Recipe for delicious Crimean Tatar chebureks. Crimean chebureks are delicious, crispy, our real ones! Test components
One of the most common dishes in the territory of the former USSR was pasties. The Crimean ones were especially famous. Like now, for example, real Italian pizza is trending. Everything there was delicious: the crispy dough of deep-fried chebureks and the meat filling with broth. They couldn’t be removed even from a man’s palm, so you could eat one of them, or at most two. The name “cheburek” comes from the Turkish “burek” or “borek”, which means “pie”. Classic Crimean chebureks have the shape of a semicircle; their size does not even fit on a man’s palm. The filling of traditional baked goods is meat. It can be different: from lamb to chicken. Chebureks must be prepared deep-fried.
Gairat-aka, also a native Fergana, said:
- Stalik-aka, let me cook the pasties. I used to work with Crimean Tatars in a cheburek shop opposite the bazaar, and my chebureks are good.
- What? Did you work in that famous cheburek shop near the bazaar, which was kept first by that Crimean Tatar aunt, and then by her son, and which Kahramon Khoja bought from them? That cheburek shop, which now works properly and makes a profit, and, despite the fact that for fifteen years now there has not been a single Crimean Tatar left in it, continues to make exactly the same chebureks as fifty years ago?
Of course, prepare it, Gairat-aka! I remember those chebureks, I ate them once when I was five or seven years old, at a time when my still young parents took me to the market. I remember how, having completed all the shopping, we got hungry and my father stood in line at the window, from which pasties flew out at the speed of bullets from a machine gun...
- There, eight of us stood in one production line to make it happen quickly. And when necessary, they installed two, even three production lines. Everyone had their own task: one kneads the dough, the other rolls it, one chops the meat, the other cuts the onion... Previously, we were not allowed to put meat through a meat grinder - or with two knives or a hatchet.
- Okay, okay, Gairat-aka. Tell me what needs to be done?
- It’s okay, give me two kilograms of flour, salt, water, I’ll knead the dough.
Well, we met Gairat-aka, a cook from Fergana, a big, strong, kind and smiling man, who once in his youth, even before the army and immediately after the army, worked with the Crimean Tatars in a cheburechnaya opposite the Fergana bazaar and received strong and decent knowledge, so to speak, first hand. I must repeat once again that the chebureks in that cheburek shop were simply magnificent, they were simply incomparable to the squalor that is now served in the famous Moscow cheburek shop on Sukharevka, forgive me, Muscovites and guests of the capital. I know what I’m saying, because three years ago, succumbing to persuasion and remembering the Internet delights of former Internet friends, I made fun of myself in this establishment, but I don’t want to anymore. Moreover, I persuade and convince you: cook the pasties yourself and spare no time or effort for this.
And you will need strength, especially to knead the dough.
Look: two kilograms of flour. We’ll leave about three hundred grams for dusting to roll out, and sift the rest of the flour in a heap in the middle of the table.
Having made a depression at the top of the slide, put salt there and pour in most of the 700 ml of prepared water.
We begin to knead the dough, gradually adding flour to the well.
We squeeze the scattered lumps into a single whole.
Sprinkle with some of the remaining water, leaving a little more in reserve.
And, applying maximum effort, knead, collecting the extremely tight dough into one lump.
Those lumps that did not want to unite into a common lump, sprinkle with the remaining water, and knead the dough until it looks like a single whole.
Fold the dough into an envelope, wrap it in cling film and leave it for about an hour to rest.
In the meantime, let's start with the minced meat. It will work out well if you take equal parts of young beef or veal and lamb (1 kg 200 grams in total), and add fat tail fat (400 grams) to the minced meat.
You know how to chop minced meat, everything here is familiar to you. Only, if you wish, add water to the minced meat while chopping. You understand, yes, why they did this in public catering? Do you really understand that it is better to add good broth to the minced meat when kneading? Well, there will still be broth, just wait. But you shouldn’t blame this added water so much, especially since with this action the end result is undoubtedly very good.
See next: finely chop the onion with a sharp knife.
Salt the onion with coarse salt and press the juice out of it with a heavy press or beat it flat with a hatchet. Set aside both meat and onions until combined.
Cut the dough into three equal pieces.
Pull out even, thick strands from each piece.
Tear fifty gram pieces of dough from the bundles. Look, just tear it off, not cut it. Holding the tourniquet with one hand exactly at the tear point, grab the end of the tourniquet with your finger and, pulling it about five centimeters, sharply move your hand to the side and tear off the lump.
Press the lump onto the table, forming it into a small flat cake.
Watch what Gairat-aka does with both hands at the same time, watch how he kneads flat cakes and shapes them into blanks.
Look carefully, watch your hands.
That's it! - thumb in the middle.
Here are two! - edges to the center.
