Alternative names | Çibörek, çiğ börek |
---|---|
Course | Main course |
Region or state | Crimean Peninsula |
Created by | Crimean Tatars [1] |
Main ingredients | Lamb or beef |
283 kcal (1185 kJ) | |
Cheburek [a] (plural: Chebureki) are deep-fried turnovers with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions. [2] A popular street dish, they are made with a single round piece of dough folded over the filling in a crescent shape. [3] They have become widespread in the former Soviet-alligned countries of Eastern Europe in the 20th century.
Chebureki is a national dish of Crimean Tatar cuisine. [1] They are popular as a snack and street food throughout the Caucasus, West Asia, Central Asia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Russia, Eastern Europe, [1] [3] as well as in Turkey, [4] Greece and Romania.
A cheburek is a half-round-shaped börek, filled with a very thin layer of ground beef or lamb which has been seasoned with ground onion and black pepper.
The dough is made of flour, water (usually of a baker percentage of ~50%), salt, and oil. It is soft and pliable, but not sticky. It is separated into small balls and each is rolled out with a thin rolling pin. Additional flour is added only as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. [5] [6]
The meat fill is layered thinly enough that it will cook fully in the sealed half-moon pocket.
Finally, the whole is fried in oil (usually sunflower oil or corn oil) until the dough becomes golden.
Cheburek is called Çibörek ("çiğ" meaning "raw" and "börek"- pastry in Turkish language). It is very popular, especially in Eskişehir. [4]
Originally a Crimean Tatar dish, cheburerki became popular in other regions of the former USSR.