Echpochmaki in Tatar: recipe

April 10, 2016 642

The cuisines of different nations of the world are rich in their own dishes that are unusual for others. In this article we will talk about the amazingly tasty “zest” of the national cuisine of all Tatars and Bashkirs – echpochmaks.

Echpochmaki in Tatar: recipe

Echpochmak in Tatar style are amazingly tasty triangular-shaped pies with a hole in the middle. This delicacy will please any gourmet, as it is very appetizing, satisfying and aromatic.

It can be cooked with any meat and made from any dough. All the ingredients are simple, they will be indicated in approximate quantities, it may vary depending on how many people the echpochmak is being prepared for.

Required Products:

Half a kilo of any meat;
Half a kilo of potatoes;
250 grams of onion;
250 ml milk;
Half a kilo of flour;
A little sugar;
6 grams of yeast;
One egg;
3 tbsp. spoons of sunflower oil;
A little salt and pepper;
A little broth.

Classic echpochmak in Tatar: step-by-step recipe:

Step	Actions
1	Break a chicken egg into a deep bowl, add salt and sugar, and yeast. Mix everything very thoroughly.
2	Add butter and milk and mix again.
3	Slowly add flour and start kneading the dough. It is necessary to work with the amount of flour without unnecessary haste so that the dough does not become too tight. then leave the dough to rise.
4	The next step is to prepare the filling. First you need to wash and cut the meat.
5	Potatoes also need to be washed, peeled and cut into small cubes.
6	The onion is chopped and immediately sent to the meat and potatoes, everything is salted and peppered to taste.
7	Divide the dough into parts and roll out each of them, then sprinkle with flour.
8	Place the filling (a little) into the resulting circles of dough.
9	You will need to mold the dough into a regular triangle, that is, fasten the edges to each other on three sides, leaving a hole in the middle (that is, without interlocking the edges to the end). Then you will get the correct Tatar echpochmak.
10	The baking sheet must be oiled or covered with parchment paper and the resulting echpochmak should be placed on it.
11	Now those same holes, because they need to be left for a reason for beauty. After the dough has browned a little, you will need to pour a little broth into each echpochmak. After about an hour, the delicious, aromatic echpochmak will be ready.

Advice: If there is no broth, then there is another option: mix butter with boiling water.

Delicious echpochmak made from unleavened dough

For those who do not eat yeast dough, below is a recipe for echpochmak made from unleavened dough.

Tip: since unleavened dough may be a little dry, it is recommended to add sour cream and butter to it, which will make it crumbly.

In order to prepare unleavened dough, you need the following:

Step-by-step preparation:

Step	Action
1	Add a raw chicken egg, water and salt to the hole made in the flour. Knead everything. Cover with cling film and leave for 30-40 minutes, which will make it more elastic.
2	Cut the meat and potatoes (0.5 kg each) into small cubes, chop the onion, mix the resulting ingredients, sprinkle with pepper and salt.
3	Divide the dough, roll out each resulting part to a diameter of 15 - 17 cm.
4	Place the filling into each circle of dough.
5	Beat the egg yolk and brush the surface of the echpochmaks with it.
6	Place the pies on a baking sheet (it must be greased with oil). It will take an hour to prepare. After the dough has fried a little, you can add broth to each echpochmak.

Making echpochmaks from puff pastry

As is obvious, there are several ways to prepare this traditional dish. Below we will present another recipe, this time delicious Tatar pies will be made from puff pastry, and the filling for them will be chicken and potatoes (again, we take 0.5 kg of each).

Ingredients for this type of base:

Half a kilo of flour;
300 grams of cold butter (butter);
100 grams of soft butter (butter);
A little salt (about a teaspoon);
250 ml cold water.

Let's get started:

Step	Action
1	Place 300 grams of butter (butter) in the freezer for 30 minutes.
2	Mix flour with soft butter, salt and cold water.
3	Take the butter out of the freezer, cut it into small pieces and add to the mixture, knead it quickly, not allowing the cold, solid pieces of butter to melt.
4	Roll out the resulting dough to 2.5 cm, wrap in plastic cling film and leave in the refrigerator for 60 minutes. Then you will need to roll it out into an even thinner sheet. Fold the edges of the dough towards the middle, then fold both halves into a “book”. Wrap it in cling film, put it in the refrigerator again for one hour, then do the same procedure two more times, keeping the dough in the refrigerator for an hour each time.
5	Cut the fillet into small cubes, do the same with the potatoes, finely chop the onion, mix everything, pre-salt and add pepper.
6	Fold the filling into pre-prepared dough circles, glue the edges and place in the oven for one hour. After 30 minutes, add broth to each echpochmak and leave for another 30 minutes.