Crimean Tatars, descendants of Mongol-Tatar nomadic tribes, left a legacy of chebureki (plural; singular; cheburek), their special savory meat-filled hand pies wherever they lived in Central Asia, including Ukraine.
Chebureki resemble other hand pies eaten worldwide such as British Cornish pasty, Latin American empanada, Middle Eastern börek, Indian samosa, Italian calzone and Ukrainian pyrizhki. While there appears to be no direct linkage between these versions, culinary historians agree that hand pies were created as portable food for nomads, field workers and miners.
The name chebureki means pastry with a raw filling from Turkic language roots çiğ meaning raw and börek meaning pastry and slavicized into a plural with i. The plural form – chebureki — is most often used because you can’t eat just one!
Chebureki were unknown outside the Tatar community until Crimea was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783. The peninsula became a summer resort for the czarist elite in the late 19th century, who built summer residences: cottages, villas and palaces, staffed with French cooks.
The USSR changed everything when borders were closed in 1935, and Soviet citizens were prohibited from traveling abroad. The Soviet government converted Crimea into a vast proletarian resort, reserving some czarist luxury properties for the communist party elite but repurposing remaining fancy residences and building new dormitories for state company-owned sanitaria, health clinics, worker hostels and children’s camps. Party loyalists and hard-working Soviet workers were rewarded with annual vacation passes.
Yalta beach
Crimea became a haven for narod, the masses, who sunbathed by the thousands on its rocky beaches, snacking on tasty, deep-fried hand pies sold for a few kopeks (cents) by enterprising Tatar street vendors. These vacationers popularized chebureki when they returned to their home republics. After the 1989 Soviet decree allowed Crimean Tatars to return from their 45-year forced exile in Central Asia and resettle to their ancestral land in Ukraine, Tatars opened restaurants and food stands selling chebureki.
Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea forced many Tatars to leave Crimea again, seeking safety in mainland Ukraine and chebureki proliferated through Ukrainian cities. Nostalgically recalling memories of Crimean holidays, Ukrainian cooks also began making chebureki at home.
There are countless recipes for classic chebureki with lamb and onion filling. Chebureki are unleavened, unlike yeast-leavened Ukrainian pyrizhki. In some recipes, the dough is made with water. In others, it is enhanced with vodka or kefir or eggs or some fat. Ground lamb, onions, herbs and seasonings are the ingredients in the traditional filling, although some or all beef or a beef-lamb filling is also used. While included in some Ukrainian recipes, Tatar cooks never use pork. Much less common are chebureki filled with cheese, potatoes, mushroom, cabbage and a mixture of rice, eggs and onions
Traditional chebureki are formed with a raw meat filling that cooks completely during frying or baking. When fried, the raw filling with plenty of onions and seasonings becomes juicy. Devotees recommend cautiously biting through the golden, crispy dough of a hot-from-the-frying pan cheburek to avoid losing a drop of the glorious juice and prevent staining clothes. Fried chebureki are best eaten hot, as the pastry absorbs the juice over time, and the chebureki will soften.
Filling ingredients
Chebureki also can be baked. The raw pastry is brushed with an egg wash before baking to produce a glossy, crispy hand pie with less fat and calories than frying. The baked chebureki are less juicy than fried, but equally tasty, retaining their crispy shell. Some recipes suggest pre-cooking the filling to assure crispiness and eliminate juiciness, but such pastry is considered blasphemy by lovers of chebureki.
Notes on preparing chebureki: Because different flours absorb liquids differently depending on various factors such as moisture content, protein content, wheat hardness, more water may be added a tablespoon at a time to make a pliable dough.
Adding vodka to the dough helps keep the dough crispy when fried or baked, as vodka hinders gluten formation.
The dough should rest for no more than one hour to reach proper elasticity and suppleness for rolling.
As the chebureki fry or bake quickly, I suggest frying the onions until translucent before combining with the raw meat and other ingredients. Precooking the onions minimizes an overpowering raw onion taste and also reduces onion juices which can make the filling too wet.
Chebureki should not be overstuffed. One and half tablespoons of filling spread in a thin layer is sufficient and assures that filling and outer shell cook simultaneously.
Since chebureki lose their crispiness as they cool, it is best to make them just before serving so they are crispy and hot. But they are delicious re-heated as well.
Chebureki can be frozen raw or fully cooked and fried or baked when desired.
These chebureki are addictive. The intoxicating aroma of frying or baking chebureki permeates the kitchen. Biting into the crispy exterior and savoring the spicy filling instantly explains why these hand pies are widely loved.
Whether fried or baked, hand pies are usually eaten plain as street food. When served as appetizers or main course, chebureki are often accompanied by various sauces such as spicy ketchup or chili sauce or yogurt or sour cream seasoned with garlic, chopped dill or other herbs. I serve chebureki with a seasoned yogurt sauce and adjika, a fragrant, spicy tomato and red pepper relish with Georgian roots, popular in Ukraine. Recipes for both are provided below.
