Beef Empanada

I have been meaning to make Beef Empanadas like forever. I was always intrigued by the flaky crust and the savory yummy filling and wanted to recreate my own version at home. I have tried Chicken and Beef empanadas and have been partial to the Beef ones. 

I read a few recipes and saw some videos. Essentially every recipe I saw had the same ingredients and lots of love. So, with all that knowlege, I set foot in my kitchen today and made these crispy, flaky, yummy goodies. 

Ingredients

For the filling

1 pound ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped bell pepper (I used 1/2 green and 1/2 red)

4 cloves garlic - chopped

1 tomato - chopped

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp roasted ground cumin

salt to taste

For the crust 

2 cups flour

4 TBS butter (melted)

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup water (more  if needed - 1 TBS at a time)

Vegetable Oil to fry Empanadas

Method

Add the ingredients for the crust and knead into a soft pliable dough. It should be soft to touch but not sticky. Acover it with a cloth and let it sit for 1 hour. 

In a saucepan add the ground beef and let it cook for 15 minutes - stir it occasionally. Once it has changed colot and you see oil/fat on the sides - use a slotted spoon and remove the beef onto a plate. Leave the oil/fat in the saucepan. To this add the onions, peppers and garlic and let it sweat for 5 minutes. Add the tomato and the spices and salt and mix well. cook for about 5 to 7 minutes till you see oil seperating on the sides of the pan. Now add the beef and mix well. Cover and let this cook for 15 minutes. Stir it once in the middle. Remove from heat and let it cool.

Take the dough and make 16 small portions and make them into round smooth circles. Using a rolling pin roll it into a flat round tortilla - not too thin nor too thick, about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Carefully add a tablespoon of filling in the middle and use one end to close the empanada and make into a half moon. Use a fork to seal the ends. You can very well you a mold to do this too - I have a mold, but could not find one - so went old school. make all the 16 of them and lay them on a cookie sheet in a single file and refegirate for 15 minutes. Heat oil in a wok - bring the flame to a medium high. Now add one or two empanadas at a time - depending on how big your wok is. Fry it till its nice golden brown. Drian on a paper towel and savor with some salsa, sour cream, guacamole or good old ketchup. 

Whole Wheat Pav

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 packet)

4 TBS sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 TBS vital gluten (powder)

2 1/2 to 3 cups wholewheat flour

1 cup Bread Flour or All Purpose Flour

4 TBS butter (melted)

Method

Add water sugar and yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom. To this add the melted butter, salt and 2 1/2 cups wheat flour and 1 cup All purpose Flour /Bread Flour and vital gluten. Mix it well and then knead it. I used a stand mixer to do this - but, it can be done by hand too. If the dough is wet, add 1 TBS wheat flour at a time to knead and get a soft round dough. Knead the dough for 8 to 10  minutes. Grease a pot with oil and add the dough to it, cover and let it sit in a warm place for 1.5 hours or untill its doubled in size. After the first rise, punch the dough and get all the air out. Knead it well and make 15 equal portions and makeinto smooth rounds. Lay them in a 3 colums and 5 rows pattern in a 9X5 tray. Cover and let it rise in a warm place for an hour. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees Farhenhite. Place the raised pavs in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes till the tops are a golden brown. Get them out of the oven and brush with butter on the top (this is an optional step). Golden soft wholewheat pavs are ready to be savored.

Bun Maska

Corona Virus has kind of taken over the World. We have been in quarantine for 15 days now. I have stepped outside the house only to go to the backyard or to walk to the post box. 

Well, quarantine has its fun times too. As movie lovers, this is the time we are catching up on tons of movies. Weekdays are still quiet busy for the hubby and the baby as they both have work and school respectively. However, weekends are filled with movies and lots of popcorn. 

Yesterday we watched this cute Netflix Original movie called 'Maska'. Maska means butter in Hindi. The movie is a lighthearted coming of age story centered around a century old Irani Cafe. These cafes were a hightlight of South Mumbai. Not many exist now, but a few that do still serve this amazing bun maska with Irani chai and a lot of other goodies. These cafes are owned and run by people belonging to the Parsi community in India. 

I was watching the movie, but wa secretly salivating thinking about Bun Maska and Irani Chai.

So, today morning - woke up and got this bun started and waited with eager breath for it to be baked.

Yum Yum Goodness.

Ingredients

1/2 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (1 packet)
4 tablespoons butter (melted)
1 cup lukewarm milk
3 1/2 cups Bread Flour or All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tutti fruti or raisins
2 tablespoons milk (to brush the tops)
oil for coating the dough


Method

in a stand mixer add the water, sugar and yeast. Let the yeast bloom for 5 to 0 minutes. Now add the milk, salt, butter and flour. Mix it at a very slow speed till everything is intergrated. Once integrated, inscrease the speed and let the mixer knead the dough. If the mixture looks too wet, add 1 tablespoon flour at a time to get a soft dough. Knead the dough for about 10 to 12 minutes. This can be done by hand too and believe me when I say, its a very theraputic experience. At the end, add the raisins or tutti fruti and mix well.

Once done, coat the dough with oil and let it rest covered in a warm dry place. In about an hour or hour and half (depending on the heat and humidity of the place) the dough would rise in volume, almost double. Now get it out and give it a nice punch to get all the air out. punch and knead for about 3 to 4 minutes. Now grease a 9X13 cake pan with oil. Make 15 small rounds of the dough. Make smooth rounds and place them in the pan with space in between. Cover and let it sit in a warm place. About 45 minutes or an hour later, the dough would have risen. Prheat the oven to 380 degrees farenhite. Take a brush and brush the tops very softly with the milk. Be very careful, as you do not want to get any of the air out and deflate the dough.

Bake it in the oven for 15 minutes. The tops should look nice and golden brown and when you tap it, it should be hard and sound hollow. Get it out of the oven and let it cook. After 15 minutes, remove it on a cooling rack. Seperate the buns. Cut it int he middle and slater with some yummy butter (maska) and relish the yummy goodness.

If you want it to be a bit sweeter. After the first raise, add some sugar to it before kneading and shaping it into pavs.

This maska pav with Irani chai is like heaven in your mouth. Took me back to the Irani Cafes.