The word is of German origin ( Rindfleisch ) which means beef. It is the meat boiled for preparing soup, taken out, left to cool a little and eaten with either horseradish sauce or custard. In Vojvodina the meaning was broadened to any meat from soup, boiled potatoes and sauce, most frequently tomato sauce, but sometimes dill sauce or hot horseradish sauce.
An antecedent of sauces in Vojvodina was cicvara ( mandara ) , made of wheat flour cooked on fat with addition of salt and water.
Sauces in its original form were borrowed from Austrian cuisine, which had also borrowed them from French cuisine.
Sauces were made of flour cooked in fat with addition of dill weed, cooked tomato paste, cherries, horseradish, garlic, pickled cucumbers or peppers.