Shabalay

Ingredients

The dough

• 600 gplain flour
• about 350 ml warm water
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 2 tablespoonsoil

The filling

• 500 gminced beef
• not too lean
• 300 gcabbage
• finely shredded
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 4spring onions, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 2dried red chillies
• crushed, or to taste
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• black pepper

To fry

• oil, for shallow frying
• a wide heavy pan

To serve

• ezay chilli sauce
• or a chilli relish
• hot, at a festival

Directions

1. Adjust the heat to your own tolerance. It also keeps it moist as it fries. Salt the shredded cabbage first. Let it sit for twenty minutes. Squeeze it hard in a clean cloth. That is why the frying takes time. Put the flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Add the warm water in gradually. It should be firm rather than soft. Add water sparingly as you go. Knead it for about ten full minutes. That gluten lets it roll thin. Cover it over and let it rest. Give it at least thirty full minutes. Shred the cabbage as finely as you can. Coarse cabbage tears the thin pastry.
3. Use a sharp knife or a mandoline. Salt the shredded cabbage and leave it. Give it about twenty full minutes. Wrap it in a cloth and twist it. Twist it hard to press the water out. Keep squeezing until little more comes. It should feel almost dry after.
4. Put the mince in a large bowl. Add the squeezed cabbage to it. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Chop it all very finely indeed. It also tears the thin pastry. Chop it as fine as you possibly can. Add the crushed chilli and pepper. Season the filling well with salt. Add less than you otherwise would. Taste a fried spoonful to check. Fry a small spoonful in a pan.
5. Taste it and adjust the seasoning. It takes two minutes and is worth it. Check the chilli level of it too. Work it together thoroughly by hand. Work it in one direction as you mix. The mince should not be too lean.
6. Divide the dough into small balls. Make them about the size of a golf ball. Keep every one of them the same size. Weigh them if you want them exact. Roll each ball into a thin circle. Roll it about two millimetres thick. Thin enough to blister and crisp. Keep the rest covered as you work. Dry dough cracks and will not seal.
7. Work with only a few of them at a time. Put filling on one half of the circle. Spread it over half the circle. Leave a clear border all round. Spread it thinly rather than piling it. A thin even layer cooks through. Spread the filling out evenly.
8. Fold the circle over into a half-moon. Wet the border with a little water. Press the edges together firmly. Press out any air as you seal. Crimp the curved edge in pleats. Fold small pleats along the edge. Press each one of them down firmly.
9. Heat a shallow layer of oil in a pan. About one centimetre is quite enough. Use a moderate heat rather than high. The filling must cook right through. Turn them once partway through. Do not rush that stage at all here. Work in small batches instead. Judging them takes a careful check. Cut one open the very first time. The beef should be cooked right through.
10. Fry them for longer if there is any. Lift them out onto a wire rack. Let all the excess oil drip away. That softens the pastry within minutes. Serve them straight from the pan. The filling is extremely hot inside.

Technique

• Cabbage releases a great deal of water and a wet filling bursts the pastry in hot oil. Salt the shredded cabbage, leave it twenty minutes, then wrap it in a cloth and twist it hard — far more water comes out than expected, and this is not the place to be gentle. Account for that salt when seasoning the filling.
• The beef goes in raw and cooks inside the pastry, so use a moderate heat and give them five minutes a side: high heat burns the pastry before the meat is done, and that balance is the whole difficulty. Spread the filling thinly rather than piling it, since a thick pile stays raw in the middle and bursts the pastry. Cut one open the first time and check no pink remains.
• Minced beef must be cooked right through, since mincing spreads surface bacteria into the meat — unlike a whole cut.

Substitutions

• A fork press seals the curved edge faster than pleating, and both are genuinely done; pleating is the traditional way and seals more reliably.
• Bhutanese food is genuinely very hot, with chilli treated as a vegetable rather than a seasoning — the atlas records that as it is, so adjust the heat to your own tolerance.

Variations

• Fry a small spoonful of the filling to taste it before shaping, since raw meat mixture cannot be tasted — one test spoonful saves the whole batch and lets you check the chilli level too.
• Use mince with about twenty per cent fat rather than very lean, since fat keeps the filling moist, and work the mixture in one direction until it turns sticky and cohesive, which holds it together.
• The same pastry is made in Tibet as sha phaley, since Bhutan and Tibet share much cooking; it is sold beside momos at tsechu festivals, being far larger, flatter and fried rather than steamed.

History

A Bhutanese and Tibetan fried meat pie sold at fairs and tsechu festival grounds beside momo stalls.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shabalay?

Shabalay is a snack from Bhutan: half-moon pastry stuffed with minced beef and cabbage, fried until blistered. A Bhutanese and Tibetan fried meat pie sold at fairs and tsechu festival grounds beside momo stalls.

How long does Shabalay take to make?

Shabalay takes 1 hour plus resting of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 pastries. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Shabalay?

Yes, within limits. A fork press seals the curved edge faster than pleating, and both are genuinely done; pleating is the traditional way and seals more reliably. Bhutanese food is genuinely very hot, with chilli treated as a vegetable rather than a seasoning — the atlas records that as it is, so adjust the heat to your own tolerance.

What is the most important thing to get right in Shabalay?

Add the warm water in gradually. It should be firm rather than soft. Add water sparingly as you go. Knead it for about ten full minutes. That gluten lets it roll thin. Cover it over and let it rest. Give it at least thirty full minutes. Shred the cabbage as finely as you can. Coarse cabbage tears the thin pastry.