Here are three! - crushed.
Here are four! – repeated the same thing, turning the workpiece 90 degrees. And then press down with your palm and put the finished pieces into a bag, sprinkle them with flour so that they do not stick together. Otherwise, despite the fact that the dough was kneaded extremely steeply, its stickiness and viscousness increases over time!
Again, minced meat, onions, chopped herbs - dill and parsley - black pepper and spices as desired, but do not overdo it, and half a liter of good broth.
Listen, why are you surprised at the requirement to add broth to the minced meat? Did you butcher the meat before mincing? Did you still have bones, films, veins? So make broth from this, you will always need it! And don’t even think about, when buying meat at the market, asking the butchers to separate the flesh from the bones and, like a lord, leaving the bones and trimmings on their counter. Firstly, you are leaving a very important and tasty part, and secondly, you look very stupid, excuse me for telling the truth.
That's it, the minced meat is ready, take a rolling pin and start rolling. Evenly, thinly, slowly - everything will work out for you.
Place one and a half to two tablespoons of minced meat on one half of the juice, level it, fold it in half and...
...No, not with your fingers! With a rolling pin! Using a rolling pin, roll the edges of the pasty so that it does not tear, burst at the seam, or release its contents into the oil! After all, the oil will have to be changed after that.
Well, cut it with a curly wheel along the seam.
And fold the pasties, but not for long. They don’t need to lie for a long time, no matter how elastic and tight your dough is.
Deep fry. Don't skimp on the oil. Do not regret when choosing oil, do not take the cheapest one, take a decent one that does not have a pronounced odor of its own, with a smoke point of at least 240 degrees. This is important because the chebureks must be fried in very hot deep fat. We heated it to 220 degrees and maintained it at this temperature - fortunately, an induction cooker under a wok allows such control via a sensor above the radiating element and directly under the wok. At this temperature, the chebureki are fried for no longer than three minutes and are completely cooked. Of course, before frying, they should be shaken off of excess flour so as not to spoil the taste of the oil by burning. There will be no need to place the chebureki on napkins so that excess oil can drain off them - there will simply be no excess oil, I assure you. At the same time, we poured one and a half liters of oil into the wok so that the pasties would not touch the bottom while frying, but would constantly float. Take this into account when choosing dishes for frying pasties, okay?
By the way, a wok or a wide but not deep cauldron is the most convenient utensil for frying pasties. Don’t listen to those talking about “savage culture”; they themselves are not very far from the half-breed savages, because they are ready to bow on the knees and kiss the feet of the “whites” and treat everything “Asian” with contempt, not realizing that those same “whites” “, being smart and practical people, with great interest and benefit for themselves, they borrowed from Asia what their cooking is now famous for.
Okay, let's not talk about the bad, let's not talk about bad people, let's rather talk about the good ones.
You won’t believe this: when our Crimean chebureks were already being prepared, my close friend called me from the airport and said that he had arrived.
- Come to me immediately! – I shouted. - Try the chebureks! I swear you won't regret it!
Enver, a Fergana citizen, a Crimean Tatar, a virtuoso guitarist, glorifying both Fergana and the Crimean Tatar people, a man of great soul and wonderful qualities, arrived just in time when the first plate of chebureks was ready.
Do you know how they turned out?
Bubbly, light, airy. Thin, crispy golden crust that doesn’t get soggy over time. The thinnest dough under the crust. Juicy, fragrant minced meat - try to eat it again, so as not to stain yourself! Everything in moderation, everything is as tasty as it is in folk cuisine, when masters and not talkers get down to business.
And guess what? If you think that chebureks only come with the “fifty-third” portveshok and the fruit-bearing “chashma,” then you are mistaken. Pour your grand cru and reserves into decanters, pour wine into good thin glasses - this will be a worthy accompaniment to our pasties! This will be the accompaniment of a long summer evening near Moscow - after all, three men of different nationalities, born and raised in the same city, will always find something to talk about.
Many of us love chebureks, but not many allow themselves to do so due to the use of deep frying. But yantyki, in fact, is a very dietary dish. Yantyki are dry pasties. That is, they are prepared exactly like regular pasties, except that they are fried in a completely dry frying pan.
About the origins of the recipe. There are many stories among people that you need to add butter, sugar or even vodka to the dough for chebureks. The Crimean Tatars laugh in response: Muslims, in principle, do not drink vodka, so vodka in chebureks is an exclusively Russian interpretation. This recipe was shared with me by the owner of a Crimean Tatar restaurant, a woman of exceptional warmth and culinary skill, a Crimean Tatar, of course. This is exactly what I use to prepare yantiki at home. They turn out very tasty and light. I cook with just one change: I don’t use lamb in the filling because of its high calorie content. I make it with chicken fillet, but, of course, it will also be very tasty with beef.
Recipe.