For Ukrainians, chebureki bring back memories of happier days. Ukrainians can’t vacation in Crimea now that it is a war zone controlled by Russians, but they recall those hot summer vacations along the Black Sea by preparing chebureki at home. You definitely can’t eat just one!
Chebureki – Crimean Hand Pies
For the dough:
1 cup (224 g) water, room temperature
¼ teaspoon kosher salt (Morton’s)
1 teaspoon sugar
4 cups (510 g) all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vodka
1 pinch black pepper, finely ground
For the filling:
½ cup vegetable oil for frying
2 yellow onions (about 280 g), chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
18 ounces (500 g) ground lamb or ground beef OR 50%lamb/50% beef
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
1½ tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt (Morton’s), more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper, finely ground, more to taste
For the egg wash:
1 egg and 1 tablespoon water
Preparing dough: Combine water, salt and sugar in a large measuring cup and stir until salt and sugar dissolve.
Sift flour several times into another bowl or whisk vigorously. Then transfer the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add water mixture, vodka, oil and pepper, and using a paddle attachment, mix until the dough comes together. Add more water, one tablespoon at a time, if needed, for a pliable dough. Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead until it springs back to the touch. Transfer the dough from the mixer onto a sheet of plastic wrap, form into a disk, wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
Preparing filling: Peel and finely dice or grate the onions. Heat a frying pan on medium, add 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the onions until soft and translucent. Cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl, combine the remaining filling ingredients with the onions. To taste the seasoning, cook a spoonful of the filling mixture for 1 minute in a microwave. Cool, taste and adjust salt, pepper and spiciness. The filling should be heavily seasoned.
Meat filling
Forming the hand pies: Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment. Remove dough from refrigerator 1 hour before forming the pies.
Separate the dough into 8 portions and roll each portion into 2 balls.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball with a rolling pin into a very thin (⅛ inch, 3 mm) circle about 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter.
Cut dough rounds using a 6-inch (15 cm) diameter pastry ring or plate as a guide. Place 1½ tablespoons of filling slightly off center on each round and flatten evenly, leaving a ½ inch (1.3 cm) clean border around the edge of the meat.
Brush the edges with water, fold the pastry over to make a half-moon shape, pressing gently to remove excess air.
Crimp the edges with a fork and even the edges with a plain or decorative pastry wheel if needed. Place on a lined baking sheet while forming remaining chebureki. Fry, bake or freeze.
If freezing: Space the hand pies apart on a wax paper or parchment-lined baking sheet, freeze, store tightly sealed in a freezer bag for up to 6 months.
If frying: Heat oil on medium in a large skillet (about 10 inches-25 cm in diameter). Add ½ inch (1.3 cm) of vegetable oil to the skillet. Heat until the oil reaches 350°F (177°C). Fry 2-3 hand pies at one time until golden brown on both sides, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Regulate the oil temperature to keep between 350-375°F (177-190°C) to prevent burning the shell before the center is cooked.
Transfer the finished hand pies to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to remove excess oil. Serve immediately or warm pastries in a 200°F (93.3°C) oven.
If baking freshly made pies: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Space the hand pies apart on a wax paper or parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush egg wash on each pie. Bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve immediately or keep warm in a 200°F (93.3°C) oven.
If baking frozen pies: If frying uncooked pies, thaw first before frying. If baking uncooked pies, do not thaw but brush with egg wash and bake at 425°F (218°C). Previously cooked or fried pies can be reheated in fifteen minutes in a 425°F (218°C) oven.
Serve with yogurt seasoned with garlic and herbs or other piquant sauce.
Makes 12-16, depending on the thickness of the pastry.
Seasoned Yogurt or Sour Cream Sauce
½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream
2-3 tablespoons whole milk to thin
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
1-2 tablespoon lemon juice to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch salt
Combine yogurt, garlic, dill, salt, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Thin with milk to desired consistency. Taste and adjust flavor as needed. Refrigerate leftover sauce in a covered container for up to 5 days. Makes ¾ cup (177 ml).
Adjika
4 large Roma tomatoes
5 medium carrots
3 large red bell peppers
3 large green apples
2-3 tiny cayenne or Thai chili peppers (taste for heat and adjust amount)
3.5 ounces (100g) sunflower oil
3 ounces (88.7 ml) cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
2.65 ounces (75g) sugar
1 garlic head, cloves separated and minced
Wash all the vegetables, except garlic, and slice into smaller pieces. Grind using a food processor or meat grinder. Place vegetables into a pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about an hour while occasionally stirring.
After an hour, add oil, vinegar, salt and sugar and cook for another 20 minutes, occasionally stirring. Remove from heat, stir in minced garlic, cover and cool for about an hour.
Pack in jars or freezer containers. Adjika will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator and up to one year in a tightly sealed container in the freezer. Of course, it can also be processed for canning. Makes about 2 cups.
Photo Credits:
Livadia Palace: Dreamstime.com ID 80248832 © Daria Abramova
Romanov Palace: Dreamstime.com ID 132628041 © Studiomirfoto
Yalta beach: Dreamstime.com I60408141 © Amigo3070
Massandra Palace and all other photos: © Slava Johnson
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