What is whitewash? This is a dish of Tatar and Bashkir origin that is quite popular in the CIS countries. The food resembles a fried meat pie. Prepare whites from yeast or unleavened dough. The filling of the dish is finely chopped meat or minced meat. A characteristic feature of the whitewash is a hole from above.
The article will discuss the history of the appearance of the dish and how to cook them correctly.
What is the difference between pies and whites?
It would seem, what's the difference, a pie with meat or whitewash? At first glance, these two products differ only in their appearance - the whitewash has the shape of a circle and has a characteristic hole on top, and the cake is closed and oblong. But in fact, these two dishes differ not only in appearance, but also in their taste. Form determines the content - this is exactly the case.
For an example, compare a photo of whites (further in article) and pies.
The story of the appearance of whites
Even during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, Russian cooks did not know how to fry - they only cooked food or baked it. Only Tatar cooks fried in the king’s kitchens. Russian chefs began to gradually master the technology of frying and adopt some recipes from the Tatars. Among these borrowed dishes were whites.
Since then, the Russian people fell in love with Belyash. Food appeared almost everywhere - on the royal table, in the homes of subjects and patties. Belyashi was made from ginger dough, in a large amount of fat and from meat that came across on hand.
Modern “bellish” has nothing to do with the fatty dish that was prepared during the time of Ivan the Terrible.
In general, the fried round pie with meat filling of the Tatars is called "peremyach". “Bellish” they call a dish that is baked in the oven, and in addition to minced meat, cereals (rice or millet), potatoes or onions can be added to it. Such a pie can be large (“Zur Belish”) and small (“Vak Belish”). But no one wants to understand this confusion of names. Therefore, for those who like to feast on the dish, there is no more dear word than “whitewash”.
Now you know what whitewash is. Next, we will talk about the features of its preparation. You will learn how to cook delicious homemade whites.
Features of the preparation of dough for whites
As already noted, the dough for whites can be fresh or yeast. But most housewives still prefer yeast dough, as it turns out to be more tender and soft than fresh.
For yeast cakes, the dough is prepared using the sponge method - after kneading it is put in a warm place to rise. But for whites, this method will not work. Yeast dough must be prepared using the express method. What is the meaning of this cooking method? And the fact that the dough is not placed in heat, but in cold weather. Of course, this is a very unusual method, but it works great. Just leave the dough in the refrigerator for 50 minutes. During this time, it will have time to increase in volume as it should be. This technology significantly reduces the time taken to prepare a dish.
There is another feature of preparing dough for whites. The fact is that there is no need to roll it. The dough must be divided into balls of the same size, and then make a cake out of each ball with your hands. When forming a cake, it should be borne in mind that its center should be slightly thicker than the edges, since the edges are joined afterwards.
What should be the hole in the whitewash?
When making a hole in the whitewash, do not forget that it should be large. This size is necessary for two reasons:
- The hole during cooking becomes smaller, as the dough increases in volume during frying.
- The hole promotes the contact of meat and hot oil - it is this nuance that helps the dish acquire a unique taste and juiciness.
How to whitewash
The dish is cooked in hot oil, like chebureks. But in the case of whites, the oil does not need to be heated until it is smoked, as is done when making cheburek.
Yeast dough, falling into hot oil, increases in volume, all the internal cavities of the whitewash are filled with air. When frying, the whitewash shell becomes a kind of obstacle for meat - the temperature from the hot oil is poorly transmitted to the filling. It is worth concluding that you should not fry the whites very quickly. But too slow cooking of whites is not suitable - if you reduce the heat to a minimum, then the dough will not be covered with a golden brown, but simply soaked in vegetable oil. The taste of the final dish will be completely different. The ideal cooking temperature is over medium heat (approximately 170 degrees).
To prepare Tatar dishes, it is necessary to pour a sufficient amount of oil into the pan. It will be ideal if the whites will swim in the pan and not touch its bottom. Do not be afraid to add oil if necessary - this will not affect the whiteness of the whites (provided that you observe the above cooking temperature).
Why fry whites with the hole down?
The flour product must be lowered into the oil with the hole down, and then turned over. This is done only so that the minced meat inside the belyash does not become boiled, is well prepared and does not remain raw.
Some cooks advise you not to leave a hole. But it’s better not to do this, as the cooking technology will be disrupted. It is by immersing the whitewash into the oil with the hole down, you help the filling keep all its juices.
Be sure to consider when preparing the dish that the flour product is turned over only once and is fried until ready with the hole up. Therefore, it is so important that at this moment the oil does not have too high a temperature - the filling will have time to cook, and the dough will not burn. By the way, the filling will become more juicy if, when you turn over, you add a tablespoon of hot oil inside the whitewash.
What meat to use for cooking whitewash?
A well-prepared dough will always improve the taste of the dish, but juicy filling also plays an important role. Without it, the dish will lose its unique taste. Therefore, it is very important to know how to properly prepare the minced meat. The filling should be fragrant, tasty and maintain its juiciness until the end of cooking. Only in this case admirers of whites will truly enjoy eating this simple dish.
