Fried Cabbage Piroshki on Kefir

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   You'll need the ingredients on the list. Measure them out and sift the flour through a small sieve into a dry bowl of a good size — sifting makes the dough airier. For a better dough, make sure the kefir and egg are at room temperature, so take them out of the fridge ahead of time. Use refined oil.

2. Step 2:

   

   Pour the kefir into a large, wide bowl for kneading the dough, crack in the egg, and add the sugar, salt, and baking soda (or baking powder).

3. Step 3:

   

   Mix everything with a fork or spoon until smooth, let it sit a couple of minutes so the soda reacts (the mixture will foam a little), then pour in the vegetable oil. Stir again.

4. Step 4:

   

   Add a little more than half of the flour.

5. Step 5:

   

   Stir the mixture with a spoon. It will start to thicken.

6. Step 6:

   

   Add the rest of the flour in two or three additions, mixing well each time. When the dough gets too hard to stir with a spoon, knead it by hand.

7. Step 7:

   

   What should the dough feel like? It should be slightly tacky — don't pack it with too much flour. It took me exactly the amount of flour I listed, plus about 20–30 g for dusting. You may need less or more, depending on your flour. Knead the dough a couple more minutes and form it into a ball, helping yourself with a little flour. I kneaded it right in the bowl. Roll the ball in flour, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 20 minutes.

8. Step 8:

   

   While the dough rests, make the filling. Peel off the outer cabbage leaves if they're damaged, and shred the cabbage thinly. Young cabbage is best — it's juicier than older cabbage and makes a more tender filling.

9. Step 9:

   

   Peel the carrot and grate it on the coarse side. Peel the onion and chop it with a knife. This cut works best for the filling.

10. Step 10:

    

    Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet, add the onion, and add a pinch of salt to draw out its juices. Sauté it, stirring, over medium heat for a couple of minutes. If your pan is non-stick, use a wooden spatula. The onion should turn translucent without browning.

11. Step 11:

    

    Add the carrot to the onion, stir, and fry a couple more minutes until the vegetables soften.

12. Step 12:

    

    Add the cabbage to the vegetables and season with salt to taste — I added a couple of pinches of regular table salt.

13. Step 13:

    

    Stir, cover the pan, and simmer the cabbage over moderate heat until done, stirring occasionally — I stirred twice. At this stage you could also add tomato paste to the filling.

14. Step 14:

    

    The cabbage should be soft and not browned. How can you tell it's done? Taste it — if it doesn't crunch, it's ready. It took me 10 minutes. Transfer the filling to another container and let it cool. If you're using older cabbage, simmer it a bit longer, and you may need to add a splash of water, since it's not as juicy as young cabbage.

15. Step 15:

    

    Shape the piroshki. Pinch the dough into several equal pieces — I got 10, about 55 g each. Roll each into a ball and roll it lightly in flour. Take one ball, press it out by hand into a flat round (I went to about 2 mm thick), and put a heaping tablespoon of filling in the middle.

16. Step 16:

    

    Pinch the edges shut into an oval pie and flatten it slightly.

17. Step 17:

    

    Shape the rest of the piroshki the same way. Mine came out medium-sized.

18. Step 18:

    

    Set the skillet over medium heat and pour in oil, but not all at once. My skillet is 22 cm (about 9 inches) across; I poured in 100 ml and topped it up as it cooked off. The oil should come about halfway up the sides of the piroshki. When the oil is good and hot, lay in the first batch seam-side down, leaving a little space between them (they'll puff up). Fry over moderate heat until golden — that took me 7 minutes.

19. Step 19:

    

    Flip the piroshki and fry until done — about 5 more minutes for me. Fry all the piroshki this way, topping up the oil as it cooks off and letting it heat back up.

20. Step 20:

    

    The piroshki turned out not greasy, so I skipped the paper towel and put them straight on a serving dish.