Chebureki

Ingredients

for choux pastry:

Flour 3.5

Egg 1

Water 1 cup

Vegetable oil 1 tbsp

Salt

For plain noodle dough:

Flour 3 cups

Egg 1

Water 1/2 cup

Vodka 50 g

Salt

For the filling:

Pork 500 g

Onion 350 g

Water 1/3 cup

Ground black pepper

Salt

Prepare the plain noodle dough as for pelmeni (flour, water, egg, and salt), adding a little vodka to make the dough drier. Knead everything well and let it rest for 20-40 minutes.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Grind the meat, add coarsely chopped onion (2/3 of the meat), pour in 1/3 cup of boiled water or 100-150 g of kefir, add spices: salt, pepper, and marjoram, and mix thoroughly until a pliable paste is formed.

It's best to fry in rendered lard or a 1:1 mixture of rendered lard and vegetable oil. You can also fry in heated vegetable oil alone (in this case, it's helpful to add 1/5 of butter or ghee to the vegetable oil).

Preparing the choux pastry: Boil a glass of water with a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Remove from heat, stir in 1/2 cup of flour, and mix thoroughly until the flour is saturated with the hot water.

 Once the flour has boiled and cooled slightly, add the egg and gradually whisk in about three more cups of flour to form a stiff dough, similar to dumpling dough.

Let the dough rest for an hour, then knead again. The dough shouldn't stick to your hands, the table, or the rolling pin; it can be rolled out without flouring. Roll the finished dough into a sausage shape and cut into pieces the size of a chicken egg. Roll each piece into a pancake, place a plate on top, and carefully trim off any excess with a knife. Set the trimmed edges aside and fold them into the dough at the end.

Place a thin layer of minced meat on one half of the circle. Cover the minced meat with the other half of the dough circle, carefully seal the edges with your fingers, and press them with a fork to 2/3 of the way across the resulting seam (it's important not to over-press or puncture the dough with the fork). Heat oil (or shortening) in a cast-iron skillet to a thickness of about a finger. 

Fry over medium heat, first on one side, then on the other, until the chebureki are as crisp as in the photo. Serve immediately while hot.

Enjoy!