Chebureki

Method

Start making the dough if you're not following the cheats route by mixing water and salt in a large bowl and gradually incorporating and mixing the flour (about a heaped tablespoon at a time) to reduce the amount of kneading you'll need to do. Once all the flour has been added and mixed, if the dough is quite stiff add a tablespoon or two of water to loosen the dough

Once mixed and kneaded, place the dough in a lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with a tea towel in a warm place to prove for about an hour

At this point it makes sense to crack on with the filling so add the ground beef with the grated onion (this ensures it cooks quicker), salt, pepper and water in a mixing bowl, combine thoroughly before covering and popping into the fridge until your dough is ready. If 'cheating', you do need to let this marinate in the fridge for at least half an hour!

At this point you might want to pre-heat the oven to 100 C as you might need it to keep the pastry parcels warm

Take the rested dough and on a lightly floured surface, roll out into a log shape about 12 inches long. Cut the dough roll into 12 pieces and with each piece, press down with your hand on the floured surface to form little pancakes. For each pancake, sprinkle with a dash of flour and keep them to one side

To bring the Chebureki together start by rolling each pancake on a lightly floured surface into thin round(ish) sheets of pastry. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling on half the side of the pastry but make sure it doesn't creep to close to the edges as you'll need to seal them. Use a pastry brush or your fingers to dampen the edges of filled Chebureki with cold water and then fold the Chebureki in half and do your best to remove all the air from the inside. Crimp the edges with a fork to make sure they're fully sealed and leave to one side while you work on the rest

If you've taken the cheats route with the tortillas then follow the same tactics as above but you'll have to add additional water to the tortillas edge to make them moist and then really compress the two edges together with your fingers and THEN crimp with the fork.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and drop a bit of bread into the oil to see if the oil is the right temperature. It should start to bubble and crisp straight away. When right, remove the bread and begin to fry the Chebureki for about 4 minutes a side until they are golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto paper towels to soak up oil and keep in the warmed oven until all your tasty little parcels are ready