Discover echpochmak - the beautiful triangular cake of Russia

Anyone who visits the Kazan region of Russia cannot resist the charm of the beautiful triangular Tatar pastry called echpochmak. The pastry is so famous that there is even a monument dedicated to it.

This cake is not fried in oil, but baked in the oven. And its name is formed from two words: "Ech" - the number "three" in Tatar - and "pochmak" - "corner."

That is, it is a cake with three corners, or simply a triangular cake. In fact, in Russian they are often simply called triangular cakes.

Any meat, except pork, can be used in echpochmaks. For religious reasons, traditional Tatar cuisine excludes any pork products. The filling can be lamb, beef or veal, chicken, duck or goose - any meat from domestic animals or poultry, preferably fatty.

If the meat is not fatty or not very fatty, they add lamb tail fat, clarified butter or fresh butter. And remember to pour some of the meat broth into the echpochmaks just before they finish baking in the oven. The cakes should be juicy, and the minced meat should be tender.

Can you make echpochmaks with minced meat? Of course. Instead of cutting the meat into small pieces, you can grind it in a meat grinder or food processor. This breaks with tradition, but will not affect the taste.

Nowadays, potatoes are always added to echpochmaks. Before that, potatoes were a relatively new food in the region. In fact, potatoes were only grown on a large scale throughout Russia in the first half of the 19th century.

Russian echpochmak cake. (Source: Moscow Times)

Finally, the filling always has a little onion in it. It complements the flavor of the meat and potatoes without overpowering them, and makes the pie extra juicy.

When you bite into the dumpling, the juices ooze out – that’s the wonderful taste of a hot echpochmak. A dab of melted or clarified butter ensures – along with the meat broth poured into the hole at the top – that the dumpling is juicy. The filling will evaporate in the broth and the meat will become tender.

The only seasonings used are salt and black pepper - preferably fresh ground pepper.

In the modern way, echpochmak is made with a thick yeast dough that holds the filling well. The amount of dough depends on the quality of the dough, dough with good elasticity and toughness will wrap the filling better. The dough must be quite thick, so that it can be easily rolled into a circle and can be sealed at the edges.

The dough is rolled into flat circles. The next important step is to close the edges of the dough to form a nice triangle with a small hole in the middle.

About 30 minutes before the dumplings are done, you’ll pour some hot broth into the holes in the dough. For foodies, this step is reminiscent of Chinese “xiao long bao” – small dumplings with a hole in the middle filled with broth.

Fermented dough is a modern innovation. In ancient times, many Turkic baked goods were made with unleavened dough. Fermented dough is the result of centuries-old interactions between Tatar and Russian cuisines - a blend that has created some truly culinary treasures.

Flour is always whole wheat. Unlike the lands around medieval Moscow, the Volga region has long been a wheat-growing region. Whole wheat flour is the most common flour used for bread and other baked goods.

Yunus Akhmetzyanov, one of the leading experts on Tatar cuisine, wrote in his collection of recipes entitled “Tatar Cuisine”: “The meat is cut into small pieces, the size of hazelnuts. Potatoes are cut into pieces of the same size.

To keep the potatoes white, soak them in cold water after cutting them. Before making the filling, put the potatoes in a sieve and mix with the minced meat and onion. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add fresh or clarified butter to the minced meat."

Yunus Akhmetzyanov advises that “to prevent the potatoes from browning and to avoid the meat from releasing too much water, do not mix the filling all at once, but in small portions.” The filling must be mixed well so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

In the cold Northern winter, these beautiful little cakes will stimulate the taste buds of tourists who love Russian cuisine./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/kham-pha-echpochmak-chiec-banh-tam-giac-xinh-dep-cua-nuoc-nga-post1080319.vnp