The scent of baked and fried potatoes continues to linger over the town of Supraśl in Poland’s northeastern Podlaskie Province.

The annual festival attracts masters of preparing traditional dishes originating in the region from around the world, as well as those who cannot wait to dig into hearty kiszkas or babkas, be they locals or tourists.

Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a pig gut

Kiszka is similar to blood sausage in form but in this case, the pig’s intestine is stuffed not with pork blood mixed with groats, but rather mashed potatoes mixed with diced bacon and onions.

Babka ziemniaczana is similar to a pie but in composition, it resembles a jumbo-sized potato pancake, but baked in an oven rather than fried. And of which, as you may have already guessed, the primary ingredients are grated potatoes.

The award-winning babka was baked by the ‘Brzozowianki’ Village Housewives Club from the Poświętne commune in central Mazowieckie Province, not far from the capital city of Warsaw. ‘Brzozowianki’ opted for a minimalist approach.

“It’s a traditional babka, with no pork scratchings. You could call it a ‘Friday’ babka [i.e. conforming to non-consumption of meat by Catholics due to Friday fast - TVP World]: eggs, cream, milk and no meats, because not everybody likes that,” said Grażyna Wąsowska of the ‘Brzozowianki’ Village Housewives Club.

The award for the best kiszka prepared by an individual cook went, as last year, to Zofia Amielańczyk. The jury also selected the best commercial producer of the potato-based delicacies, which title went to a restaurant in Studzianki.

The participants of the contest were quite inventive with their recipes, preparing kiszkas and babkas with meat, mushroom, or ‘plain’. The jury sampled submissions from 30 contestants.