Kalduny or
kolduny (
Belarusian ???????´,
Russian ?o?????´) is a
Belarusian dish, and also Lithuanian and Polish, of stuffed
dumplings. In
Slavic languages the word means ‘
magicians’, ‘
sorcerers’, however it is unclear how the word became assiciated with the dish (in medieval
Latin calduna meant “still warm bowels of just killed animal”, derived from calidus – “warm)”.
Some people maintain it came from the West (Germany or Czech Crown) in the fifteenth century. But Belarusian Tatars who settled in the country in the fourteenth - fifteenth centuries, insist that Kalduny is the descendant of a similar Tatar dish kundumy. As with other dishes, Belarusians disagree with Poles and Lithuanians about who introduced kalduny into the cuisine of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One account is that of Kalduny a-la Count Tyshkevich invented in the fourteenth century by the old aristocratic Belarusian Tyshkevich (Tyszkiewicz) family, this lends credence to the Belarusians claim for heritage.
Kalduny, dough dumplings with meat, mushroom or other stuffing are related to similar dishes both in the West and in the East, from Italian ravioli to Russian pelmeni and Uzbek manty. Kalduny made with smoked ham & mushroom stuffing were long considered the country’s ‘visiting card’ – although decades of Soviet-time rule almost erased their trace from the public memory, and now they are only served in a few local restaurants. Currently Russian pelmeni and, Ukraineian vareniki are served in more restaurants.
Large kalduny are prepared for the major Muslem feasts, with lavishly spiced mutton or veal stuffing and are eaten by spoon so that the dough wrapping is not torn and the juice from inside lost. Traditional Tartar kundumy were deep fried in melted sheep fat.
