Small Russian pancakes made from buckwheat or wheat flour, typically served with sour cream or caviar.
From Russian блини (blini), plural of блин (blin), meaning pancake. The word entered English in the 19th century through Russian culinary tradition and remains the standard plural form in English when referring to the traditional food.
Blinis became fashionable in Victorian England as exotic luxury food, especially when topped with expensive caviar—they were a status symbol at fancy dinner parties! The word shows how food travels between cultures along with trade routes.
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