Pirozhki

Pirozhki (Russian: пирожки, plural form of pirozhok, literally a "small pie"), sometimes transliterated as pyrizhki or pyrizhky (Ukrainian: пиріжки), is a generic word for individual-sized baked or fried buns stuffed with a variety of fillings. The stress in pirozhki is properly placed on the last syllable: [pʲirɐʂˈkʲi]. Pirozhok ( пирожок , singular) is the diminutive form of the Russian pirog (пирог), which refers to a full-sized pie. Pirozhki are not to be confused with Polish pierogi, which are similar to the Russian pelmeni or Ukrainian varenyky.

A common variety of pirozhki are baked stuffed buns made from yeast dough and often glazed with egg to produce the common golden colour. They commonly contain meat (typically beef) or a vegetable filling (mashed potatoes, mushrooms, onions and egg, or cabbage). Pirozhki could also be stuffed with fish (e.g., salmon) or with an oatmeal filling mixed with meat or giblets. Sweet-based fillings could include stewed or fresh fruit (apples, cherries, apricots, chopped lemon, etc.), jam, quark or cottage cheese. The buns may be plain and stuffed with the filling, or else be made in a free-form style with strips of dough decoratively encasing the filling.