Daily Archives: September 15, 2015


 One day I was watching numerous foody videos.. among those millions just one stuck in my head. Russian cook (don’t know his name) made small pies with potato filling, which he called knyshy. Pirogki with potato mash are one of my favourite, they always bring back memories about parents’ home ..kitchen, my mother is making pies, me and my sister are impatiently sitting and waiting while pirogki are baking in the oven.. Sweet time!

 The difference between these pies and regular Russian pirogki is in the dough and shape, first ones are round, second are oval and usually made from yeast dough. I browse the Internet, and found not much information about these little pies. According to different sources, knyshy belong whether to old-Russian or Belarusian cuisine. In 19th century knyshy were widely-eaten pies among middle-class people, and the most popular filling was buckwheat kasha with fried onion and bacon.Knyshy

 It took me some time to shape them and make look like small barrels filled with tasty potato mash instead of rum (or whatever you imagine when hear barrel), but knyshy turned out beautifully and puffy, so they definitely worth all the hard work.

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Knyshy - little pies with potato filling

  • Servings: 16 pies
  • Difficulty: moderate
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1 egg
120ml sunflower oil
120ml warm water
1 tsp vinegar
400g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
600-700g potatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil+ 1 tsp butter for frying
1 tbsp butter
some chopped dill, optional
salt, pepper to taste
Egg wash
1 egg, beaten
  1. In a bowl whisk egg with oil, water and vinegar.
  2. Sift flour with salt and baking powder into another large bowl.
  3. Pour the egg mixture into the bowl with flour. Mix all ingredients together, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 40 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a frying pan heat oil with butter, add onion and fry until lightly golden. Clean and peel potatoes, cut into medium chunks and boil until ready, drain. Using a potato masher blend butter into potatoes until soft. Mix in fried onion and dill, if using. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Divide the dough into two parts. On a lightly floured surface roll out one part into 30x40cm rectangle. Spread half of the filling near the edge of the longest rectangle side. Make the roll. Cut the roll into 8 pieces: 5cm width each.* Carefully seal the ‘hole’ on one side, shaping into a roundish form (like a small barrel), place pie sealed side down on a lined and greased baking sheet. Repeat with all pies.
  6. Brush all pies with egg wash. Bake in preheated 190C oven for 40 minutes.
*You may cut the roll into smaller pieces to get more but small-sized pies.
Knyshy - pies with potato filling