Back to Mongolian
Khuushuur
Serves 4 Prep 30 min Cook 25 min Total 55 min Type Meal Origin Mongolian

Khuushuur

Mongolia's Naadam pasty: a thin disc of wheat dough wrapped around minced mutton with onion and garlic, sealed into a half-moon and deep-fried.

Serves 4 Prep 30 minutes Cook 25 minutes Units Rate

Overview

A simple flour-water-salt dough rests for 30 minutes. Mutton (or beef) is minced finely with onion, garlic, salt and a splash of water (the water makes the filling steam-juicy inside). Dough is divided, rolled into thin 14 cm discs. A heaped tablespoon of filling sits on each disc; the edges are sealed by pinching and crimping into a flat half-moon. Deep-fried for 3 minutes a side in 180°C oil until blistered and gold.

Ingredients

Dough

  • 400 g plain flour
  • 220 ml warm water
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Filling

  • 400 g minced mutton (20% fat, or fatty beef mince)
  • 1 onion (medium, finely diced)
  • 3 garlic cloves (crushed)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons cold water (essential - keeps the filling juicy)

For frying

  • 500 ml vegetable oil (or rendered mutton fat for the authentic version)

Method

Stage 1 - Dough

  1. Whisk flour and salt in a bowl.
  2. Add warm water; mix to a shaggy dough.
  3. Knead 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.
  4. Wrap and rest 30 minutes.

Stage 2 - Filling

  1. In a bowl, combine mince, onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
  2. Add the cold water; mix with your hand for 2 minutes until the meat is sticky and the water is absorbed.

Stage 3 - Shape

  1. Divide the dough into 12 balls (about 50 g each).
  2. Roll each into a thin disc 14 cm across, 2 mm thick.
  3. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of filling onto the centre of each disc.
  4. Fold over into a half-moon; press the edges firmly to seal.
  5. Crimp the curved edge with your fingers (or use a fork) into a neat ridge.

Stage 4 - Fry

  1. Heat 4 cm of oil in a wide heavy pan to 180°C.
  2. Fry 2-3 khuushuur at a time, 3 minutes per side, until deep gold and blistered.
  3. Lift onto kitchen paper.
  4. Eat within 10 minutes - they lose their crispness fast.

Notes

  • The water in the filling: Mixing cold water into the meat is what makes khuushuur juicy. The water steams during frying and creates a gush of broth at first bite. Skip it and the filling is dry and dense.
  • Seal the edges firmly: Any gap and the filling water leaks out into the oil; the result is a deflated pasty and angry hot oil.
  • Don't pile up: Stack khuushuur and the steam softens the crust. Serve in a single layer.

Storage

  • Best eaten within 30 minutes of frying.
  • Cooked khuushuur reheats poorly. Make filled but unfried khuushuur; freeze 2 months in a single layer; fry from frozen at 170°C 5 minutes per side.

More like this

1 / 4
Buuz

Buuz

A simple flour-and-water dough rests until pliable. The filling is finely chopped (or coarsely minced) lamb or beef mixed with very finely chopped onion, garlic, salt and pepper, minimal additional seasoning, since Mongolian buuz prizes the meat's own flavour. Each wrapper rolls thin in the centre, slightly thicker at the edges. A heaped spoon of filling sits in the middle; the edges pleat together to form a small purse with a hole at the top. Steamed for 15-18 minutes; the wrapper turns slightly translucent.

Mongolian 1 hour 18 minutes Serves30
Chapli Kebab

Chapli Kebab

Chapli kebabs are the spiced beef patties sizzling on a wide flat tawa at any roadside grill from Peshawar to Kabul, big enough to wrap a hand around and seasoned with the unusual punch of dried pomegranate seeds and coriander. The mince mixes with grated onion, chopped fresh tomato, ginger, garlic, beaten egg and a little gram flour to bind, plus the signature Afghan spice blend (coriander seed, pomegranate seeds, chilli flakes, cumin and garam masala). A thirty-minute rest lets the gram flour absorb the moisture and the spices marry. Pat thin and wide (the word chapli means "flat" or "slipper-shaped"), then fry hard in oil three or four minutes a side until darkly crusted. Eat hot from the pan, wrapped in fresh naan with sliced raw onion and a green chutney.

Afghanistan 1 hour 10 minutes Serves4