MOUSSAKA


     Moussaka is an aubergine (eggplant) or potato based dish popular in Balkan cuisine and Mediterranean cuisine, with several variations.

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​TURLI TAVA


     Turli tava (vegetable and meat stew) has its name origin in Turkish words turli meaning mixed and tava, a pottery dish. Its a common main course dish for Macedonia and the rest of the southern Balkans. Turli tava is made out of potatoes, rice, okra, eggplant, carrots, peppers, pork, beef or lamb. All these ingridients are mixed and baked in a oven in a traditional pottery dish (tava)..
Sarma is the name of a minced meat (usually beef, pork, veal, rice, onions, and various spices, including salt, pepper and various local plant leaves of grape or cabbage.
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Dough dishes
Gomleze, Komad, Mekici, Pogaca, Pie pastrmajlija, Maznik Pastry

     Pastrmalija is a Macedonian bread pie made from dough and meat. This recipe is a traditional macedonian recipe, made of dough, meat and eggs, which is also known as “Macedonian pizza”. The name comes from the word "pastrma", meaning salted and dried meat of lamb. Traditional pastrmajlija is long shaped, with a topping of small cubes of dried pork or lamp meat, and served with two eggs on the top of it. It is very delicious meal, very often prepared in this areas.In honor оf Pastrmalija, every year in Stip is organized manifestation called "Pastramalijada".One of the most delicious pastrmajlija's in Macedonia are made in Stip in Eastern Macedonia
The pogača or pogacha is a type of  bread traditionally baked in the ashes of the fireplace, and later on in the oven, similar to focaccia, with which it shares the name. It can be leavened or unleavened, but only experienced cooks can make good quality unleavened pogača, while the pastry with yeast is easier to make. It can also be made from white flour, whole-wheat flour, and a mix of two thirds to three quarters of wheat flour and the rest eitherbarley, or (less frequently) rye.

     Pogača is sometimes served hot as an appetizer and/or bread. Hot pogača filled with sour cream (or feta cheese in Turkey and Bulgaria) is considered a particularly delicious specialty
Maznik Pastry
Maznik is probably the best known Macedonian pastry dish, consisting of a very long roll of pastry rolled up with a filling, typically feta cheese (sireńe) and coiled up into a circle, to be cut into pizza-like slices.
While it is eaten during the year, it forms a tradition on Macedonian New Year, which is 14th January. Everybody in the household sits for maznik on new years day, and a piece is cut for every person in the house, sometimes a piece is allocated for the house itself. A gold coin is placed in the Maznik, and the dish is spun several times (usually three). Each household member takes a slice of the maznik and whoever's slice holds the gold coin will have good luck for the year.
Burek is a type of pie popular throughout the former Ottoman Empire. In Macedonia, burek is made from layers of thick dough, alternating with layers of other fillings in a circular baking pan and topped with a layer of dough. Fillings are stewed ground meat, white cheese, spinach, and the modern variants - pizza & chicken burek. Burek without filling is also made, and it’s known as Simit Pogacha when served into a roll

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​Meat dishes
Roasted lamb, Roast pork, Chofte, Kebap.

     The food from the grill (local: skara) - Macedonians and the rest Balkan nations are known as great lovers of the grill; especially the tasty “kjebapchinja” and grilled meat patty which go excellently with onion. Those are two most popular meals with younger and older population and they are found in the offer of many taverns.
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Salads
Shopska, Makedonska, Pindzur Turshija, Zhetvarska, Ovcharska. 

       Shopska salad is a traditional cold salad popular throughout the Balkans and Central Europe.
It is made from tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, raw or roasted peppers, sirene (white brine cheese), and parsley.The vegetables are usually diced and salted, followed by a light dressing of sunflower oil or olive oil, which are occasionally complemented by vinegar. The addition of vinegar only contributes, however, to the sour flavour that the tomatoes impart. In restaurants, the dressings are provided separately. Lastly, the vegetables are covered in a thick layer of grated or diced sirene cheese. This salad is often consumed as an appetiser with rakia.
Shopska salad derives its name from the regional group called Shopi native to Bulgaria and parts of the Republic of Macedonia and Serbia.

   Macedonian salad (Makedonska salata) is also a typical salad in Macedonia.It uses mainly tomatoes, onion and paprika.Paprika is sometimes baked, sometimes not, sometimes marinated or not.It depends who cooks.
Tarator/Taratur is a liquid salad, made of sour milk/ sour cream/yogurt/, cucumbers, garlic, walnuts, and vegetable oil.

