Haliva (Adyghe хьалыжъо, Kabardian хьэлывэ) are crisp fried pies of thin dough filled with Adyghe cheese or potato and folded into triangles or half-moons. They are a holiday favourite, made in big batches.
Here is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, followed by the fillings Circassian cooks use and a common mix-up with the name.
Haliva recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the flour, water/kefir, egg, salt and soda into a soft, smooth dough; rest 20 minutes.
- Mash the cheese with the yolk and a little salt into a filling.
- Roll the dough thin and cut into circles or squares.
- Place a spoon of filling on each, fold into a triangle or half-moon, and seal the edges well.
- Fry in hot oil or butter until golden and blistered on both sides.
- Drain and serve hot, on their own or with soured cream.
Seal the edges firmly (press with a fork) so the cheese does not leak while frying.
Do not confuse with heliwe, the sweet flour halva. The names look alike but they are different dishes.
This is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, where you can also scale it and save it to your favourites.
Haliva is not halva
The names look alike, but they are two different dishes. Haliva is the savoury fried pie on this page. Heliwe (хьэлыуэ), which the Kabardian dictionary calls a national Kabardian dish, is a sweet halva: flour toasted in butter and bound with honey or sugar syrup. The app’s own recipe note warns about exactly this mix-up, and both recipes are in the app.
Haliva fillings
Cheese is the classic, and fresh Adyghe cheese is the one to use. The app’s recipe also allows potato. In the list of Circassian dishes on Wikipedia, haliva comes with even more fillings: cottage cheese, potatoes, potatoes and cheese together, navy beans, pears, and even offal.
Boiled instead of fried, a similar parcel of dough becomes mataz, the Circassian dumpling.
Kitchen words in Kabardian and Adyghe
From the app’s lessons, for when the plate is on the table:
| English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| cheese | кхъуейqkhwey | къуаеqwaye |
| butter | тхъуцынэtkhwutsyne | тхъуtkhu |
| bread | щIакхъуэshch'akkhwe | хьалыгъуhalyghu |
| delicious | IэфI'ef' | IэшIу дэд'esh'u ded |
| Enjoy your meal! | Фи хьэлэлщ!Fi helelshch! | – |
More Circassian recipes
Pair haliva with Circassian chicken in walnut sauce, or read about 10 traditional Circassian dishes and the table customs of Circassian hospitality.
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Haliva: frequently asked questions
What is haliva?
A Circassian fried pie: thin dough filled with Adyghe cheese or potato, folded into a triangle or half-moon, sealed and fried until golden. It is a holiday favourite made in big batches.
What is haliva called in Circassian?
In Adyghe it is хьалыжъо, халюж in Russian. The Kabardian dictionary calls fried pies with curd cheese хьэлывэ. You will also see the spelling хьэлжъо.
Is haliva the same as halva?
No. Haliva is a savoury fried pie. Heliwe (хьэлыуэ) is a sweet halva: flour toasted in butter and bound with honey or sugar syrup. The names look alike, but they are different dishes.
What cheese goes into haliva?
Fresh Adyghe cheese, mashed with an egg yolk and a little salt. Potato is the other common filling.
How do you keep haliva from leaking?
Seal the edges firmly, pressing them with a fork, so the cheese does not leak while frying. That is the tip in the app’s recipe.
What other fillings can haliva have?
Besides cheese and potato, Wikipedia’s list of Circassian dishes includes haliva with cottage cheese, navy beans, pears and even offal.
Sources
- Circassian app, Recipes section (Circassian Library > Recipes), recipe “Haliva (Fried Cheese Pies)”, version 5.2, September 2026. The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
- Wikipedia (Turkish), “Haliva”, and English “Circassian cuisine” (list of haliva fillings). Wikipedia (Russian), “Cherkesskaya kukhnya”: the Adyghe name хьалыжъо. Kabardian–Russian dictionary in the app, p. 539: хьэлывэ (fried pies with curd cheese) and хьэлыуэ (the sweet dish).
- Circassian app, Kabardian and Adyghe lessons Bread & Cheese, Meat & Salt, Fruit & Butter, Drinks, Pets & Poultry and Dining Phrases (kitchen words and phrases).
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Circassian chicken, Adyghe cheese, haliva and 50 more, in English, Russian and Turkish, with servings you can scale. Plus short lessons in Kabardian or Adyghe.
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