HEIRLOOM: TASTE OF HOME
A HUMBLE HUNGARIAN BEER SNACK EVOKES RICH MEMORIES FOR A FAMILY OF NEWLY ADOPTED AUSSIES.
A Hungarian beer snack, called kifli, reminds this family of their grandparents.
AS A PATHOLOGIST, it was only natural that Tivadar ‘Theo’ Miko took a scientific approach to recreating one of his Hungarian grandmother’s much-loved recipes. He experimented with different flours, adjusted the yeast and monitored temperatures until the texture was just right.
“In my view, a kitchen is a laboratory… it’s a mixture of science and art,” Theo, 71, explains. “Temperature is critical. Grandma used a traditional wood-fired oven, thus her kitchen was warm, irrespective of the season… on cooler days I turn up the reverse air conditioning.”
Kifli — small crescent-shaped pastries sprinkled with caraway seeds or sometimes black cumin or poppy seeds — are just one of many recipes from a handwritten book that Theo, his wife, Rita, and his mother, Pancsika, brought with them upon migrating to Australia 10 years ago.
For Theo, they are not only a delicious snack (best enjoyed with his own home-brew), but a symbol of his hardworking grandparents. His grandmother, Maria, was born in the Hungarian town of Eger in 1898 and worked in a cigar factory until marrying Florian Kocsis in 1918. Florian’s left arm had been paralysed in WWI but this did not affect his work ethic and he gradually built a successful fruit and vegetable business.
Theo says Florian typically rose at 1am to start work, except on Sundays when friends and family would often drop by for a chat, advice or sometimes financial help. “My grandmother always started making the kifli after lunch when the guests arrived as they are best eaten straight from the oven,” he says. Maria’s chicken paprika was another family favourite, along with goulash and her unusual stuffed chicken. “She would use a bicycle pump to inflate the skin and put the stuffing underneath… the skin was really crispy and delicious,” Theo says.
Florian and Maria had a son who died as an infant and two daughters, who each had one son. “I was the ‘heir apparent’ but Lenin’s followers had different ideas,” Theo says, alluding to a dark period when rising communism meant the family had to relinquish their business and share the family home with strangers.
When Florian died in 1958, Theo’s parents cared for Maria until her own death almost 20 years later. It’s a tradition he continues with his own mother, who, along with Theo and Rita, became an Australian citizen two years ago at the spritely age of 95. As a tribute to their heritage, kifli are still the first thing served at any social gathering, much to the delight of their new Aussie friends.
CARAWAY & SALT KIFLI
Makes 24
150ml warm milk
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 x 7g sachet dry yeast 300g plain flour
1 tablespoon softened butter 1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt extra 200g plain flour extra 1 teaspoon caster sugar extra 130ml warm milk extra 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 teaspoons sea salt flakes 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
Combine milk and sugar in a small bowl. Add yeast and stir until dissolved. Set aside in a warm place for 5–10 minutes or until yeast bubbles. Place flour in a mixing bowl and make a well in centre. Add butter, egg and milk mixture and mix until dough starts to come together. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, then a tea towel. Set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Using your fist, punch down centre of dough. Add salt, extra flour, extra sugar and extra milk. Using your hand, mix to a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Cut into 3 equal pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. Working with 1 ball at a time, roll out into a 30cm circle. Cut into 8 wedges (triangles). Starting at widest end, loosely roll up each triangle and slightly bend into a crescent shape. Carefully place onto oven trays lined with baking paper, allowing room for spreading. Brush kifli with extra egg and sprinkle with combined salt and caraway seeds. Set aside in a warm place for 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 180˚C. Bake kifli for 15–18 minutes, turning trays halfway through cooking. Enjoy kifli straight out of the oven as soon as they are cool enough to handle. They are best eaten on the same day they are made.
SHARE YOUR FAMILY FAVOURITES Do you have a recipe that has been passed down through generations? Send it to us, the story behind it and a copy of a photograph of the relative who passed it on. Remember to include a telephone number. Email vcarey@ bauer-media.com.au or send a letter to Heirloom Recipe, Country Style,
PO Box 4088, Sydney NSW, 1028.