Turkish Relative of Empanada, Samosa, Pastelillos + Vegan and Vegetarian Options!

Instructions

Çi Börek (with beef) Recipe

1. First, mix 1 cup of plain flour, ½ teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of yogurt, 1 tablespoon of room temperature butter, and 5 tablespoons of water in a large bowl and knead for about 2-3 minutes.
2. Divide the dough into 4 equal balls. To get the perfect ball shape, place the dough on one hand, and with the other, make a dome shape and pressing the dough, roll it between your hands. For smaller portions, you can divide the dough into 8, instead of 4. This would make it easier to handle the dough.
3. For the baking powder to work let the balls rest for 2-3 minutes. If they are going to rest longer, cover them with a damp cloth.
4. While waiting for the dough, you are ready to prepare the filling, for that, grate 1,5 big onions in a bowl and add 200 gr ground beef.
5. Add a pinch of salt, 2 pinches of black pepper for seasoning, and 3 tablespoons (40ml) water and mix until ingredients come together.
6. Add 1,5- 2 cm depth of olive oil to the pan and heat it.
7. To roll out the dough, dust the workbench, the rolling pin, and the ball with flour. Gently roll the dough out around 23-24 cm(or 12-13 cm for smaller portions.).
8. Try to give the dough a round shape. Then, remove the excess flour.
9. Place around 2 tablespoons of beef mixture into half of the dough and cover the other half of it.
10. Press the edges tightly and make little folds along the edges to give their shape. This will also prevent any sort of opening up or leaking of oil into the borek while frying.
11. Fry them for about 3-4 minutes until they turn golden brown. Do not flip them until one side gets the color. You can baste the borek at regular intervals to harden the top. Avoid basting too much as this would reduce the heat of the oil.
12. For the borek to preserve its crispness, once taken out of the pan, it is best to place it in a sieve to let the excess oil drip.

Vegan Ci Borek

For detailed instructions on how to make the dough and fry the borek, refer to ci börek with beef and important tips

1. To make the dough, take out yogurt and butter from the dough and add 1.5 tablespoons of coconut oil and 1 teaspoon of vinegar instead of them. Knead it and divide it into 4 equal balls (or 8).
2. To make the vegan filling, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil and add diced 3 onions in a pan and sauté them well and add 400 g diced mushroom.
3. Then, dice 3 cloves of garlic and add them to the mixture.
4. Add salt and black pepper to your taste. Once the mixture is caramelized set it aside for it to cool down. Otherwise, the borek will not get crunchy enough.