If you have long wanted to visit exotic Bashkortostan and its capital city, Ufa, and you wonder what you are going to eat there, then this article is meant specially for you.
The Bashkirs led a semi-nomadic way of life for centuries. They spent winters in their villages, and went to the fields for nomadic camps in summertime. To survive in such conditions, they had to eat very heavy nourishing meals and be capable of adapting to any conditions in the wild. Given the unusual lifestyle, the Bashkir housewives had to put a lot of effort into feeding the family. Most of the time they had to cook in field conditions.
This circumstance, naturally, has left its imprint on the choice of food products and the way of cooking.
1. Bashkir national dishes are cooked with the minimum amount of seasonings.
2. Most of the Bashkir dishes are traditionally based on meat, usually that of horse or lamb. Most often the meat is cooked in large pieces with plenty of fat.
3. Local residents have found a way to somewhat neutralize the consequences of consuming such a massive amount of fat. Meat is traditionally served together with fermented dairy drinks (kurut, ayran or koumiss).
4. Taking into account the peculiarities of their nomadic life, the Bashkirs traditionally use long-term storage products, such as cereals, dried berries and jerked meat.

So, Here is What to Eat When Travelling in Ufa and Other Cities of Bashkortostan:
1. Chak-Chak. Bashkir national dishes are not limited to meat only. The Bashkir cuisine includes plenty of dough delicacies, various drinks and desserts. Chak-chak is probably one of the most popular among them. Once cooked, little pieces of dough are mixed with sweet honey syrup and piled on a large flat plate. After it has cooled down and slightly hardened the traditional dessert is served for tea.

2. Yywasa for Tea
This traditional Bashkir dessert reminds of deep fried mini doughnuts. Very soft and tender, yywasa is often served during the traditional Bashkir tea party. The locals are fond of this delicacy.

3. Gubaidia is another typical pastry of the Bashkir cuisine. It is an enormous pie with a very complex filling. Traditionally, gubadia is cooked for holidays, and at the weddings it is always in the center of the table.

4. Bashkir Kystybyi
The Bashkir national dish of Kystybyi deserves special attention. Actually, it is an ordinary flat cake (or pancake) with the stuffing of mashed potatoes, which is sometimes mixed with millet porridge.

5. Bashkir Koumiss is a must try on your journey in Ufa. Prepared from fermented horse milk, it is considered to be one of the most famous and unusual national drinks. It is a white, slightly watery beverage with a strong marinade scent and sour taste.

Honey as National Treasure of Bashkiria 
Bashkortostan has long been famous for its honey. Bashkir honey is famous all over the world for its inimitable taste and unique properties. No wonder, it is a matter of national pride for the Bashkir people.
Bashkir honey boasts such miraculous blends of taste and aroma that can hardly be found in anything else. Moreover, it has a wide range of varieties. Its unusual flavours stem from mixed forests of Bashkiria, where lime, oak, maple and willow, for instance, bloom simultaneously and give the synergy of their unique properties to Bashkir honey.

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