In the modern world, Maslenitsa is celebrated not as extensively as in the times of our grandmothers, but at the same time the question of cooking delicious pancakes has not yet lost its relevance. That is why we describe in detail 7 popular recipes that will be useful throughout the entire week of celebrations, but first let us turn to history.
The origins of the holiday
During the year, Christians celebrate a lot of religious holidays, but with regard to Maslenitsa, it was not always like that.
In the old days, the whole week of celebrations was associated with the worship of pagan deities, who were supposed to give good harvest and fertility throughout the year.
In the Eastern Slavic folk calendar, this holiday represents a kind of border between winter and spring, between meat-eating and Lent. The date of the beginning of the Cheese Week (the characteristic name of the period in the calendar. The Russian Orthodox Church) is tied to the Orthodox Easter, therefore it may change annually. 
Many traditions associated with Maslenitsa have survived to our time. For example, the main dish is pancakes, symbolizing the sun of our ancestors, the same golden, ruddy, round and hot.
It was believed that a baked pancake or a flat cake would be a good sacrificial bread for a pagan deity who gives people warmth and light.
Additional attributes of the celebrations are the effigy of Maslenitsa, folk festivals and even sledding.
Did you know? On the eve of Shrovetide, our ancestors made not one, but at once two stuffed animals - Shrovetide and Shrovetide, which symbolized the bridegroom and the bridegroom. After burning, their ashes were scattered across the fields, believing that it would bring a good harvest in the new year.
The best pancake recipes with step by step photos and videos
Every day Pancake Day has its main dish, but somehow it will still be a pancake, cooked and served in different ways. Consider all seven possible options for its creation.
"Meeting "(recipe for pancakes with milk on Monday)
From time immemorial on this day of Maslenitsa, the first baked pancake was given to the needy, and the rest were supposed to be eaten at a common family table. 
No wonder that the first day of Shrovetide is intended for meetings.
Thin pancakes made according to the classic recipe - with milk, which you can add with any sweet filling, can be appropriate on this day.
As a filling for pancakes is perfect: apple jam, plum jam, black currant jam, raspberry jam, mandarin jam jam, maple syrup, pumpkin jam with orange and lemon, as well as strawberry or cherry jam.
From the products you will need:
- 1 l of milk;
- 2 eggs;
- 270 g flour;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar;
- 3-4 Art. spoons of vegetable oil;
- a small pinch of salt and soda (can be at the tip of a knife);
- to lubricate pancakes, you can prepare butter or jam, but it is optional.
The process of baking pancakes takes place in the following sequence:
- We take a saucepan, and pouring a measured amount of milk into it, put it on the stove to warm it up a bit (cold milk will not allow the pancakes to bake well).
- While the milk is warming, we split two eggs into a separate bowl and add sugar, a pinch of salt and soda to them, all this is mixed thoroughly (it is this proportion of ingredients that allows you to get pancakes for both sweet and savory fillings).
- Add 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil (you can use regular sunflower oil) in the beaten egg mixture and mix everything thoroughly again.
- Now we measure out about 300 ml of preheated milk from the pan and pour it into the rest of the whipped ingredients.
- Add flour, and mix until smooth.
- As soon as small lumps disappear in the dough, add the remaining amount of milk to it and mix everything again, so that our slurry acquires the consistency of thick cream.
- If you are not in a hurry, you can leave the dough for half an hour at room temperature so that all its components begin to interact better, but if you are waiting for guests and in a hurry, then this stage can be missed.
- We get the pan (well, if you have a special pancake), once again wash it and put it on the stove.
- Warming up the pan well, lubricate it with a thin layer of vegetable oil, for which you can use a special silicone brush or a paper napkin folded in several layers.
- Using a ladle, pour the dough into the pan, rotating it slightly and thereby evenly distributing our mixture over the entire surface (it is advisable to mix the dough before each next pancake).
- We leave the pancake to roast for 20-30 seconds, then quickly turn over to the other side.
Important! The fire under the pan should be more than average, otherwise your pancakes will cook longer and this process will take more time.
