I love all foods from everywhere, and usually make my rounds. Spicy curry one day, European the next, Mexican, the next etc. This week I'm feeling like middle eastern.
These hand pies I've made are usually stuffed with spinach, cheese, and/or meat. I have decided to mix spinach with vegan mince. Usually I just use spinach. I don't use soy mince very often, but I have quite a bit sitting in my cupboard. I sometimes make plant based minced from lentils and walnuts, or ground tofu or tempeh. This was convenient for me at this time.
I think almost every culture has their own version of a stuffed dough. There are samosas, Jamaican patties, empanadas, panzerotti, arepas, and the list goes on.
Every time I make something like this, Marc will call it a pakora no matter what it is. I have to tell him, "it's not a pakora, it's a fatayer". It doesn't matter what it is. If I make dumplings he calls it a pakora. I don't think I've ever made a pakora. He loves to make me crazy like that.
Filling
200g cooked spinach
280g soy mince uncooked
150g onion
20 almond flour
Juice of lemon
300g vegan yoghurt
1 cup vegetable broth or water
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
25g fresh herbs (parsley and dill)
The spinach that I got was fresh and in a huge bag. I thought it would make quite a bit. It didn't dawn on me that it would shrink quite a bit. I just blanched it for a minute or so in boiling water. It was drained and the moisture squeezed out.
The spinach was chopped along with fresh herbs. The onion was browned in a pan with oil. The soy mince was added along with the yoghurt, and broth. It was simmered with the seasonings until evaporated.
I added everything together. I also added lemon juice as an after thought.
Dough
430g flour
1 1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Whenever I work with dough, I get a bit of stress relief from kneading and the steps that it takes. Lately life is a little strange and unpredictable. Cooking helps with this. I would say that eating helps as well, but I have to be careful. I've gained a few pounds through the winter and being more idle. I look at the scale and say "no".
Put the water, sugar and yeast together and mix. Set aside for 15 minutes or until it's bubbly. Add it to the flour and oil. Knead for 7 to 10 minutes or until it's smooth. Put in an oiled bowl, cover and put in a warm place. I just put a bowl of hot water in the oven to keep it warm. I put the dough beside it.
Divide the dough into around 15 to 20 equal balls. It depends on how big you want them. I made smaller ones which made around 20 circles. I put a tablespoon of filling in each one. Put two sides together then bring up the third side.
Since this is plant based, I brushed them with flax egg. I made the flax gel by soaking flax seeds in two times the water that was boiled.
I decided to sprinkle with poppy seeds because I have them and want to use them up.
They were baked at 350F for around 15 minutes, turning the tray around in the middle of baking. I checked to make sure they were golden before taking them out.
I made a yogurt sauce with 1 1/2 cups vegan yogurt, 2 tablespoons vegan mayo, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme. It had enough taste that it didn't really need the sauce.
This could also be good with a tomato based sauce or tahini garlic sauce.
Thanks for dropping by and have a great day
Photos taken with a Nikon D7500 by me except the ones of me taken by my other half