Crispy and juicy pasties that don't need to be fried. And the dough looks like puff pastry

Ashley Davis12/12/2025

0 78 2 minutes read

These chebureks in the oven have long been a favorite in the author’s family – with a crispy kefir dough and juicy filling, they are delicious both hot and after cooling. The cook shared her proven family recipe on the “Zelena Sadiba” website.

The culinary expert very appetizingly spoke about the secrets of making these chebureks: “The recipe for chebureks, which she shared in this publication, appeared in my kitchen not so long ago, but very quickly became a favorite. The dough here is made with kefir, kneaded literally in a matter of minutes, and the chebureks themselves are baked in the oven, and not fried in a frying pan. This is more convenient, healthier and requires much less hassle.

Usually, everything that comes out of the oven, not from the frying pan, seems less tasty. But according to this recipe, the chebureki turn out to be really successful. They are a little different than the classic fried ones, but the dough is so tasty in itself that my son often asks to cook these chebureks even without filling.”

Ingredients:

Cheburek dough:

400 g wheat flour;

200 ml kefir;

50 g butter;

0.5 tsp. baking powder;

1 tsp. Sahara;

a pinch of salt.

Filling:

200 g minced meat;

0.5 medium onion;

50 ml water;

salt, black pepper.

Preparation

First we prepare the dough. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add cold butter, cut into small pieces, and grind it with flour into crumbs. Pour in kefir and quickly knead the dough. There is no need to knead for a long time – the dough should resemble puff pastry.

The finished dough will stick to your hands and the surface – that’s how it should be. Wrap it in film and put it in the refrigerator for at least one hour, and longer if possible.

For the filling, salt and pepper the minced meat, add finely chopped onion and water. Mix well until smooth, juicy mass.

Sprinkle the work surface generously with flour. Lightly roll the dough in flour, divide it into eight approximately equal parts and form each into a ball. Roll each ball into a very thin oval or circle approximately 1 mm thick.

Place the filling on one half of the dough, distribute it evenly, cover with the other half and carefully pinch the edges. If desired, you can make a curly edge.