Having finished with pancakes, you can grease them with butter or wrap the stuffing. One of the popular options is traditional cheese, cooked with cottage cheese and raisins.
Video: how to make pancakes with milk
"Zaygryshi" (recipe for pancakes with yeast on Tuesday)
On the second day of Shrovetide, in the olden days, bride bridesmaid often performed, and as was customary, the groom’s guests were greeted with a generously laid table, which was also attended by pancakes. A good recipe for Tuesday would be the option of using yeast, because the pancakes turn out to be lush and nourishing - what you need for the festive table. 
Ingredients:
- 4 glasses of warm, boiled water;
- 6 tbsp. spoons of sunflower oil;
- 3 medium eggs;
- 20 g dry pressed yeast;
- ½ tsp salt;
- 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar;
- 220 g double sifted flour;
- butter for greasing pancakes.
Kitchenware: two deep bowls, a frying pan, food film, a whisk, a spatula for turning.
The sequence of all actions is as follows:
- We knead the yeast with our hands and pour it into a deep bowl.
- Add to them half the measured amount of sugar and half a cup of warm, boiled water.
- Well, mixing everything, we introduce into our mixture a tablespoon of flour and mix everything again.
- Cover the container with food film and leave in a warm place for about half an hour. The finished opara is considered when a high and fluffy cap appears on the surface of the mixture, indicating the normal action of the yeast.
- Leave the dough aside for a while, and in a separate deep bowl, mix the eggs with the rest of the sugar, adding salt and the remaining water to them.
- Well, mixing everything, combine the contents of the two containers (pouring the dough to the eggs) and again mix everything thoroughly.
- In the resulting mixture portions of flour and pour sunflower oil, stirring everything until smooth.
- We leave the container for half an hour in a warm kitchen and after this time we proceed to frying pancakes.
- The pan can be greased in the same way as in the first variant, turning pancakes over 1 minute when frying (as soon as the edges are well browned).
Ready-made pancakes can be served on the table instead of bread, or you can wrap unsweetened stuffing in them (for sweet, you need to add more sugar to the dough).
"Gourmand" (recipe for pancakes with caviar on Wednesday)
On Wednesday, that is, on the third day of Shrovetide, according to tradition, the mother-in-law should take in-law, treating him with delicious and nourishing pancakes.
What could be the best addition to this dish than caviar, so let's consider the recipe of cooking with this ingredient. 
In fact, we are talking about the very classic pancakes (the preparation is described in the first recipe), only as a filling for them you need to prepare red caviar, and each pancake is well smeared with melted butter.
On one medium pancake you need about a tablespoon of caviar, which is evenly distributed in the middle. Putting caviar, roll up the tube and cut into two parts.
Lay the halves on a plate, cut to the edge so that the caviar is visible. You can also simply fold the pancakes in a triangle and put caviar on top of them on a tablespoon.
Did you know? In ancient times, Maslenitsa marked the transition to the New Year, so it can be compared with the modern one on December 31. The first three days of the week were called Narrow Maslenitsa, and since Thursday it became Wide and New Year's celebrations were observed everywhere.
"Rampant" (pancake recipe for beer on Thursday)
The fourth day of Maslenitsa was considered by our ancestors to be the most important, therefore on Thursday any business stopped and people indulged in mass festivities.
However, any fun on this day simply can not do without a delicious and nutritious dinner in the form of thick pancakes made with beer, which means that you should pay attention to this “Maslenichny” recipe. 
Ingredients:
- 1 glass of beer;
- 2 eggs;
- 1 glass of milk;
- 1 cup flour;
- 1-2 tbsp. spoons of sugar (depending on whether you use a sweet or other filling);
- a pinch of salt;
- 0.5 teaspoon soda;
- 4 tbsp. spoons of sunflower oil.
We recommend reading how to check the freshness of eggs at home or with the help of water, as well as how quail and guinea fowl eggs are useful.
Kitchenware: deep bowl, whisk, pan, spatula for turning pancakes.
The cooking process consists of the following steps:
- Mix eggs, salt, soda and sugar in a deep bowl (or saucepan) until smooth.
- Gradually we introduce flour, beer and milk (in exactly this sequence), each time mixing everything well.
