Russian Chebureki (Чебуреки)

These Russian chebureki are made with a homemade dough from scratch, the dough is rolled out, stuffed with a seasoned ground chicken and pork filling, then sealed and fried until perfectly golden and crunchy. Served with a generous dollop of sour cream. (Jump to Recipe)

Vivid childhood memories rush to my mind when I think of cheburki. The house would smell of freshly fried dough when I’d come home from school. My mom would spend all afternoon making dough and standing stove-side, frying batch after batch of the best cheburki in the world. If there’s any favorite dish I can request my mom to make, it’s this one.

To Make Chebureki, You Will Need:

For the dough:

• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Distilled vinegar
• Water
• Olive oil

For the filling:

• Ground chicken
• Ground pork
• Finely chopped onion
• Salt
• Water
• Chopped parsley (optional)

• Vegetable or canola oil – for frying

Prepare The Filling

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground chicken, ground pork, finely chopped onion, salt, water, and parsley(if using) until all ingredients are well combined. Place into the refrigerator to chill for one hour. This will allow for the onions to slightly soften up.

To Make The Dough

1. Add the salt and vinegar to the water.
2. Place the flour into a large mixing bowl. Pour the water over the flour. Mix with a fork until the dough starts to come together.
3. Add the olive oil to the dough and begin to knead the dough by hand in the bowl. If the dough is very sticky, add 1-2 tablespoons of additional flour and continue to knead. If the dough is stiff, add 1-2 tablespoons of water.
4. Turn dough over onto a well floured surface and knead the dough with your hands until it is soft, smooth, and no longer sticks to your hands. Additional small increments of flour may be added to the dough if needed.
5. Completely wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

To Assemble The Chebureki:

1. Cut the dough and divide it into 20 small balls.
2. Roll out the first dough ball on a lightly floured surface into a circle, until it is about 1-2 mm thick. Keep the other dough balls covered with a kitchen towel while assembling the chebureki so they do not dry out.
3. Place about ¼-⅓ cup of the filling on one side of the circle. Leave ½-inch border around the edge. Fold the dough over in half and pinch the edges of the dough with your fingers to seal the chebureki. Use a fork to crimp the edges. Place onto a sheet pan or a clean surface and set aside.
4. Repeat with remaining dough until it is gone. Ensure the chebureki are not overlapping otherwise the dough will stick together.
5. Heat 2-3 cups of vegetable oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium/low heat. Add 1 cheburek at a time into the pot and fry 1-3 minutes per side, until golden crispy and meat is cooked through. Add more oil to the pot, as needed throughout cooking.
6. Remove the cheburek from the pot and place onto a paper towel-lined plate to absorb the oils. Let rest 5 minutes to cool and serve with sour cream.

Additional tips:

Pre-made, uncooked flour tortillas can be used to replace homemade dough if you’re not up for kneading your own from scratch. Certain stores sell rolled out frozen dough specifically for chebureki. I have not tried it, but according to my mom, the dough is very greasy.

Feel free to swap out the filling with your favorite ground meat or use a combination of your two favorite meats.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave, in the oven at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes, until warmed through, or in an airfryer (which is my favorite way).

If you make these Russian Chebureki (Чебуреки) recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I’d love to hear what you think about it, or better yet, see what you’re cooking! Tag me on Instagram, @fettysfoodblog with your creation.

Be sure to check out this Pierogi With Potato And Sweet Onion recipe too!