Meat Piroshki with Iranian twist is something that my mom used to make when I was a kid (kids gonna love it!). Piroshki is part of Russian cuisine, but it’s also popular in Iran alongside other Russian recipes like: Olivie’s Salad and Beef Stroganoff!
Iranian twist is because of Zereshk (barberries) which gives a pleasantly sour kick to the greasy meat, and usage of yogurt in the dough (that’s my own initiative! lol) but for this recipe, you can skip the dough part if you buy the dough from a bakery/pizzeria. You’ll need around 800g/28oz of dough.
These meat Piroshkies are crunchy outside and soft inside, in my house they are so popular that not all of them arrive at the serving table. :))
Ingredients for dough
- 500g/17.6oz All-purpose flour
- 300g/10.5oz warm Water
- 5g/0.17oz fresh Yeast
- 2tbsp Greek Yogurt
- 1tsp Salt
Ingredients for filling | 5-6 Servings
- 400g/14.1oz minced Beef
- 2 Onions
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- a handful of dried Zereshk/barberries
- Ghee/clarified butter
- Frying oil
Preparation of the dough (first thing in the morning!)
– Dissolve the yeast in water.
Mix: flour, salt, water & yogurt and knead for ⏳ 10 mins
– Cover the dough with foil and let it rest for 4-5 hours
Preparation of the filling
– Sauté chopped onions in clarified butter, when translucent, add turmeric, salt & pepper and stir for some seconds.
– Add the minced beef, when it changes its color add tomato paste and stir fry till the mixture becomes red.
– Add a cup of water and cover the pan with lid. Cook for ⏳ 30-40mins on low heat.
– Wash the zereshk (or any other berries of your choice) and add 2 mins before turning off the heat. (to maintain their red color)
Time to assemble!
– Sprinkle flour on a wide working board and place the dough on it
– Take a small piece of dough, flatten with hands or a rolling pin, put the filling in the middle and close the dough by pressing the sides.
➡️ In a pot, add frying oil, when the temperature arrives 165C°-170C° (330F° -340F°) start to fry the piroshki.
➡️ If the oil isn’t hot enough, it will penetrate the piroshkies & no one likes to eat frying oil.
When their color turns to light brown they are ready!
Notes
- If you can’t find Zereshk, replace it with red fruit: raspberries, ribes/currant
- The filling should be pretty dry, for an easier deep-frying process
- The dimension of the Piroshkies is up to you
- They are perfect for aperitivo/happy hours too
Noosh-e-jan (in Farsi: Buon appetite) & enjoy! ☺️
everything looks so great ! you are very…very talented !
I live in Atlanta, Ga for past many years. now that I am not working, as I was looking around for some Iranian recipes and came a cross your website, got curious possibly how can I sell some of these bakeries. wholesale or retail !?
If all possible please let me know what you think about my thought. Thank you very much and Good luck.
Best regards.
Hi Kayhan,
The thing is that the recipe contains meat, this makes it challenging because you have a limited amount of time to sell before it goes bad. Perhaps you might explore to frost them first, then ask the consumer to finish the cooking in the oven. In this case it’s more wholesales than retail and of course i’m not an expert in this field 🙂
Bests
I am single and cook them in batches of 24 ALL for me! I place them in the freezer uncovered for 60-90 minutes for a solid surface freeze. Then vacuum seal them 2 to a bag. When I want them again I take two bags out of the freezer (let’s face it they are addicting) Pop them in refrigerator for the night, or on the counter if in the morning. Once thawed wrap in foil, place right on the rack, upside down in a preheated 350 oven, for 15-18 minutes and hide from friends till they are gone.
What a good idea! I should try that 🙂