What is "banitsa"

n. A Bulgarian baked good consisting of layers of whisked eggs, pieces of cheese and phyllo.

Banitsa (, also transliterated as banica and banitza) is a traditional Bulgarian food in the börek family prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of cheese between filo pastry and then baking it in an oven.

Traditionally, lucky charms are put into the pastry on certain occasions, particularly on New Year's Eve. These charms may be coins or small symbolic objects (e.g., a small piece of a dogwood branch with a bud, symbolizing health or longevity). More recently, people have started writing happy wishes on small pieces of paper and wrapping them in tin foil. Wishes may include happiness, health, or success throughout the new year (similar to fortune cookies).

Banitsa is served for breakfast with plain yogurt, ayran, or boza. It can be eaten hot or cold. Some varieties include banitsa with spinach (spanachena banitsa) or the sweet version, banitsa with milk (mlechna banitsa) or pumpkin (tikvenik).

Banitsa ( - Karié, Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Баница, Banitsa or Banica, Ottoman Turkish: بانيچه Turkish Baniça) is a deserted former village in Serres regional unit, northern Greece. Its ruins are situated some 15 km north-east of the town of Serres, near the present-day village of Oreini, on the southern slopes of the Vrontous mountains. During the Ottoman period it had a Bulgarian population. The village was destroyed by the Greek Army during the Second Balkan War, and the population migrated to Bulgaria.

Banitsa was the site of the death of the revolutionary Gotse Delchev, who was killed in a skirmish with Ottoman police forces on 4 May 1903.

Banitsa (sometimes spelled Banica) may refer to:

• Banitsa, a pastry from the Balkans
• Banovac, a Croatian coin used between 1235 and 1384.
• one hundredth of an Independent State of Croatia kuna from 1941 to 1945