- Add the sunflower oil to the homogeneous dough and after mixing, leave it for 5-7 minutes to infuse and dissolve better.
- During this time, heat the pan, grease it with a small amount of sunflower oil and begin to pour the dough over the floor. On each side, the pancake will roast for about half a minute, after which one side can be smeared with melted butter.
In fact, the beer in these pancakes is almost not felt and can be served with both meat and sweet fillings, however, in the latter case it is better to add more sugar. They also combine well with sour cream, and in this case they can simply be folded with a triangle on a plate, and next to put a spoonful of sour cream.
"Teschina Evening" (pancake recipe for kefir on Friday)
Having stayed at the mother-in-law on Wednesday, on the fifth day of Shrovetide, the son-in-law should take it in his house, of course, having treated him with equally tasty pancakes (you can cook it yourself). A simple solution will be a simple recipe based on kefir, which will allow you to get not only delicious, but also a beautiful dish with almost openwork pattern. 
Ingredients:
- 400 g of kefir;
- 2 eggs;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar;
- 170 g of flour;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil;
- a pinch of salt;
- slightly less than half a teaspoon of soda.
Kitchenware: deep bowl, whisk, pan.
The process of cooking pancakes:
- Mix in a bowl kefir, eggs, sugar and salt so that the latter are completely dissolved.
- Portionally injected flour into the mixture, continuing to mix everything with a whisk, and then leave the dough for 30 minutes.
- After half an hour, we dilute the soda in a separate bowl, simply by adding a small amount of water to it (about half a teaspoon falls into 0.5 l of kefir).
- Once again, stir the already standing dough, add to it the sunflower oil and diluted soda, and after the next mixing, we can proceed to frying.
- Heat the pan, grease it with a small amount of sunflower oil and pour the first pancake with a ladle.
- After 30 seconds or 1 minute, turn it over to the other side and continue frying until fully cooked on medium heat. In the same way, the rest are prepared, only the pan can no longer be coated with oil.
Important! If you want your pancakes to have bigger holes, then we recommend to warm up the kefir a little before mixing with the other ingredients, and fry the pancakes themselves on a very hot frying pan.
The finished dish can be served to the table with jam or poured on top of fudge, sprinkled with grated nuts.
Video: how to cook pancakes on kefir
"Zolovkin gatherings" (pancake cake recipe for Saturday)
According to an old tradition, on Shrovetide Saturday, it is customary to invite guests to the sisterhood. Again, to do without pancakes with such gatherings will not work, but this time I want to surprise the guests even more. Pancake cake will be an excellent treat option - a good supplement to tea or coffee.
The recipe for cooking delicacies is not as complicated as it may seem at first glance, and the products in it are quite ordinary.
For pancakes:
- 300 g of flour;
- 4 teaspoons of sugar;
- 1 l of milk;
- 4 eggs;
- ½ tsp salt;
- 55 ml of sunflower oil.
For filling:
- 2 bananas;
- 1 apple;
- half a lemon;
- 40 g butter;
- 25 grams of sugar;
- 25 ml of cognac;
- 1 pack of jelly;
- 20 grams of walnuts;
- 150 g sour cream.
Walnuts are very beneficial for both the woman’s body and the man’s body. Nuts are widely used in cosmetology and traditional medicine. Also read the useful partitions, shells and walnut oil.
Kitchenware: wide and deep bowl, pan, spatula for turning pancakes, silicone mold.
The process of making the cake is as follows:
- Mix eggs, sugar and salt.
- Add 100 ml of milk and all the sifted flour, stirring until smooth with a whisk.
- Pour in the remaining milk, add vegetable oil and again stir everything.
- Strain the dough through a fine sieve to remove any remaining lumps.
- We grease the pan with a small amount of sunflower oil and warm it well, pour the dough into a ladle, spreading it evenly over the surface.
- After appearing at the edges of the brown crust, turn the pancake on the other side and fry for a few more seconds. In the same way fry all the rest.
- Now go to the stuffing. We also clean our fruits: bananas - in small circles, and apples - in slices.
