By Nik, founder of 東歐嚴選｜kefir.link and former chef · Updated 2 November 2026
Kurnik is a closed Russian chicken pie, and this everyday version hides cubes of chicken, onion and thin strips of potato under a buttery golden lid. The dough is mixed with kefir and baking soda, and the kefir's acid makes the soda release carbon dioxide, which gives the soft, rich pastry a little lift. It is the simple family cousin of a domed pie once baked only for weddings and Easter.
A domed pie for weddings and feast days
The traditional kurnik is a domed pie filled with chicken or turkey, best known in southern Russia and above all among the Don and Kuban Cossacks. It was baked for weddings and church feast days, and one wedding custom was to break the pie over the newlyweds' heads. The groom's pie was decorated with little human figures, the bride's with flowers.
Inside, thin pancakes separated the layers of filling, which often included buckwheat porridge, and held the structure so a slice did not collapse. The name probably comes from the Russian word for chicken, though another story links it to the steam escaping through the hole in the top.
From the wedding table to the family tea
Today kurnik is ordinary family food, and versions made with kefir dough skip the pancakes and the porridge. Chicken, onion and potato bake together under the lid, while the hole in the centre lets excess moisture escape. Keep the potato pieces no thicker than about 1 cm, because larger chunks can stay raw inside even when the pastry and chicken are done. A fuller-fat kefir makes the dough more tender, and about 1 teaspoon of baking powder can replace the ½ teaspoon of soda, though the pastry may be slightly less tender.
Hot with sauce, or cold on a picnic
Before slicing, the baked pie can rest under a towel for about 20 minutes. Serve thick slices hot with a sour-cream, cheese or mushroom sauce, or set them out with pickles, sauerkraut and dill. Cooled slices can be wrapped for a picnic, and a slice goes just as well with a cup of tea. Chicken thigh fillet can also replace the breast for a juicier filling.
Chicken and potato pie with kefir dough
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 250 ml plain milk kefir
- 200 g unsalted butter Melt and let cool before mixing.
- 500 g all-purpose flour Add gradually; the amount needed may vary with flour absorption. Aim for a soft dough that holds together.
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
For the filling
- 500 g chicken breast Boneless and skinless.
- 400 g potatoes
- 160 g onions
- 50 g unsalted butter Cut into small pieces.
- salt To taste.
- ground black pepper To taste.
For rolling and finishing
- 1 egg Beaten, for brushing the pastry.
- unsalted butter For greasing the baking dish.
- all-purpose flour For dusting the work surface and rolling pin.
You will need
- Mixing bowl
- Rolling pin
- 24–26 cm round baking dish, about 5 cm deep
- Pastry brush
- Oven
- Food thermometer
Instructions
Make and bake the pie
- Mix the kefir, baking soda and salt in a bowl. When small bubbles appear, stir in the cooled melted butter.
- Work in the flour gradually, stopping when the dough is smooth, soft and holds together. It can still feel slightly sticky; do not add flour just to make it dry.
- Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 60 minutes.
- Prepare the filling while the dough chills: peel the onion and potatoes, finely chop the onion and cut the potatoes into thin matchsticks. Use a separate board to cut the chicken into small cubes. Refrigerate the filling ingredients until ready to assemble.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Divide the dough into two portions, about two-thirds and one-third. Dust the work surface and rolling pin lightly with flour, then roll the larger portion about 0.5 cm thick. Fit it into a buttered round baking dish to cover the base and sides, leaving enough pastry at the rim to seal to the top crust.
- Fill the pastry with layers of chicken, onion and potatoes, in that order, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper. Scatter the 50 g of butter pieces over the top.
- Roll out the smaller portion of dough to cover the filling. Pinch the edges firmly together and cut a steam vent in the centre of the top crust.
- Brush the top crust with beaten egg.
- Bake for 45–60 minutes, checking from 45 minutes. Look for a golden crust and potatoes that are tender when pierced. Insert a food thermometer through the steam vent into a piece of chicken at the centre; it must reach at least 74°C (165°F). If the crust browns before the filling is cooked, cover loosely with foil and keep baking until both the chicken and potatoes are done, even if they need longer.
- Let the pie rest under a clean kitchen towel for about 20 minutes before slicing.
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