1. Chop chicken fillet and onion in a 1:1 ratio (maintaining the proportion is a prerequisite for juicy minced meat!) using a sharp knife on a board. It is advisable not to use a meat grinder, as this will make the minced meat juicier. And we grind it like this: first we cut the meat, then when it has already turned into minced meat, we add half the onion to it and continue to grind the two ingredients together. Then the remaining onion, herbs, salt, ground black pepper and a little water for juiciness are added to the finished minced meat. The minced meat should not be very dense, a little runny.
2. Knead the dough - flour, water and half a teaspoon of salt. The proportions of flour and water are always as follows: 2 parts flour, 1 part water. The dough should be tight, but elastic. Let it rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. Then roll the dough into a sausage, cut it into several parts, and knead each ball for about another minute.
3. Roll out, sprinkling the table with flour. There is no need to roll out the dough too thin, otherwise it may tear during frying and release the minced meat. But it shouldn’t be thick either. Its ideal thickness is a few millimeters.
4. Add a full tablespoon of filling, distributing it evenly over the dough. We pinch the edges with a special knife or with our fingers.
5. Yantyki are fried in a dry frying pan - 3-4 minutes on each side. After I turn it over, I cover it with a lid. Then they are laid out on a dish one by one, each yantik in the original is greased with butter (but most often I do not grease it). Yantyki is served with
katyk (ayran, kefir) and fresh vegetable salad.
Secret. Many southern Crimean Tatars add fresh mint to the filling. But this is not for everyone))
Bon appetit!
P.S. In the photo: my yantyki (small, modest) and the original.
In general, in the classical sense, the meat should be lamb, but here it is practically inaccessible, and not everyone eats it because of the specific smell, so I use pork, which is completely contrary to Muslim laws, but I can forgive it.
You should start cooking with the dough so that it can rest and brew while we work on the filling.
Pour salt into the flour, pour in no more than 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, otherwise the dough will turn out crumbly.
Adding water, knead the plastic dough. Set the finished dough aside, or you can put it in the refrigerator and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
During this time, the gluten will swell and it will become elastic, which will allow it to be rolled out very thinly.
For the meat and onion filling, make minced meat using a meat grinder:
To get all the meat out of the meat grinder, I also minced a small potato (it creates yellow spots in the minced meat).
Salt and pepper to taste:
Mix well:
Despite the fact that pork itself is quite fatty, for extra juiciness we add water to the minced meat or you can use meat broth:
The main thing is not to overdo it with water so that the minced meat does not float in it. It took me 0.5 cups to make this amount.
After preparing the filling, put a frying pan on the fire and pour vegetable oil into it, approximately to a height of 1-1.5 cm. The oil should be well heated before frying.
Mix everything again and start cutting the dough. We divide it into several small parts:
I got 20 pieces.
Now, the most important thing is to roll out each piece as thinly as possible, until the board can be seen through the dough. It is very plastic and will reach the desired thickness without much difficulty and without holes.
At the same time, sprinkle it with flour in the very minimum amount so that the outside of the future cheburek is not sprinkled with it.
Now mentally divide the circle into two halves and place the minced meat in a semicircle in the middle of one of them in a not too thick layer so that it has time to fry:
Now cover the minced meat with the second half of the dough and trim the edge.
During this time, the oil in the frying pan has heated up to the desired temperature and you can put the cheburek into it.
You should pay attention to the fact that the fire should not be too strong - so that the dough does not burn, but also not very slow, in order to maintain the desired oil temperature.
Immediately before your eyes the dough begins to bubble. You should not fry several pasties in one frying pan, it is better to fry one at a time, so as not to lower the degree of oil. Then the dough will turn out golden brown and flake.
After 1 minute we turn the cheburek over to the other side, and during this time we can roll out the next one.
I put the finished pasties in a heap on a plate or in a saucepan, like a construction set.
That's all! Easily and simply we have delicious pasties, a satisfying dinner and a happy family!
You can serve the chebureki with vinegar (but this is not for everyone) or dip them in katyk (as my husband and his family liked to do). I prefer to just wash down the pasties with tea.
Bon appetit!
Cooking time: PT00H45M 45 min.
Crispy, rosy, juicy chebureks with minced meat, vegetables, cheese and another exclusive filling from Karim, the cook of the Crimean cheburek
Ingredients:
Dough
Wheat flour - 500 g
Chicken egg - 1 pc.
Salt - 1/2 tsp.
Sugar - 1 tsp.
Water (boiling water) - 300 ml
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. l.
Vodka - 1 tbsp. l.
Meat filling
Minced meat - 500 g
Onion - 1 piece
Greens - 1 bunch.
Water - 150 ml
Soy sauce - 2 tbsp. l.
