Cheburek with Meat or Cheese

I knew of suberek, it's also called cheburek (chebureki) back home. I just wasn't so keen on cooking it, there are loads of pie recipes after all, why bother making another one? But my husband asked me to cook for him the cheese suberek just like his mum used to. She used to cook this recipe very often when he was little and it was one of his childhood delights. I followed the recipe below and the pies were so good, that I immediately decided I had to post it on the website. This way, I also saved the recipe in my cookbook.

The exemplary cheburek is made with mince meat and it's extremely tasty, crunchy on top, juicy on the inside, plenty of filling, not too much pastry etc. But I really enjoyed the version with salty Romanian white cheese. They are  a sort of quick pies which I think you should try. The next day, they will be less crispy, but still good and tender.

Ingredients
Water
200 ml
Vegetable oil
30 ml
for the dough
Salt
0.5 tsp
Egg
1 piece
White flour
300 g
Minced meat
500 g
whichever you prefer, a bit fattier is better
Onions
1 piece
Salt
1 tsp
for the meat
Ground black pepper
0.25 tsp
Feta Cheese
300 g
the quantity may vary, depending on how many subereks you are making
Vegetable oil
200 ml
for frying
Step by step
Step 1

Combine 200ml water, 30ml oil and 0.5 tsp salt in a pot. Place over heat and cook until it starts to boil.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 1
Step 2

Pour this mixture into a medium-sized bowl, in which you will knead the dough.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 2
Step 3

Add 150g flour, stir well with a spoon and allow to cool down for 5 minutes.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 3
Step 4

After that, add 1 egg to this mixture, combine.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 4
Step 5

Stir in the remaining flour and start kneading the dough with a spatula at first, as it still might be a bit hot.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 5
Step 6

Then use your hands to make it soft and smooth.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 6
Step 7

Cover this big ball of dough with plastic wrap and let rest on the table for 10 minutes.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 7
Step 8

After that, knead a bit more, then cut into 8 equal pieces.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 8
Step 9

Shape each piece into a ball, arrange them all on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.

Let rest for 10 minutes, until you prepare the filling.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 9
Step 10

For the meat filling - combine the ground meat (whichever you prefer) with 1 finely chopped onion, 0.5 cup of cold water, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 10
Step 11

Take each ball of dough, press it gently with your fingers and dust it with flour.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 11
Step 12

Using a rolling pin, roll out into a thin round, about 20cm in diameter.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 12
Step 13

Place about 2-3 tbsp of the minced meat filling on one half of the circle.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 13
Step 14

Fold the other half of the circle over and press the edges firmly together using your fingers or a fork.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 14
Step 15

After you've made the first 2 chebureki, heat some oil in a pan and place the them in the pan to fry.

The heat should be medium, so that the pies can cook through properly. The heat shouldn't be too low either, we don't want the dough to absorb too much oil and the pies to be too oily.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 15
Step 16

Cook the pies until nice golden brown on both sides.

While the first 2 subereks are cooking in the pan, prepare the next 2. This way, the process goes fast and smooth, without unnecessary breaks. 

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 16
Step 17

As they are done, stack the pies one over another with kitchen paper on the plate and between them. Kitchen paper will absorb the excess oil.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 17
Step 18

For the cheese suberek, it's the same process, only that you place cheese instead of meat on one half of the circle. Crumble some salty telemea (Romanian white cheese) with your hands. You can adjust the quantity, whether you like more or less filling.

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 18
Step 19

Of course, the pies are the best if served while they are hot, but we loved them later as well. Even cold, they are still tender and tasty.

Enjoy!

Cheburek with Meat or Cheese - Step 19
Quantity: 8 pcs ()
Prep time:
30 min
Difficulty: easy
Ready in: 30 min