In the Cookbooks - a Polish-English glossary

There are a lot of websites, which would give you a description of Polish dishes, often misspelled or not correct at all, or just... too dificult to read and use right from the start for every person who is not used to Polish language. How can one know, stumbling upon a recipe which says "Kapuśniak", what it is? Maybe it's a cake, pasta recipe or fish dish? What one should expect? Well, I've decided to give you a list of the most common Polish dishes along with their explanations. I hope you'll find it informational enough. If you find any other Polish names you find too tiring to translate or to understand - just ask.

SOUPS
Chłodnik litewski: cold yoghurt-and-beetroot soup served with a hard boiled egg, originally from Lithuania.
Barszcz biały: sour thick wheat starch soup with marjoram, potatoes, sometimes with cream. Similar to Żurek in taste.
Barszcz czerwony: refreshing beetroot soup with vegetables and sour cream or served clear with dumplings.
Żurek: sour rye soup with potato, sausage or an egg, sometimes served in a bread loaf.
Krupnik: thick barley soup with a smattering of vegetables and smoked meat.
Kapuśniak: sour cabbage soup.
Zupa ogórkowa: hot sour cucumber soup, usually served with potatoes and/or rice.
Zupa koperkowa: dill soup.
Rosół z kurczaka: golden chicken consommé with noodles.
Zupa pomidorowa: tomato soup, often with rice or noodles.
Grochówka: thick pea soup.
Zupa grzybowa: mushroom soup with cream.
Flaki wołowe: beef tripe soup.

HORS D'OEUVRES
Smalec: partially double fried lard with onion, marjoram and sometimes with apple or prune. It is spread over bread and served together with pickled cucumbers as an appetizer before the main meal.
Śledzie w śmietanie: herring in sour cream, usually with onion.
Boczek ze śliwką: bacon stuffed with prunes.
Tatar: steak tartar; raw minced beef with chopped onion and raw yolk.


MAIN COURSE - BEEF & VEAL
Eskalopki z cielęciny: veal in a blanket.
Polędwiczki wołowe: beef sirloin, often with rare mushroom sauce.
Ozór wołowy: soft steamed beef tongues.
Sztuka mięsa w sosie chrzanowym: boiled chunk of beef in horseradish sauce.
Zrazy zawijane: beef rolls stuffed with bacon, gherkin and onion or red pepper, in a spicy sauce.


MAIN COURSE - PORK
Golonka w piwie: fat, but tasty pork knuckle, sometimes in beer sauce, always with horseradish; very traditional, originally from Bavaria.
Karkówka: tenderloin, usually roasted
Kotlet schabowy: traditional breaded pork cutlet (a tasty choice).
Kiełbasa: Polish sausages - white sausages are especially very tasty. They go well with pickled cucumbers (gherkins) in combination with beer or vodka and fresh air.
Żeberka w miodzie: spare pork ribs in honey.


MAIN COURSE - POULTRY
Kaczka z jabłkami: roast duck with apples.
Kurczak de volaille: chicken steaks spread with butter, filled with mushrooms and bread crumbed, originally French.
Wątróbki drobiowe: chicken liver.


MAIN COURSE - OTHER MEAT COURSES
Baranina: roasted or even grilled lamb – great, especially popular in the mountain region.
Klopsiki: meatloaf, often with tomato sauce.
Bigos: appetizing, seasoned "hunters' stew" made from sauerkraut with chunks of various meats and sausages, extremely traditional.
Dziczyzna: game.
Fasolka po bretońsku: bean and sausage stew.
Gołąbki: cabbage parcels originally from Lithuania, they are stuffed with meat or meat and rice.
Kaszanka: grilled or baked solid pieces of buckwheat blended with pork blood and shaped as sausages.
Szaszłyk: originally Caucasian dish; chunks of meat grilled on a spit.


MAIN COURSE - FISH
Karp po żydowsku: carp in aspic with raisins, originally Jewish recipe adapted by Polish cuisine (eaten mostly during Christmas time).
Łosoś: salmon, often baked or boiled in a dill sauce.
Pstrąg: trout, sometimes flambé.
Sandacz: pike perch.


VEGETARIAN DISHES
Pierogi: very traditional small white dumplings, larger than ravioli, filled with sauerkraut with mushrooms, cheese and potatoes or with fruit. They can be also with meat (z mięsem).
Naleśniki: omelettes stuffed with jam, fruit, cottage cheese etc. and very similar to crepes.
Knedle: potato dumplings stuffed with fruit, usually plums or strawberries.


SIDE DISHES
Frytki: chips, french fries.
Kopytka: hoof-shaped dumplings.
Kluski śląskie: Silesian dumplings, made from boiled potatoes.
Kasza gryczana: buckwheat groats.
Placki ziemniaczane: potato pancakes.


SWEET TIDBITS
Faworki or chrust: pastry twisters.
Galaretka: sweet fruit jellies.
Makowiec: sweet poppy seed cake.
Pączki: doughnuts, traditionally with jam filling.
Sernik: delicious cheesecake, made from special kind of cheese and other traditional ingredients.
Szarlotka: apple cake, sometimes served with whipped cream or ice cream.


Source: http://www.staypoland.com/poland-food.htm