National dish of Crimean Tatar and popular street food
Packed with ground meat and herbs
Crunchy and satisfying
Recipe
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Prep Time: 15 min
- 2 cup AP flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 5 tbsp melted butter
- 1/3 – 2/3 cup warm water (depending on humidity)
- Note: For ease, sub dough with 12 flour, uncooked tortillas
- 1 lb ground beef or chicken
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
- 1/4 cup chopped herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro, etc)
- 1 cup greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 person cucumber, grated, and juice strained
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup dill and cilantro chopped finely
- If you are in a rush, using uncooked flour tortillas is a fast and delicious alternative to homemade dough. If you opt to make the dough, it is super easy! When pouring in the water, avoid making the dough too soggy. Pour the water gradually. It is is really humid in San Diego right now, so I only needed about 1/3 of a cup of water. In the dry months, I would need closer to 2/3 cup of water. Just eyeball how much water you are using. You want your dough to be hydrated and sticky- not overly watery as you touch it.
- This recipe is traditionally uses beef or lamb. But honestly, you could use whatever filling you want! Ground chicken, turkey or even soy meat. Heck, you could use potatoes and veggies, and it would be delicious!
- When cutting the dough into 12 equal parts, I use a pastry cutter or knife and then weigh each piece of dough. This is not absolutely necessary, but helpful if you want even shaped pastries! When I roll out my dough, I place each ball between two pieces of wax or parchment paper, and roll out with a rolling pin. Its basically serving as a tortilla press, just more rustic! 🙂
- When frying the pastries, I recommend using an oil such as canola or even peanut oil. They both have a high smoke point and can tolerate high heat! Canola can withstand 400 degrees, while peanut oil and handle up to 450 degrees! I use a candy/baking thermometer to help asses my heat. You can purchase here!
Wait Time: 2 hrs
Cook Time: 15-20 min
Yields: 12-14 pastries
What you need
Chebureki Dough
Chebureki Filling
Tzatziki Sauce
What to do
1. In a heat proof bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Check butter in 30 second intervals until completely melted. Set to the side to cool. For the dough, mix flour, salt, baking powder and melted butter. Add water one tbsp at a time (*see note). As the dough comes together, it will feel shaggy. Take dough out of the bowl and knead about 10-15 times on a floured surface. Mold into a ball, cover (with a towel or bowl) and let the dough rest for 2 hours.
2. For the filling, add one tbsp of olive oil to a skillet, add ground beef, cook over medium heat. Drain any oil from the pan (you can do this by pouring beef onto a paper plate lined with paper towels). Add onion, garlic, salts and pepper to the pan. Cook for a few minutes then add beef back into the mix. Turn off heat when the onions are soft and beef is fully cooked. Add chopped herbs. Set to side.
3.For the Tzatziki sauce, grate cucumber on a box grater. Then place the grated cucumber into two paper towels, squeeze and drain the liquid. Add cucumbers and the rest of the ingredients into a bowl and mix. Set to the side.
4. To assemble the cheburekis, cut the dough into 12 equal parts(*see note). Roll out each portion of dough into a thin circle. Add about 1-2 tbsp of the beef mixture, fold then press the dough shut with a fork. Your pastries should look roughly like a half moon shape.
5. In a large skillet, heat about 1/2 inch of neutral oil(*see note). Fry the cheburekis at 350 degrees, 2-3 min on each side. Place about 3-4 cheburekis in the skillet at a time. When done frying, place the cheburekis on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Top with more herbs and sea salt. Dip those babies in your sauce and enjoy!
Helpful tips
