned above, there is another, very similar dish called uštipak (pronounced as "ushtipak") . The only difference between the two that I can think of is the fact that mekike can be made with less oil, while uštipci must be deep-fried... Ah and yes, ushtipak is typically smaller than mekika.

Answer 4

It is not Mekitza, but "mekika" - that's correct name. Pronouncing mekika (just like it is written)

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