Spices (salt, pepper) - to taste
Quail egg (2 pieces per 1 cheburek)
Vegetable filling
Cherry tomatoes - 6 pcs
Bell pepper - 1 piece
Greens - 1 bunch.
Onion - 1 piece
Soy sauce - 2 tsp.
Spices (temperature pepper, salt) - to taste
Cheese filling
Hard cheese (easy melting - suluguni, mozzarella, parmesan, cheddar...) - 100 g
Preparation:
After this summer vacation, it seemed to me that I had eaten chebureks for the rest of my life)) Well, how could it be otherwise if, by the will of fate, my friends and I rented a house in Foros next to the cheburek shop. Of course, we cooked, but sometimes we wanted to relax... it was still a vacation))) And then chebureks from Karim came to our aid... fortunately, the cheburek one was literally behind the gate) Probably, during these 2 weeks we were there the most often clients, and our men became friends with the smiling, friendly Tatar and learned the dough recipe from him. So, a month after the vacation, my husband began to hint that it would be nice to try Karim’s chebureks. And today I gave up) Keep the recipe.
Boil 300 ml of water, divide it into 2 parts - 200 ml and 100 ml. Sift 100 grams of flour into a bowl, pour in 200 ml of boiling water and mix with a spoon. 
You will get choux pastry with this consistency. 
Sift 300 grams of flour into another bowl, add the egg, salt, sugar, vodka, vegetable oil and the remaining hot water. Mix. 
Combine both types of dough and mix. 
And add the remaining 100 grams of flour. Knead the dough. 
It turns out to be very elastic and obedient, does not stick to your hands or the table. I kneaded the dough on the table without dusting it with flour. Cover the bowl with cling film and let the dough rest while you prepare the filling.
Attention! Depending on the quality of flour, you may need a little more! 
Let's prepare the fillings. My husband prefers it with meat, my daughter prefers it with cheese, and I like it with vegetables, so I will prepare 3 fillings at once.
Finely chop the onion and herbs. I have dill, parsley, cilantro, green onions. Stir. 2/3 of the mixture will go into the minced meat, and 1/3 into the vegetable filling. 
The minced meat for pasties is made slightly runny so that it is juicy after frying. To do this, add ice water to the minced meat. I decided not to salt the minced meat, but to add soy sauce.
So, pour soy sauce into ice water, add greens and onions to the minced meat. 
Pour cold water and sauce into the minced meat* and stir. The minced meat should be juicy and liquid should accumulate at the bottom of the bowl. If you initially have thin minced meat, then you may need less water; if it is very dense and dry, then more. Since I have ground beef without fat, it absorbed all the water and sauce and I probably could have added more, but I didn’t.
*The minced meat should ideally be lamb, beef or beef+lamb, but I have seen chebureks with chicken, pork, and combinations of the above options. Just keep in mind that less water will go into minced chicken, and more into beef mince. 
For the vegetable filling, prepare a regular salad of finely chopped tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes) and bell peppers, add the remaining onion and herbs, some pepper and soy sauce. I always add soy sauce instead of salt to vegetable salads; I really like this combination. If your tomatoes are very juicy, remove the pulp, otherwise there will be a lot of moisture. 
I bought the cheese ready-made, grated, and didn’t even bother pouring it out of the bag. 
Divide the dough into 20 equal parts. My weight for each ball is 50 grams. Be sure to cover the dough balls with film, they dry quickly. 
Dust the table with flour and roll it out very lightly. The dough is very elastic, easily rolls out to the thickness of a paper sheet and does not tear. 
Place a thin layer of minced meat* on half the circle, leaving enough space at the edge to firmly seal the edges.
*Each time you add meat filling, mix the minced meat with the liquid at the bottom of the bowl. 
Cover with the other half, gently press with your palm, squeezing out the air, firmly press the edge of the semicircle and trim off the excess using a plate or a pizza cutter. 
Chebureks with vegetables are made in the same way. 
And cheese. 
And now the promised filling from Karim. He prepared stuffing for our men with minced meat, nuts and eggs. Use a spoon to make two indentations in the layer of minced meat. 
And he beat two quail eggs into it. He also sprinkled a handful of pine nuts on top, but looking at their price in the store, I decided that this time we’ll do without them)) 
We sculpt in the same way. 
Pour 200-250 ml of vegetable oil into a frying pan with thick walls, heat it and fry the pasties over medium heat on one side 
And on the other. 
Place the pasties on a paper napkin to absorb excess fat. 
Be sure to try the first cheburek with salt and pepper. If anything, it’s not too late to salt the minced meat. 
From this amount of dough I got 21 chebureks (another one of the dough scraps), I cooked 11 with minced meat and froze, and we ate 10 with minced meat and eggs, cheese and vegetables right away. Although no, there were 4 pieces left, I heated them in the microwave and served them with salad for dinner. 
