Fyddjins, mountain springs and the most delicious shashlik: a gluttonous tour of North Ossetia

Nutriciologist answers.

Gastronomy when traveling is not always about exotic food and “the most delicious dish in the region”. It’s first and foremost about where and in what circumstances you eat. Have you remembered that? Then let’s go to North Ossetia right now. And we will not be traveling around the republic alone.

An old car rushes along the mountain road. Zaur sits behind the wheel, occasionally throwing it and gesticulating vigorously.

– Where to eat? Everywhere, in any village! I will treat you like my guests!

Zaur is an Ossetian and knows everything about local cuisine, at least according to him. So when he suggested we go on a gastronomic trip, we agreed without hesitation.

Nutritionist

Ossetian food is very rich in fats and carbohydrates, so the diet on the trip should be balanced with vegetables and fruits.

Mineral water and Ossetian pies

Our new friend believes that breakfast should be light and healthy for the stomach. He promised to feed us, but before that we should definitely stop by the mineral springs.

Mineral springs in the mountains of Ossetia

Mountain water flows out of laid pipes not far from serpentines and drains into drains – there are no queues for it, nobody bottles it. And in vain, because the water is extremely tasty and, according to local assurances, very useful.

Zaur said that water in the mountains loses its healing properties after 40 minutes, so it would not be a good idea to bottle it and bring it home. One should try Ossetian mountain water on an empty stomach, as we did.

In the area of the mining town of Mizur we bought home-made cheese, sausage and several pies with different fillings for breakfast – all natural.

Pies are the basis of local cuisine. Each Ossetian has his own recipe for traditional pies, but in general there are three types: davondjin (with cream cheese and ramson), fydjin (with meat), sakharadjin (with beet).

And here is an interesting fact: pies in Ossetia are served in stacks of three, where each layer symbolizes one of the three origins – earth, sky and God.

Taisia Prokopenko

nutritionist

Ossetian pie is more of a pleasure food, but you can have a small piece for breakfast. Sausage and cottage cheese will be a cool protein addition, but you should not get too carried away with them. The traveler forgot to add fiber to his breakfast – vegetables or fruits. They are sorely lacking here.
Therefore, if you carefully monitor your diet, cheese could be supplemented, for example, with a tomato.

Breakfast with a view of the Zaramagh reservoir

There is a spring in the mountains near the small village of Tib, on the outskirts of Ossetia. According to legend, the water there is “timid” – it starts flowing only when a person with a good heart and pure thoughts approaches the spring.

View of the Zaramag reservoir

In these places you can have breakfast with the most beautiful views in the whole Ossetia: Alagirsky gorge is incredible! And, although we didn’t find “scary water” (the spring disappeared under the collapse), we met a dozen people here, filling mineral water in hundreds of bottles. Locals sell it to Europe at a high price – they say that Europeans appreciate the quality of Tibs mineral water very much. At the same time compatriots know very little about these places.

Here we sit down on the bank of a mountain river overlooking the Zaramagh reservoir and take out our breakfast. Ossetian cheese turns out to be very tender and creamy – it is not difficult to eat a small head of such cheese alone in the fresh air. The cheese is followed by lean sausage with thin pita-like flatbread. We finish with pies: they are low-fat and bland, but that’s even better.

We are thrilled to have breakfast with a beautiful view. But Zaur doesn’t seem satisfied. He calls someone on the phone and explains something long in Ossetian.

– Let’s go to Dargavs! – he shouts, jumping into the car.

A mountain river in the village of Tib near a mineral spring

Lyvzha and Tsakhton

Dargavs is a small village about a hundred kilometers from Tib. The legendary City of the Dead is located there – an ancient Ossetian necropolis that really looks like a small town. The Dargavs necropolis is among the most recognizable and iconic landmarks of Ossetia.

Dargavsky necropolis

As we learn on the road, Zaur’s friend lives near the necropolis, in the village of the same name. He promised to prepare traditional Ossetian soup – livju – for our arrival.

We stop at the edge of the village and go into a small gazebo. Alan, Zaur’s friend, brings clay pots with khivzha. This thick meat chowder has a rich flavor and is very simple to prepare. You need beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, dill, thyme and hot pepper. To make the broth even tastier, you should cook it over an open fire. The soup is served with tsakhton sauce – sour cream mixed with garlic and dill.

Taisiya Prokopenko

nutritionist

This is a good lunch for a male traveler, but it again lacks fiber. Here you could add, for example, a vegetable salad: the usual cucumber-tomato salad or cabbage and carrots.

The small village of Dargavs

The most delicious kebab

Zaur suggested going to Upper Fiagdon, where a large monastery is located. To be honest, we were tired of traveling fast on mountain roads, but Zaur convinced us that Fiagdon was not far away. On the way, however, Zaur was urgently summoned to Vladikavkaz for work.

We stopped in the small village of Dzivgis, at the foot of Mount Kariukhokh. Zaur promised to return for us by evening: cabs in Ossetia cannot be called to mountain villages, and the only chance of getting to the big city is to go by private car. Dzivgis turned out to be a small village of just a few yards. From here we had a wonderful view of Mount Kazbek and the Fiagdon Gorge.

View of Mount Kazbek and the Fiagdon Gorge from Dzivgis village

By the end of the day we were very hungry. Traveling through Ossetia had exhausted us; besides, it got dark in the gorge too quickly. There were still a few hours left before Zaur arrived, but there was no communication in the village, and we risked staying in Dzivgis for a long time. To kill time, we sat on a bench and waited for our friend to arrive.

Suddenly an elderly man came out of the house and called out to us. After asking a few classic introductory questions, he disappeared back into the house. A few minutes later he reappeared and invited us inside.

– It is not good that you are sitting here hungry. Go inside and wait for your friend there.

The hospitable host introduced himself as Erik Elkanov and immediately led us into the kitchen, where the table was already set for us. His wife had prepared homemade cheese, honey collected on the top of Kariukhokh, herbal tea, pies with lamb and beet, vegetable stew and mutton kebab. The dishes were modest, but the choice was great – according to Eric, the main thing is to have an abundance in every home.

Taisia Prokopenko

nutritionist

The dinner turned out to be very nourishing and more balanced in terms of BJU than breakfast and lunch. But I shouldn’t have gotten carried away with the pie in the evening. It would have been enough just to eat a stew with kebab and snack on a small piece of cheese.

Dzivgis resident Erik Elkanov

If you are visiting an Ossetian, remember that you should never refuse treats; you will insult your hosts by doing so.

Zaur beeped at us from the courtyard. We thanked Eric and the Elkanov family for their hospitality, wishing them all the best. In return, Eric shared the secret recipe of the best kebab we had eaten in the Caucasus and asked us to tell people about the tiny village of Dzivgis, where five small households live on the side of a huge mountain and whose residents are always happy to welcome guests. The Dzivgis people always have sweet honey, shelter and a kind word for them.

View of Dzivgis village and Kariukhokh Mountain

Truth in water

We know that you are already eager to know the recipe of the most delicious Ossetian kebab. We will not reveal any tricks to you: all Ossetian cuisine is modest and simple, just like the straightforward locals.

In order to make the meat juicy and fully develop its flavor, you need to soak it in mineral water for half a day. Preferably, it should be water from Tiba or any other mountain spring (this is important!). If you don’t have any nearby, bottled water is fine too. Before frying, add salt, pepper and onion rings. But the secret is in the mineral water.