Recipe: Perfect Fatayer

Recipe: Perfect Fatayer Delicious, fresh and tasty.

Fatayer. The Non-Govt Way to Get the Best Health Insurance. Fatayer, Petaeer (Arabic: فطاير ‎) (Persian: پتایر ‎) is a Lebanese meat pie that can alternatively be stuffed with spinach (Arabic: سبانخ ‎), or cheese (Arabic: جبنه ‎) such as Feta or Akkawi. It is part of Lebanese cuisine and is eaten in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait and Israel.

This little turnover stuffed with spinach is an integral part of Arabian cuisine and is mainly eaten in Turkey and in all the countries from the Middle East that were part of the Ottoman Empire, including Syria, Egypt, Jordan and other countries in the region, such as Iraq and Israel.

Spinach Fatayer are a staple of Levantine cuisine.

Homemade dough stuffed with fresh spinach, onions, and other delicious ingredients, these are truly irresistible.

You can cook Fatayer using 23 ingredients and 47 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Fatayer

1. Prepare 4 cups of All Purpose Flour.

2. You need 1 teaspoon of dry yeast.

3. It’s 2 teaspoon of sugar.

4. Prepare 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

5. You need 2 teaspoon of soft butter.

6. Prepare 1 cup of Warm water.

7. Prepare 1 teaspoon of oil (to rub the dough).

8. It’s 2 teaspoon of milk to brush the fatayer.

9. You need of For stuffing.

10. Prepare 1 cup of minced lamb.

11. It’s 1 cup of blanched and chopped spinach.

12. Prepare 1/2 cup of mozzarella.

13. You need 2 tablespoon of tomato paste.

14. Prepare 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.

15. You need 1 of big minced onion.

16. Prepare 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste.

17. It’s 1 of bay leave.

18. It’s 1 inch of long cinnamon.

19. It’s 4-5 of black pepper corns.

20. You need 1 teaspoon of chilli powder.

21. It’s 1/2 teaspoon of mix spice /garam masala.

22. Prepare to taste of Salt.

23. You need 1 teaspoon of oregano or thyme.

A delicious mezze, these fatayer are found alongside the classic appetizers of hummus, lahm bi ajeen and kibbe.

Fatayer bil-sabanegh is how Lebanese spinach versions are often known and fatayer jebneh is the name given to the cheese versions.

Spinach fatayer is somewhat reminiscent of the Greek spanakopita but with a few key differences.

The Greek version includes feta cheese and is usually wrapped in phyllo dough.

Fatayer instructions

1. Mix a cup warm water with 1 teaspoon of yeast and 2 teaspoon sugar. Keep aside to broom..

2. In a big mixing bowl add flour, salt and soft butter..

3. Mix nicely to combine..

4. In the meantime the yeast has activated well..

5. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the yeast mixture..

6. With the help of a spatula slowly incorporate the flour with the yeast mixture..

7. Mix well till well combine..

8. Now with the help of your hand knead the mixture by adding 2-3 tablespoon of water..

9. Knead well to form a soft elastic dough..

10. Rub little oil to the dough..

11. Cover and keep aside for an hour or till dough becomes double in size..

12. In the meantime make the stuffing..

13. Heat a pan with vegetable oil. Add bay leave, cinnamon stick and black pepper..

14. Saute for few seconds and then add minced onion..

15. Saute for 2-3 minutes..

16. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for a minute..

17. Add tomato paste..

18. Mix well and cook for one more minute..

19. Add the minced meat and mix well..

20. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt, oregano and mix spices..

21. Mix well to combine..

22. Fry for 2-3 minutes and then add 1 cup of hot water..

23. Cover and cook in medium heat until the meat cooks completely. It will take about 10-15 minutes..

24. When meat cooks completely, add the chopped spinach..

25. Mix well to incorporate. Cook for another 5 minutes without lid..

26. Before removing check the seasoning, add salt if necessary and transfer to a bowl..

27. Stuffing is almost ready. Come to the dough.It is double in size now..

28. Punch the dough..

29. Dust a work surface with flour and transfer the dough in the work place. Divide into 3 portions..

30. Take one portion and roll it with a rolling pin to form a big thin circle..

31. With the help of a cookies cutter, cut the circle into smalldisks..

32. Take the stuffing, add 1/2 cup of mozzarella..

33. Mix well..

34. Take 1 teaspoon of prepared stuffing and scoop in the centre of each disks..

35. Now fold the disk to give the fatayer shape. Check the picture below. This is the first fold..

36. 2nd fold is shown below..

37. Now press the edges to form a nice shape..

38. Like this form all the pastries. You can make approximately 40 small fatayer..

39. Following is another shape I made..

40. Pre heat oven at 200 degree Centigrade for 10 minutes..

41. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil or baking sheet..

42. Place the prepared fatayer in the tray..

43. Brush each fatayer with little milk..

44. Bake them for about 18-20 minutes or till light golden brown..

45. I baked them for 18 minutes..

46. Take out from oven and keep aside for 5 minutes to cool..

47. Afte 5 minutes transfer to serving dish and serve with some tomato ketchup..

Fatayer are middle eastern hand pies popular in the Levantine region and certain Arab countries.

They are often made in a triangular or pyramid shape but also in some other forms and shapes.

The filling can range from meat, cheese, spinach etc.

These pies are easy to make, store and are freezer friendly.

It is important to dehydrate the spinach first by salting them for a bit before you squeeze out all the excess moisture.