Chebureki. Recipe

Tools and Devices

• Dough roller
• Dough mixer
• Deep cast iron pan or turkey fryer
• Source of steady fire. For outside cooking - the turkey fryer base works great for me.
• Skimmer/Strainer with a long handle
• Knife
• Mixing bowl

Ingredients

For 8 pieces which in my surroundings is enough for 2 adults and one kid.

Flour:

• Flour – about 250 grams (we will need more depending how the dough goes)
• Hot water – 150 grams
• Salt to taste. Use good, large grained salt.
• 80  proof (40%) vodka – 1 shot
• Vegetable oil – 4 tbs

Stuffing:

• A bunch of fresh :
  • Dill
  • Scallion
  • Cilantro
  • Basil
• Salt – to taste.

• Super cold water for the ground meat.
  • See instructions below for guidance on the amount,
• Ground meat. 300 grams - 1/3 of each:
  • Beef
  • Lamb (I sometimes substitute lamb with lamb suet)
  • Pork (Optional. Some folks don't eat port - then use Beef and Lamb and Lamb suet if available)

Method

Dough Preparation:

As indicated in my post about Chebureki – I like to prepare dough preferably 24 hours in advance. Is this an absolute requirement? No. But being a person respectful of the opinion of the elders – I heard it is a better thing to do, but only if you also follow below instructions to the fucking dot. Also. This is not a traditional dough recipe. The classic one has 3 ingredients - salt, water and flour. I, however, prefer to eat tasty food and not what someone's grandmother used to make just because hers did the same. Hence additional items.

• Sieve the flour to aerate it. Dough loves air.
• Mix with salt
• Add boiling water and mix well.
• I admit – I cheat most of the times and don’t mix it by hand. My mixer does so well on low speed – there is no need to burn skin. That said, the elders are of the opinion that doing it by manually is much better. I trust them buy I like to play with toys. Just out of interest I tried the manual method few times. Did I notice the difference in taste? Not really. I blame my taste buds for it.
• After hot water is added the dough will look as a set of clumps. Keep mixing
• Add vegetable oil
• Add one shot of vodka. Just do it. Vodka is important here. I don't know why. The elders say it adds elasticity.
• Add more flour as needed, but not a lot, to make the dough pliable but as gentle as a boob of a 40 year old healthy woman. Not firm but not completely resistance free. This is probably where a female may come handy because they have better understanding of the dough. If not available – just don’t make it feel like a rubber tire or a boob of an 18 year old girl. It has to be very gentle and pliable.
• Once the consistency is achieved – cover the dough with a towel free of lint and let it rest for 30 minutes.
• After about 30 minutes divide the dough into pieces about 55-60 grams.
• Then do the folding technique that allows the dough to accumulate air bubbles. Those make the Cheburek coverd with crusty, thin and beautiful bubbles with air trapped inside making them more light and crunchy on the tongue.
• Each roll produced should be covered by a light coat of vegetable oil, wrapped in airtight plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator overnight. 12 hors is the best time to keep them soaking, the elders say.

The Stuffing :

• I prefer to mix the stuffing manually to feel it go through my fingers and make a call when to stop adding water.
• Emulsify onion in a blender and add to the mix.
• The emulsification is optional. Some folks don’t like the taste of cooked onion on a tongue. However, I don't think this dish works well without onions added. Hence, I hide it.
• Soak dill, scallion, cilantro, basil in cold water for 5 mins and then wash thoroughly to remove dirt stuck to the leaves.
• Mince them with a knife and add to the mixture.
• Start adding ice cold water and mix until the stuffing reaches the consistency of where it flows between your fingers but slowly. It shouldn’t be too watery but yet not too dense.
• Keep adding water as the meat will soak some of it. Keep the same balance between runny and dense consistency.

Heating the Oil:

• Heat the cooking oil in a deep, preferably cast iron pot since it holds the temperature well.  If you don't have it - whatever you have that is deep enough to avoid splashes, fits 2-3 pieces of Chebureki and most importantly allows to keep the temperature going steady - will work. A turkey fryer for instance was used by me many times but as of late I resorted to 4 gallons cast iron pot.
• The oil should become very hot. You should see white smoke coming out of its surface. The temperature should reach 400 F/210 C.
• If you don’t have a thermometer handy the following trick will allow you to be more or less in the range.
• Take a small piece of dough in the oil and time 1.5 minutes. If after that time the color of the dough is still white – the temperature is too low. If it browned to very dark shade – the oil is too hot. The temperature is right if the dough is bubbling and became of a golden hue.
• Once you reach this temperature – regulate the source of heat to keep it steady.

Putting them all together:

• While the oil is heating up – work on putting Chebureki together.
• I prefer to make 2 – 3 batches of them ahead of time and then work on making new ones as they cook.
• This way they don’t get mushy on the bottom from the wet stuffing if they sit uncooked for too long. During winter time this is less of a problem because I keep them outside.
• Clean up the work surface where the dough will be rolled. It has to be pristine clean and dry.
• Sprinkle flour over it.
• Dust the roller with the flour on as well.
• Unwrap one dough ball.
• Roll it into about 6” inch circle (a larger tea cup plate size).
• Place about table spoon of the mixture in the center of the circle.
• Fold the circle so its edges meet.
• Close the edges using your fingers very well. There has to be no leaking of juices into the oil when cooking. Make sure the fold is tight.
• Cut off extra dough off the edges. Chebureki should look sexy.
• Some folks like to reinforce the edges by rolling the with dough roller or using a fork to carefully press them together.
• This step matters a lot because if the juice leaks into the oil – it will render the Cheburek dry inside. Besides when water gets into a boiling oil – nothing good ever happens. If it did – remove this Cheburek out of oil as soon as possible and if it didn’t cook well – probably discard it.
• Lay out ready ones on a tray sprinkled with dough.

Cooking:

• Using the strainer, carefully place 2 – 3 Chebureks one after another in the oil.
• Cook for 3-4 minutes fully submerged.
• Make sure that the oil reheats to 400 F/210 C before you put a new batch in it.

Serving:

• Chebureki are best right out of the oil.
• Hold it in hands and bite off the top.
• Don’t place it on a plate - the juices will spill.
• You can either drink the juice first out of the opening or place some Adjika or Tkemali sauce inside and then take next bite.
• Enjoy with red wine but goes equally well with vodka.
• In the rare case of leftovers the juices will be absorbed by the dough and that gives a great kick to the taste as well. Reheat in the oven at 360 for 10 mins or so and enjoy with the above mentioned sauces and wine.
• Those you can cut with a knife and use fork if that is what you like to do.

Enjoy. Remember that eating good food is the gift of the Universe. So is fucking. Do both daily, be grateful and exercise to keep the blood pumping.