A beautiful Lithuanian recipe: Kibinai (Lithuanian empanadas)

Kibinai are a traditional Lithuanian dish. They are basically empanadas. We ate them all the time when we were in Kaunas.<br><br>* you<br><br>Anyway, if you want to make them for yourself, here is the recipe that we always followed:<br><br>Ingredients:<br><br> accents<br><br>1 pound beef, finely chopped, can use beef\&onion or beef\&mushroom mixes<br><br>1 onion, finely chopped<br><br>salt and black pepper to taste<br><br>1 egg, beaten<br><br>2 tbsp milk<br><br>1 tbsp \~ 15 g margarine or butter, melted<br><br>3 cups flour<br><br>1/2 cup warm water<br><br>1/4 cup sour cream<br><br>1\~2 tbsp sugar<br><br>Optional:<br><br>1 tsp caraway seeds<br><br>1 tsp baking powder<br><br>***<br><br>Instructions:<br><br> accents<br><br>For the filling:<br><br>1. In a large bowl combine the ground meat, onion, salted and peppered to taste. Mix well.<br><br>2. Add the beaten egg and melted butter. Mix well.<br><br>For the dough:<br><br>1. In another bowl combine the flour, warm water, sour cream, sugar, melted margarine, and the caraway seeds. Mix it all until it forms a dough.<br><br>2. Add the baking powder. Sometimes baking powder would make it rise a lot and sometimes it wouldn't rise at all. I think it's related to the quality of the baking powder.<br><br>3. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. It will be sticky but it will come together. You can add more flour but the result will not be good.<br><br>4. Divide the dough into 6\~8 pieces depending on how big you want them to be. Since the dough is sticky it is easier to roll them into spheres between wet palms.<br><br>5. Then flatten each sphere using a roller. It's better to roll them thicker, not like you are making tortillas. It's ok if the accents aren't round.<br><br>6. Place the filling in the middle of each kibinas. Then grab the middle and make a half moon shape with the filling inside. The ends need to be closed so they don't fall apart while frying. They need to be closed \~1\~2 cm from the middle so that there is some space between the middle and the ends. You can make them into a ball shape or square shape if you prefer.<br><br>7. From there you have three options:<br><br>a. Fry them in boiling oil for a few minutes on each side. Take them out when they are golden brown. This is the best way to do it. After frying you probably need to let them sit on paper towels or some cloth to let the oil drain.<br><br>b. Bake them in the oven for 25\~30 minutes. You need to make sure the oven is hot before sticking them in. The time it takes to bake them may vary because they will be at different heat levels.<br><br>c. Boil them in boiling water for 20\~25 minutes. Or until they float to the surface. Sometimes they will fall apart or you will need to boil them longer for them to float. That means the water temperature wasn't good. They will be completely bland and disgusting. You can put them on a frying pan with butter or oil to make them tastier.<br><br>8. Serve them hot and enjoy! That's all. That's really it. You're welcome.