Echpochmak with beef and potatoes

The name of this delicious and filling pastry perfectly describes it, as "echpochmak" means triangle in Tatar. These triangular baked pastries made from unleavened dough contain a filling typical of Tatar pastries: meat, onions, and potatoes. Perhaps for this reason, as well as for the beautiful, decorative folds, it has become a symbol of Tatar cuisine, and a small monument has even been erected in Kazan.

Step-by-step recipe

Step 1:

Pour kefir into a bowl, add soda, stir with a whisk.

Step 2:

Pour in melted butter and mix thoroughly.

Step 3:

Add salt, flour, baking powder, mix with a spatula and knead the dough.

Step 4:

Wrap the dough in a bag and set aside for 30 minutes.

Step 5:

Cut the beef into small cubes and place in a bowl.

Step 6:

Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes, add to the meat.

Step 7:

Finely chop the onion and add it to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir.

Step 8:

Sprinkle the surface with flour, lay out the dough, roll it into a sausage and divide into pieces of 50 g each.

Step 9:

Roll the pieces into balls.

Step 10:

Roll the ball into a circle, put a portion of the filling on it and pinch it to form a triangle with a seam that diverges into three bows.

Step 11:

Go along each ray, pinching it in a herringbone pattern.

Step 12:

Place the finished echpochmaks on a baking sheet lined with paper and bake for 30-35 minutes at 180 degrees.

Cooking tips

For echpochmak, choose beef with fat.

Cover the dough balls you are not working with with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.

You can add a small cube of butter to the filling of each pie to make it juicier, especially if you have lean meat.