Pirozhki (pron. peer-ush-key) are Eastern European hand pies, served as a light meal or snack. Soft, pillowy dough is wrapped around a savoury filling making them universally appealing. You don’t need cutlery, ceremony or even a plate – just pick one up and bite in.
Traditionally filled with things like mince, cabbage, mushrooms, potato (or even jam!), pirozhki were created from using whatever you had on hand. They’re the kind of food that feeds a crowd without any fuss.
The pirozhki in this recipe contain beef mince, potato and onion – it’s the same filling I use for the varenyky I make. But while the varenyky are boiled like a pasta dumpling, pirozhki are fried in a frying pan. Therefore, the dough is made a little differently.
To make them, I like to spread my dining table with one of those plastic table cloths, as it gives me a lovely large surface to work with, as you can see in the photo below.
These hand pies are deeply tied to home cooking and street food culture across Eastern Europe. Even if you didn’t grow up eating them, they will still taste like something familiar and comforting. And I can guarantee, the kids will love them, too.
Pirozhki (Mince Hand Pies)
40
minutes30
minutesabout 22
I grew up eating these as a main on their own, but you could easily serve them with a salad.
Stop your screen from snoozing (zzz)
Ingredients
20 g 5/7 oz butter
1 tbs 3 tsp vegetable oil
2 2 brown onions, finely chopped
750 g 1 2/3 lb beef mince
1 tbs 3 tsp chicken stock powder
750 g 1 2/3 lb (about 5) potatoes (such as Coliban or Sebago), chopped
1/2 cup 1/2 cup vegetable oil, such as sunflower oil
- Dough
375 ml 1 3/5 cup water
1 1 egg
750 g 1 2/3 lb self-raising flour
Pinch of table salt
Self-raising flour, extra, to dust
Method
- Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until softened. Increase heat to medium-high. Add beef and chicken stock to the pan. Cook, stirring and breaking up mince with a wooden spoon, for 5-7 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Remove pan from the heat.
- Meanwhile, place potato in a large saucepan of water and bring to the boil over medium heat. Simmer for 20 minutes or until tender when tested with a knife. Drain, then mash.
- Add potato to the beef and onion mixture and stir until well combined. Cool completely.
- To make the dough, whisk the water and egg in a jug. Place flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add egg mixture to the well, along with the salt. Stir until combined and mixture comes together.
- Turn out dough onto a clean benchtop dusted with flour. Bring dough together and knead, adding a little extra flour if too sticky, until silky smooth and soft.
- Half the dough and roll each portion into a 4cm-diameter log. Cut 1 log into 1.5cm slices. Use a rolling pin to roll each slice into circles about 10cm in diameter. Repeat with remaining dough log.
- One at a time, fill the centre of a dough circle with about 1 1/2 tbs filling. Picking up the dough circle, fold the dough in half over the filling and pinch the edges together using your thumb and index finger to seal tightly. Scallop the curved edge by turning over a little dough at every 1cm. Place pirozhki seam-side up on your benchtop and push to flatten into a rough diamond shape (they don’t have to be perfect). Place on a lined and lightly floured tray side by side without touching (or they’ll stick together).
- To cook the pirozhki, heat the oil in a large frying pan. In batches, fry about 4 pirozhki at a time, for 20 seconds on each side, or until dough is slightly puffed up and golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain excess oil. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Pirozhki are delicious hot straight from the pan or at room temperature, making them perfect for picnics. Personally, I don’t think they are quite the same reheated, but you are welcome to store them in the fridge (covered) for up to 4 days and then reheat them in the microwave. They might actually be quite great reheated in an air fryer, though I haven’t tried this yet.
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