- Put the butter on the heated pan and wait until it is completely melted, having missed the entire surface.
- Put sliced apples in butter (they cook a little longer than bananas), add lemon juice (not necessarily the whole half) and as soon as a beautiful crust appears on the apples, add a banana. You can not squeeze out the juice, but simply chop half a lemon on a fork and all the time frying fruit to lubricate the surface of the griddle.
- Add sugar, and after it cognac, which must be set on fire right in the pan.
- After mixing the entire contents again, we place it on a separate plate and proceed to making the jelly.
- Jelly is diluted according to the instructions on the bag, that is, you need 400 ml of warm water for 90 g of the product.
- While the liquid is infused, let's twist pancakes: for each of them we spread two pieces of apple and the same amount of banana, after which we wrap it all up in a straw.
- Put ready-made pancake tubes in silicone mold, placing them in a circle.
- Fill all the pancakes lived and send in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Ready and already frozen cake to shift into a plate and brush with sour cream, sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
This tasty and easy-to-cook dish is perfect for almost any holiday table.Did you know? There is an opinion that earlier Pancake Day was called Komoeditsa and was celebrated on March 20 or 21. “Lumps” were once called bears, which just woke up for the holiday. It was to them that the baked pancakes were sacrificed, hence the saying: “the first pancake to comas”.
"Forgiveness day" (recipe for stuffed pancakes on Sunday)
The most long-awaited and eventful day of Maslenitsa is Sunday. He has always been devoted to seeing the winter and provides for mass festivities, with visits to guests and extensive feasts.
It goes without saying that on such a day there will not be enough pancakes, therefore we offer you a recipe for a stuffed pancake dish with meat filling. 
Ingredients:
- 1 l of milk;
- 2 eggs;
- 300 g of sifted flour;
- 150 g butter;
- ½ tsp salt;
- 1 tablespoon of sugar;
- 200 g minced meat;
- 1 onion.
The process of making stuffed pancakes can be divided into the following steps:
- In a deep bowl break eggs, add salt and mix well.
- Pour sugar and whip again until smooth.
- Add about 2/3 of the available milk and stir everything again.
- Introduce flour in portions, dividing it into several parts and dissolving well in a liquid mixture each time (there should be no lumps).
- Pour the remaining milk and mix everything again.
- On the water bath, melt the butter and add it to the dough.
- Put the pan on the fire, and as soon as it warms up well, grease it with a piece of bacon or a small amount of sunflower oil.
- Pour a soup ladle, evenly spreading it over the entire surface.
- Fry the pancake on both sides and lay out on a plate. In the same way fry the rest.
- Dice onion and fry until golden brown.
- Add mince to the pan and fry until ready.
- We spread the ready stuffing on pancakes, in the calculation of 2 tablespoons of minced meat per 1 pancake, and wrap them with an envelope.
- Все конвертики обжариваем с каждой стороны в течение минуты.
Thus, we got a ready and hearty dish that can be served to the table with sour cream, just garnished with greens.
Video: how to cook stuffed pancakes with meat
Guessing on pancakes at Shrovetide
Most people consider cooked pancakes only as a tasty dish, but as it turned out, they can also be guessed on. So, baking yeast pancakes, pay attention to how the dough fits: if it is good, then the year will be successful, but if not, then problems cannot be avoided.
Also, your first baked pancake deserves your attention. If he is lush and even, the unmarried mistress will soon be married, and for a married woman these characteristics promise a happy family life.
In addition, the first baked pancake could always be taken out by a casual male passerby and get to know his name, because according to belief, that would be the name of the narrowed girl. 
Especially impressionable young ladies tried to guess their fate through freakish patterns on a closed test, however, most of them saw only what they wanted.
If you wish, you can make the first pancake much thicker than the others and bake with it various objects, so that by distributing the pieces among all family members to find out what to expect next year.
We recommend to read how to cook a pumpkin cake.
In a word, Maslenitsa in all senses is a very interesting holiday, because during the week you can meet with your family, take a walk, eat plenty, and sometimes even find out your destiny. That is why you should not ignore the traditions of your ancestors and better examine all the details of the celebration more closely.
