Belyashi (singular: belyash) are pan fried yeast dough pies stuffed with raw ground meat and onions seasoned with garlic, black pepper and salt. Despite their seeming simplicity, belyashi are probably the tastiest pies I’ve ever eaten. They have an extremely juicy, very flavorful filling which is surrounded by delicious dough that is crispy outside and light and fluffy inside.
Nowadays, they are considered a part of Russian cooking tradition, but they came from Volga Tatar and Bashkir cuisines, where similar pies are known as peremyach (aka peremech). Like peremyach, belyashi are round, individually sized pies with a little hole on top. The name ‘belyash’, however, is thought to derive from another famous Tatar dish called “Belish”, which is a large oven baked pie filled with raw chopped meat, onions, and potatoes, also raw.
Belyashi are usually made with ground beef, sometimes with an addition of ground pork. I prefer to make mine with ground lamb since I find its flavor more interesting. It also has a nice fat content (regularly, about 20% fat), which is perfect for a juicy filling.
My belyashi dough is very similar to my pirozhki dough. The only difference is that I replace half the oil with sour cream or yogurt. Also, I use more liquid (here milk), which yields moister dough and results in the airier and fluffier belyashi.
You will need:
For the dough:
- 180 ml/6 oz/ ¾ cup lukewarm 2% milk
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp dry yeast (regular or rapid rise depending how much time you have to wait the dough rise)
- 2 Tbsp oil (mild olive, vegetable, peanut etc.)
- 2 Tbsp sour cream or yogurt (full fat or reduced fat; don’t take nonfat though)
- ½ lb/8 oz/ 225g all-purpose flour (about 1 ½ cup, but better use scales)
For the filling:
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 small onion or ½ large one, peeled
- 2 large garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ heaping tsp black pepper
Let’s start with the dough.
To achieve airy, fluffy dough, it should be very moist to begin with. And by moist, I mean very sticky and kind of runny. Because of that, I recommend making it in a stand mixer or with a powerful hand mixer.
If you have neither of those, knead the dough with a wide sturdy spatula. If you knead this dough with your hands, it will be all over you up to your elbows and then, of course, you will feel the urge to add more flour and by this you will make it much drier and heavier. I mean, you can still try to knead it with hands. Our grandmas didn’t have all these fancy devices, right?! And my beloved grandma, my dad’s mom, used to make wonderful pies. All I want to say is that making the belyashi dough with a mixer or using a spatula rather than hands to knead it (and most importantly, not adding extra flour) will result in a much airier texture.
If using regular dry yeast: In a deep bowl dissolve sugar in lukewarm milk; sprinkle yeast on top. Wait until the mixture becomes foamy, about 5-7 minutes. Combine flour with salt and add to the milk mixture together with oil and sour cream/yogurt. Stir and fold the dough well with a spatula for about 5 minutes.
If using a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, use a paddle attachment and knead on 2nd speed.
When done, cover the bowl with a lightweight kitchen towel, put in warm place and let the dough rise 2-3 times during 2.5-3 hours.
If using quick rise dry yeast: Combine flour with salt, sugar and yeast. Add lukewarm milk, oil and sour cream/yogurt. Proceed as described above. The only exception is that the rising time is much shorter, about 1.5 hours.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Puree an onion and garlic in a food processor and combine with the rest of the ingredients. Add a splash or two of water and mix the filling well with your hands. Place in the fridge to develop flavors while the dough is rising.
When the dough is done, transfer it to a floured surface, sprinkle very very lightly with flour and fold like an envelope. Turn it seam side down and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into equal pieces about 1.2-1.4 oz each. Shape each piece into a ball, put on a floured surface, cover with a lightweight kitchen towel and let rise again, 15-20 minutes. Now it will be less sticky and much easier to handle.
How to shape belyashi:
Working on a floured surface and using a rolling pin (I use my cute little rolling pin from Daiso), roll each ball into a 3.5”-3.7” circle. Put about 2 tablespoons of the filling on top of each and spread it evenly in the middle. Fold the edges over the filling and pinch with your fingers, leaving a small round hole in the center (about 0.5”-0.75” wide).
Another way to form a belyash is to fold the edges over the filling on four sides like an envelope leaving a square hole in the middle and then fold the corners over toward the center.
In a wide pan, heat plenty of vegetable/peanut/grape seed oil. The oil should be no less ¾” deep so belyashi could float in it. When the oil is very hot, add belyashi the hole side down(!). Do it very carefully and try to avoid splashing, because the oil is hot and there’s a lot of it! Hot oil burns are not exactly pleasant, I know this first hand.
Don’t overcrowd the pan; leave some room between the pies because they will grow slightly during cooking.
Cook the pies until golden brown on the bottom and then turn over with a spatula. Cook on the other side until they are golden brown. By this time, you will most likely see how the juices inside the belyashi have started to boil. That is why you should always start frying belyashi hole side down. The oil will start cooking the meat directly, and when you turn the belyashi over, it will steam producing lots of juices inside the dough shell.
Carefully (again!) remove the belyashi from the pan, trying not to spill these precious juices, and place on a serving platter in one layer.
Cook the rest of the belyashi in batches, adding more oil if needed. Serve immediately and warn everybody to dig into them over a plate or napkin – there will be lots of meat juice dripping!
Make as many belyashi as you’re gonna eat right away, because they are best eaten hot or warm. They don’t refrigerate or freeze very well. They will still be edible and tasty, but not as juicy and crispy as when they are freshly made. Better refrigerate leftovers of the dough and the filling and fry another batch the next day.
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