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Erachi pathiri
Fried pastry with spiced beef
Erachi pathiri: Malabar fried pastry rounds with spiced beef
Erachi pathiri, 'meat pathiri', is the snack Malabar cooks make by the dozen for Ramadan iftar: two small rounds of soft dough sealed around a filling of minced beef fried with onion, green chilli and garam masala, then deep-fried until they puff into golden pillows. Use halal beef mince, or chicken mince cooked to 74 °C. Chef's tip: let the filling cool completely before you fill, or the steam softens the dough and the edges burst.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 onionsfinely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 green chillieschopped
- 12 ½ oz beef mince
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh corianderchopped
For the dough
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¾ cup waterabout
- 3 ¼ cups vegetable oilfor deep-frying
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan and fry the 2 onions for 6 minutes until soft and light gold. Add the 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste and 2 green chillies and fry for 1 minute.
6 minStep 2: Add the 12 ½ oz beef mince, ¼ tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala and ¾ tsp salt and cook, breaking it up, for 10–12 minutes until dry and browned with no pink left (160°F). Stir in the 2 tbsp fresh coriander and leave to cool completely.
12 minStep 3: Mix the 10 ½ oz plain flour, ½ tsp salt and 2 tbsp vegetable oil, then knead in the ¾ cup water to a soft, smooth dough. Rest for 15 minutes.
10 minStep 4: Roll the dough out 3 mm thick and cut 7 cm rounds with a cutter. Put a heaped teaspoon of filling on half the rounds, brush the edges with water, top with a second round and press the edges hard with a fork to seal.
15 minStep 5: Heat the 3 ¼ cups vegetable oil to 350°F. Fry 4 at a time for 3–4 minutes, turning, until puffed and golden on both sides. A common mistake is overfilling; a thin border of dough is what seals them.
15 minStep 6: Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does erachi pathiri take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
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Perfect for:Ramadan




