Ash Monday’s menu
One of the customs of Ash Monday is Kyra Sarakosti (Mrs. Lent). Kyra Sarakosti functioned as a makeshift calendar which was helping people to count the weeks have been going on Clean Monday until Holy Week. Usually, it was the painting of a woman with a scarf on the head, seven legs, arms folded -because she is praying-, and no mouth, because of fasting throughout this period. Every Saturday, starting Saturday which followed after Ash Monday, “Mrs. Lent” loses a leg. Besides paper, the lady-Lent can also be made of fabric but also of dough.
Here we will give a nice recipe to prepare this beautiful dough doll with flour and salt. Salt is a natural preservative and make the dough doll last for all this long period. Of course it is not edible!
Kyra Sarakosti made of dough
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup fine salt
- 1 cup water
- spices such as cloves for decoration
Instructions
Put all the ingredients for the dough in a cuvette and knead until smooth, good dough.
Shape Kyra Sarakosti with the dough making the body, the skirt, the face and the legs. Decorate as desired and place it in a baking pan which is paved with parchment paper.
Bake in preheated oven at 160 degrees Celsius (or 320 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20-30 minutes. The purpose is to dry the dough, not to bake it.
Break one leg every Saturday! After the last breaking leg it is Easter Sunday! 🙂