Mekitsa – Fried Dough
Kneaded dough that is then deep-fried in hot oil
Mekitsa is a popular Bulgarian dish that is traditionally served for breakfast. It is a flatbread made with kneaded dough that is then deep-fried in hot oil. The dough usually consists of flour, water, salt, oil, eggs, yogurt, and a leavening agent.
The name mekitsa is derived from the Bulgarian root mek, meaning soft, referring to the flatbreads texture. These flatbreads can be dusted with powdered sugar or paired with yogurt, honey, cheese, or various fruit jams. Mekitsa can be either breakfast or dessert in the country.
Invented during the 5th century, mekitsa is a Bulgarian fried dough made of flour, eggs, water, salt, oil, leaven agent, and most crucial – Bulgarian yogurt. Though this bread is fried, its texture is meant to be soft as the Slavic root name mek stands for soft in English. Mekitsa is usually used as a breakfast or dessert in Bulgarian culture. You can choose multiple toppings for this beautifully fried dough, icing sugar, jam, caramel, honey, or once again, the traditional yogurt or cheese.
Deep-fried mountain delight: mekitsa мекица. Spending the night in the comfort of a hut somewhere high in Bulgarias stunning mountains is a favourite weekend activity around here. And in the morning, youll awake to the unmistakable smell of mekitsi, one of the staples of a traditional Bulgarian mountain hut breakfast. At some more remote huts, mekitsi might even be the only breakfast option you get. This isnt necessarily a bad thing, though, as these kneaded pieces of deep-fried dough are usually super tasty.
In many ways identical to Hungarian lángos, a mekitsa is usually smaller than its Magyar cousin, so youre unlikely to want just one in your plate. Typically, you can choose to eat your mekitsi sweetened with icing sugar and honey or jam or you can put white cheese sirene on top. In recent years, a few hipster joints in Sofia and Plovdiv have reinvented this breakfast food as a creatively garnished frybread to go with your afternoon coffee. So you can even try a mekitsa topped with ice cream or peanut butter, if thats your thing!