If you decide to pamper your household with something tasty, satisfying, but quick to cook, then we recommend that you pay attention to the Tatar-style recipe for vak-belyash in the oven. Surely for those who rested somewhere on the coast of Crimea, it will not be news what these fragrant and surprisingly tasty small pies are. If you are not already familiar, then tell.
Tatar wak-belyash (recipes with photos will be presented below) is an unusually juicy and fragrant pie. They are prepared on a simple test on kefir in a matter of minutes. Stuffing - most often minced meat (beef or lamb) with onions or potatoes. The highlight of the dish is the broth, which is served directly with pies or added inside during cooking. In Bashkir and Tatar cuisine, wak-belyash is often served as an independent dish (first or second), and not just a snack for tea.
Vak belyash: recipe in Tatar on kefir
To begin with, a fresh, but very tender and airy dough is prepared. The following products are required for cooking:
- 120 grams of butter. If this was not at hand, then you can take high-quality margarine.
- Three or four glasses of flour.
- Two chicken eggs (better than home, with bright yellow yolks).
- One cup (250-300 ml) of kefir.
- Salt and a pinch of soda.
Cooking dough
First, select a convenient deep container from the cabinet and pour flour into it. Remember that before sending it to the bottom of the dishes, it is better if it flies through the holes in the sieve. Sifted flour can even make the yeast-free dough airy and tender in consistency, and the pies will be much better.
Now rub on a fine grater butter (or margarine). To make the process easier and faster, just put it in the freezer for half an hour. Next we use our own hands. Rub between the palms flour and butter. You should end up with crumbly crumb.
Add the eggs to the mass and pour a glass of kefir. Thoroughly mix everything with a whisk. At the final stage, salt and add a pinch of soda. How to understand that the dough is ready? Experienced housewives say that the dough should resemble dumplings. Dense, elastic, but only by consistency it should be five times softer and softer. Leave the dough to rest by wrapping it in a plastic bag or cling film.
Ingredients for Topping
As a rule, in Vak-Belyash in Tatar, cooked in the oven, put meat chopped with a knife or diced. No minced meat finely twisted through a meat grinder. As for the choice of meat, here, as they say, is a personal matter. Someone likes more fat pork or dry chicken, and someone, by virtue of beliefs or just culinary preferences, eats only lamb and beef.
- Whatever type of meat you choose, it will require exactly half a kilogram.
- Onions - 4-5 pieces.
- Large potatoes - 3-4 pieces.
- Ground pepper.
- Salt.
- Spices and herbs (optional).
Cooking toppings
So, chop the meat. Try to make the cubes are small in size (so cook faster). Potatoes are cut in about the same way. No meat grinder or grater! We cut onions arbitrarily - half rings, cubes, slices, pieces. Vak-belyash (a Tatar recipe for the oven or some other is used - it doesn’t matter), like other similar meat pastries, you won’t spoil it with onions. It remains to salt the filling and add ground black or red pepper. You can also put some fresh parsley or add any dried herbs.
Bouillon
- 200 ml of water.
- 60-70 g of butter.
- A pinch of salt.
The broth is prepared in a matter of minutes, so it will be possible to deal with it when the pies have already been sent to the oven. Pour water into the pan, wait for boiling. If you have ready-made chicken broth or beef at your fingertips, then it is better to use it. As soon as the water began to boil, put butter and salt there. Turn off the fire, mix so that the oil dissolves completely. The broth is ready.
Bakery products
So, the dough is ready, the filling too, it's time to start forming a cake under the unusual name "vak-belash". The Tatar recipe implies that from the prepared amount of dough you will get quite a lot of small half-open cakes. But if you take the Bashkir belyash, then it will more resemble one large massive closed pie with meat. Which option you choose - decide for yourself.
Today we will use for cooking such a dish as wak-belyash, a Tatar recipe - in the oven, with broth. To do this, we form a sausage from the prepared dough, then we cut it into pieces and form a small round cake from each of them. In the center of each cake we put a couple of tablespoons of the filling.
How is vak-belash formed? The edges of the dough must be carefully lifted and pulled to the center of the cake. Each pinch is done before reaching the central part. Here we must leave a small window in order to subsequently fill in the prepared creamy broth.
The bottom of the pan is recommended to cover with baking paper, parchment or foil. We spread the prepared pies and grease each with egg yolk. Now you can send vak-belashi to the oven for 15-20 minutes. The temperature in the oven is 180-190 degrees. After the designated time, take out the pies. Pour one teaspoon of the broth into each window and send it back to the oven for another 35-40 minutes.
In some families, a slightly different recipe is practiced - a real Tatar wak-belash is cooked inseparably for 45-50 minutes. And the broth is already served on the table in separate containers for each guest. He already at his discretion decides how much to pour the broth into his own meat and whether to add it at all.
Filling Options
In conclusion, I would like to note that wak-belyash (a recipe in Tatar, in the oven, or some other one you have chosen, does not matter) is a dish that allows various, even unusual and bold experiments with filling. Instead of meat and potatoes, housewives often use cabbage or mushrooms, rice, dried fruits or vegetables, herbs, a variety of cheeses, chicken or quail eggs in combination with a meat component. The only thing that combines the fillings listed above: vegetables, meat and even greens should be cut into fairly large cubes, and when serving or during cooking, a broth with butter is required.