Fatayer / Meat pie

Fatayer a Middle Eastern snack or better an Arab meat pie pastry served as a snack.

I could see his car being parked from the window. I waived ...he knew I was not there waiting for him like a new bride instead (taking care of my second love) taking pics. But he is not disappointed I guess he knows wifey has made something good to eat that he likes. I blog but never at the expense of my herd. The two rules I set early on were I would not keep people waiting for food in the name of blog nor would I cook something just to feed the blog that my herd is not fond of.
I was not late in baking but he was early that evening. As I was finishing my work  he quietly came in and rushed to the kitchen. I could hear a commotion in the background. There comes the loud voice of my spy,"Mommmm... dad is eating all ur fillingggg" :))) It was only two scoops of leftovers from the pie filling but Oh my God! I ran to rescue it yelling its raw didn't u see the other tray with ready to eat pies beside that. He kept chewing all the while with a smile and saying its yumm. Seriously ?!!!   I felt so terrible, spent the rest of the day praying nothing should happen to him eating raw meat.
The meat is only cooked while baking so it does not get tough and I had spread it in the pan along with other veggies so all the moisture would evaporate. Little did I know the big guy would head for it straight. But I should have known that knowing my carnivorous herd!!

I used #KingArthur all purpose flour(unbleached) for the first time Oh My God!what a difference, the result was exceptionally soft bread like the ad says.(I wish the brand paid me for saying this). The fatayers were so pillowy soft .I had two puffs leftover, after two days in the refrigerator it was still soo soft I wanted to press it against my cheeks to feel the softness :D

The recipe is adapted from the regular lamb meat pie.

Bread: Yields 12 
All purpose flour - 3 cups ( +King Arthur Flour - unbleached )
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Rapid rising yeast - 1 tsp
Olive oil -3-4 tsp
Warm Milk - 1 cup or more (not hot the yeast will die)
Mix the dry ingredients first then add olive oil rub the flour well so each dust gets coated then make a really sticky dough by adding milk gradually.
Knead the dough well for 10 minutes . At the end of it the dough should be soft as a baby's cheek.
Round it well and apply olive oil 2-3 tsps more all around so the dough does not stick in the container while rising. Allow the dough to double in size (will take an hour to 2 ) I refrigerated the dough after that for 2 hours as I had some urgent things to attend. U don't have to.

Filling:
Beef minced - 1/2 lb( I have used Grassfed #Chiappetti Ground Beef) It cooks fast but if u are using tougher meat pre cook along with veggies for longer time
White onion - 1 chopped
Green Bell pepper - 1 chopped
Yellow Bell pepper -1 chopped
Tomato -1 chopped
Green chili- 1 small chopped
Mint leaves - few chopped
Tomato paste - 1 tsp
Olive oil 2-3 tsp
Powders:
Chili powder- 1/2 tsp or paprika
Turmeric powder - 1/3 tsp
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
All spice powder- 1/2 tsp(I used homemade garam masala)
Salt to taste

1. Heat oil add chopped chilli and saute until a nice aroma comes then add onion & mint saute for few minutes then add all the powders given above until the nice aroma comes.
2. Add the tomato paste, bell peppers and the tomato saute until some of the water evaporates do not close or mash up.
3 Add the minced meat mix well and cook for a minute and switch off flame and let the pan stay on the stove let the heat dry some of moisture while u work on the bread.
(If the meat is tougher it will take longer to cook so do have cooking in step 3 by sauting in low flame for 5-7 minutes)

Assembling and baking:

When ready to  take the dough out of container onto a dusted surface. Do not punch or knead instead cut into equal parts. Pull all the edges and tuck at bottom there by forming a perfect ball of each one.
Dust more flour and roll discs. Put a tsp or two of the filling partially cover both sides as shown in pic.
Put the pies on a greased baking sheet at least 2-3 inches apart allowing them to rise.
Bake it at 400 F for 14-16 minutes until the top browns slightly.

Serve: Fatayers as an evening snack along with Tea. Ideal for Iftar.(For breaking fast)
I served the meat pies/Beef fatayers with salad and fruits for dinner.

Note:
Do not try sticking the dough at the tapering edges with water. It will open up and will not stick however much u try. Instead the dough will stick like  magic when dry form itself. (ie: take care not to moisten the edges)

Hope you like it.

Meena


Disclaimer:
Cooking With Friends: This blog post is part of the monthly “Cooking With Friends” themed blog post challenge. This challenge was started by a bunch of virtual friends united by their love of food, with the aim of tackling a different food related theme each month. If you want to try this month’s theme, please feel free to do so and link your recipe in the comments section. We’d love to check it out. Meanwhile, check out what the others in the group have come up with this month.

Anjana from At the Corner of Happy and Harried, Dolphia from Story of Cooks, Jayasri from The Veg Fare, Jyothi from Curry Trail, Sujatha from Spices and Treats.