     Ajvar - the one and unique Macedonian ajvar is a traditional recipe, which is inherited from generation to generation.
Ajvar is one of the most popular foods in the Balkans, and it holds a special place in Macedonian cuisine. It is a red capsicum relish with eggplant and other ingredients. It is best eaten with freshly baked bread and cheese.  Simple but unbeatable. The name ajvar comes from the Turkish word havyar, which means "salted roe, caviar" and shares an etymology with caviar. The word was initially used in Macedonia for homemade caviar on the middle and lower Vardar Bank district.
Original homemade ajvar is made of roasted peppers, while some industrial producers use cooked peppers, which leads to a lower quality of ajvar.
The preparation of ajvar is somewhat difficult, as it involves a great deal of manual labour, especially as regards the peeling of the roasted peppers. Traditionally, it is prepared in mid-autumn, when bell peppers are most abundant, conserved in glass jars, and consumed throughout the year (although in most households stocks do not last until the spring, when fresh salads start to emerge anyway, so it is usually enjoyed as a winter food). Often, the whole family or neighbours gather to bake the bell peppers, peel them, and cook them. The principal cultivar of pepper used is called roga, i.e. horned — it is large, red, horn-shaped, with thick flesh and relatively easy to peel. It typically ripens in late September.
The best ajvar is produced domestically, as only the manual peeling and seed removal ensures clear taste without slightly bitter influence of the pepper skin. Industrial production is modest; reported annual Serbian production of ajvar is 640 tons.
Ajvar is part of the so-called "zimnica" (winter foods), which include pickled chili peppers, pickled tomatoes, and anything else that can fit in a jar that gets prepared just before winter.

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Deserts - Baklava, Tulumbi, Sekerpare, Vanilici, Chocolate cake, Ekleri, Alva, Kadaif, Lokum.

     Sweets are another part of Macedonia's food which were heavily influenced by the Ottomans, which were famous for their love of all things sweet. The rich, sweet tastes of Lokum (Turkish Delight), Baklava and Kadaif are all enjoyed in Macedonian homes.
Slatko is perhaps one of the favourites. It is a honey-like viscous sweet which is made by boiling fruits with excessive amounts of sugar. With flavour-packed mountain fruits common to Macedonia, it is a very tasty filling for desert pastries, cakes, or on its own!
A Macedonian adaptation of middle eastern Baklava is 'Baklava so Višńi', which is baklava pastry filled with sour-cherry slatko. 

Lokum
     Krusevo is famous for making the tastiest lokum (Turkish delight) and meringue in Macedonia. This 200-year-old tradition today is carried on by the younger generations. The lokum was introduced to Europe in the 18th century by a British traveler to the Ottoman lands and became known in the West as the Turkish delight. It is made by cooking curdled melted sugar with cornstarch. Walnuts, nuts, or pistachios are used as filling. It is currently produced in different colors and aromas. It is a Turkish specialty that is soft, not too sweet, and is prepared and sold in the shape of small cubes.

   Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastryfilled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. Baklava is normally prepared in large pans. Many layers of phyllo dough, separated with melted butter, are laid in the pan. A layer of chopped nuts—typically walnuts or pistachios, but hazelnuts are also sometimes used—is placed on top, then more layers of phyllo. Most recipes have multiple layers of phyllo and nuts, though some have only top and bottom pastry.Before baking, the dough is cut into regular pieces, often parallelograms (lozenge-shaped), triangles, or rectangles.A syrup, which may include honey, rosewater, or orange flower water is poured over the cooked baklava and allowed to soak in.Baklava is usually served at room temperature, often garnished with ground nuts

      Alva-In Republic of Macedonia, ALVA (Macedonian: алва, alva) refers to a sweet which comes in a few varieties. Alva made from tahini (sesame or sunflower) (Таан алва) is most used in Macedonia. Most popular is the alva from Negotino and Super Alva from Skopje. Alva from semolina (алва од гриз) is made only at home. Izmirska halva (Измирска алва) brought back from Izmir Turkey, of which large areas are populated by Macedonians, is a chocolate type of alva made from flour, cocoa, sugar and peanuts. This alva is also made at home. Alva is also popular in the City of Prilep and surrounds, which have been famous for food production since pre-ottoman times..