Crimean tartar chebureky with simple dough recipe

Crisp outside and juicy inside! The dough for the chebureky is nothing unavailable – just flour, salt, water and a splash of oil, that is must-have simplicity of each true ethnic cuisine – checked by ages, plain and suiting everybody’s taste.

Sift the flour into a bowl, add 1/2 tsp salt. Make a well in the centre, pour the oil. Gradually pouring the water into the well knead until the dough becomes rather tough but smooth.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and cover with cling film to preserve from drying and leave the dough for 30 minutes to rest.

Meanwhile finely chop the onion, mix with the minced meat. Add salt (about 1/2 tsp) and season with black ground pepper, coriander or chopped dill, thyme to your taste, then mix well.

Divide the douh into 12 similar parts and shape them into the balls. Stretch each ball out with a rolling pin very thinly, as thinly as possible making an oval shape dusting the dough with flour if needed.

Place in the middle of each dough oval about 1 tbsp meat mixture. Spread it a bit and fold the dough oval to match the edges if possible.

Stick the edges with an upside-down bowl of appropriate size. Cut the remaining dough out.

Heat 1,5-2 cm of oil in a wok and place 2-3 chebureky at a time. Fry one side for about 2 minutes on medium high heat then turn the chebureky to another side and fry again until golden brown.

The meat inside must be cooked – you can check that with special kitchen thermometer. Chebureky are best served hot but not bad when they get cold too. Try with borshch, gravy called `machanka`, homemade ketchup or mayonnaise.

More recipes: Poltava style borshch, Kruchenyky filled with mushrooms, Green borshch – Sorrel soup, Stuffed marrows