For whites, only mutton is used, in extreme cases, ground beef. And it is necessary to cook it yourself, and not buy ready-made.
The following describes the recipe for preparing the filling for whites and provides some tips on how to make minced meat juicy.
Stuffing recipe for whitewash
For a delicious filling of this simple dish you will need:
- lamb or beef - 700 grams;
- onions - 350 grams;
- cold milk (preferably ice) - 100 ml;
- ground black pepper - 5 grams;
- salt - 12 grams.
Cooking:
- Rinse the meat well under cold water and put to dry on a paper towel.
- Take the lamb and scroll it through the meat grinder. If you wish, you can use two types of meat at once to prepare the filling - beef and lamb. If you want the meat to be more juicy, then pass it through a meat grinder twice.
- Peel the onion, rinse well, cut it into very small pieces and mix with minced meat. Please note that the onion should be exactly two times less than the minced meat. Do not pass the vegetable through a meat grinder - this will not play into the hands of the juiciness of the finished dish.
- Add cold milk to the minced meat. Ideally, if there are pieces of ice in the milk. If there is no such milk, then you can add a couple of pieces of ice to the minced meat. This ingredient is placed so that the mince has time to cook when the dish in the pan is turned upside down.
- Next, add ground black pepper to the minced meat. Let the meat be infused for about 20 minutes. It is necessary to salt the mass only after it has been infused - this will make the filling more juicy.
Now you can start cooking the whites.
Step-by-step recipe for delicious meat whites
For cooking you will need:
- wheat flour - 330 grams;
- 2 eggs;
- water or milk - 210 ml (150 ml for the test and 60 ml for the filling);
- yeast - 10 grams;
- sugar - 10 grams;
- salt - 13 grams (4 for the test and 9 for the filling);
- lamb or beef pulp - 500 grams;
- onions - 250 grams;
- ground black pepper - 5 grams;
- vegetable oil - 100 ml.
A detailed classic recipe for whites with a photo of the finished dish next.
Cooking:
- Dilute the yeast with warm milk, add salt, sugar and mix well until the product is completely dissolved. Add eggs and flour. Knead the dough and place it in the refrigerator for at least 40 minutes.
- Prepare the minced meat according to the recipe as described above. If desired, mince can not be passed through a meat grinder, but simply cut the meat into small pieces.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and form a thick tourniquet from it. Cut into small equal pieces. Allow the test to stand for another 10 minutes.
- Form the cakes with your hands. The middle of each should be slightly thicker than the edges.
- Put the minced meat in the center and cover the edges so that the center of the meat remains open.
- Pour the vegetable oil into the pan and heat it to a temperature of 180 degrees.
- Once the oil has warmed up, put the whites in the pan with the hole down. As soon as a golden crust has formed, turn the flour product over and fry until done. Readiness is determined by piercing the minced meat - transparent juice should flow out of it.
The option of serving the whites in the photo is further in the article. Eat them better right away, hot.
A quick recipe for homemade meat whites
Obviously, the process of cooking whites takes a lot of time. But this time can be slightly reduced if you cook the whites according to the recipe below.
The whites made using this technique are very juicy. Do not be afraid to experiment, take note of this recipe.
List of ingredients:
- kefir - 400 ml;
- flour - 550 grams;
- 1 egg
- minced mutton or beef - 350 grams;
- onions - 160 grams;
- yeast - 8 grams;
- salt - 5 grams;
- sugar - 8 grams;
- dried herbs - 15 grams;
- vegetable oil - 70 milliliters.
Cooking.
- Break the egg into a deep dish, add sugar and salt. Beat the contents of the container with a fork, add kefir and mix everything again. Next, add instant yeast, flour and herbs. Knead the dough and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Cook the minced meat. Ideally, it should be homemade, but since this is a recipe for quick whites, some people use ready-made stuffing from the store. Do not forget to salt the white meat filling and add onion to it.
- Now add the minced meat to the dough and mix well.
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan. Spread the dough with a spoon and cook the “lazy” whites until golden brown.
As you can see, this recipe is significantly different from classic cooking. Serve food with sour cream or any other sauce.
Calorie Whiteness
Belyash has only one drawback - this is his calorie content, and it is considerable. One flour product contains about 300 calories. Of this, 25 grams of fat, which is the daily norm for a woman weighing 60 kilograms.
Therefore, no matter how juicy and appetizing the dish may be, it is recommended to eat it extremely rarely, so as not to harm your figure.
Finally
Now you know what whitewash is. This is a juicy, mouth-watering and very fragrant dish. It will undoubtedly delight everyone who likes to eat tightly. Be sure to follow all cooking recommendations to get very tasty whites:
- cook the minced meat yourself;
- be sure to put the dough in the refrigerator;
- add iced milk to the minced meat;
- start frying hole down.
And do not forget that whitewash is such a high-calorie dish that can negatively affect your figure, if you use it often. In addition, a high fat content in a dish can adversely affect your health. One, a maximum of two white meat is the optimal amount of product that can be eaten within a month.