How to Make Stuffed Baked Tri-Corners
In this article, I would like to set out to teach our readers how to make stuffed baked tri-corners, also called "Bichak" in the land of Afghanistan.
So, since this recipe has its origin in Afghanistan, I will from this point forward use the Afghan word "Bichak" to refer to the "stuffed baked tri-corners" referenced in this piece of writing.
This approach will also save me time by substituting one word in the place of three.
Bichak is a wonderful appetizer which consists of dough, meat, cheese, stuffing of squash, and jam.
To make the dough for the bichak, you will need to first have your ingredients organized.
You will need about one and a half cups of warm water.
You will need one teaspoon of sugar.
You will need one pack, that is, a quarter of an ounce or seven grams, of dry yeast.
You will need three and a half cups of flour.
You will need three tablespoons of corn oil.
You will need one "separated" egg.
Note that in cooking and recipes terms, the word "separated" when referenced to an egg, means that the white of the egg has been separated from the yellow.
You will need the yolk of an egg beaten up with a half of a teaspoon of corn oil.
In making bichak, you will have to make "stuffing".
This stuffing can be made using squash, calabasa, or pumpkin, whichever you choose, and it is entirely up to you.
In case some of our readers are wondering, the term "calabasa" refers to a fruit which is similar in appearance both externally and internally to the pumpkin, but it is not pumpkin.
It is also spelled "calabaza".
To make the bichak stuffing, you will need a quarter of a cup of corn oil.
You will also two cups of chopped onions.
You will need a cup of hot water.
You will need a quarter of a teaspoon of salt.
You will need two tablespoons of sugar.
You will need a pound of butternut squash, or calabasa, or pumpkin.
Now let's move on to the "meat" of the matter.
I want you to get handy two tablespoons of corn oil.
Get also two cups of chopped onions.
Get one pound of ground beef or ground lamb.
Get half of a teaspoon of salt (this amount may be adjusted to suit your taste).
Get a quarter of a teaspoon of pepper which were peeled and cut into half-inch pieces.
In a separate corner, you will need to make available one pound of farmer's cheese.
Make available also the yolk of one egg, and beat it well.
Make available three tablespoons of sugar.
Make available half of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
For this great appetizer dish from Afghanistan, you will also need one cup of strawberry, grape, or prune, jam and two tablespoons of bread crumbs.
It should be noted that this dish is popularly used as an appetizer for coffee or tea hour.
This dish may be prepared in large quantities and cooled and frozen for future uses.
Enough said.
Here is how you go about making bichak.
For the stuffing you will heat the quarter cup of corn oil in a pan.
You will now throw the two cups of chopped onions into the heated oil and "sauté" until the onions turn golden brown.
Now take one cup of hot water and mix a quarter of a teaspoon of salt into it.
Stir well.
Add the two tablespoons of sugar into the onion and oil and stir.
Further add your one pound of butternut squash (or pumpkin, or calabasa) and stir so that everything mixes well together.
Now pour the cup of water and salt mixture and allow it to come to a boil.
Give another thorough stirring and then cover and let cook over low heat for about twenty minutes.
During this time, the squash, calabasa or pumpkin will become soft and disintegrate.
Remove the cover from the pan so that the liquid may evaporate, creating a thick jam.
The mash will be moist.
Now comes the time to prepare the meat.
Heat the two tablespoons of corn oil in a skillet.
Add the two cups of chopped onions and stir over moderate heat until the onions develop a light brown color.
Then you add the one pound of ground beef or lamb, the half teaspoon of salt and the quarter teaspoon of peeled and cut pepper.
Stir-fry this for about five minutes or until the liquid has evaporated and the mixture becomes dry.
Take this off the fire and set aside to cool.
You're doing great! Now here's the cheesy part: mix the one pound of farmer's cheese, the beaten egg yolk, the three tablespoons of sugar and the half teaspoon of ground cinnamon thoroughly and set it aside.
The next step is to thoroughly mix the cup of jam with the two tablespoons of bread crumbs and also set this aside.
So far the above steps may well be labeled the "prep" stage in making bichak.
Now we will go on to prepare the tri-corners.
Take half of a cup of warm water and mix with one teaspoon of sugar and the pack of dry yeast mentioned earlier (that is the quarter ounce of yeast).
Now leave this in a warm place to "proof".
That means you leave it for about ten minutes to make sure that it foams.
This tests the potency of the yeast.
Note: if the mixture doesn't foam then your yeast is not good.
In a container of your choice, mix the three and a half cups of flour and make a "well" in the middle of it.
Now add the yeast mixture.
Now add one egg white and stir well into flour.
Add one cup of warm water, or enough to prepare a soft dough.
Knead the dough for several minutes and roll into a ball.
Oil the top of the dough lightly and leave it in the mixing bowl.
Now cover the bowl with a foil or towel and allow the dough time to rise, that is, about forty five minutes to one hour.
In the next step you punch down the dough ball, pull off about half a cup of dough, and roll into a slightly flattened ball.
Prepare six balls.
On a well floured board, roll out each ball, one at a time to circles about twelve inches in diameter.
Now,using a can or cookie cutter that is three inches in diameter, cut out smaller circles from the large circles.
Put one tablespoon of stuffing in the center of each circle.
Now fold the left side and right side of the circle over to meet in the center and bring up the bottom also to meet in the top center.
Now carefully pinch the ends to close the apertures.
There you almost have your bichak! The next step is to paint the tops with egg yolks.
Here's for the baking part of things.
You will need to line the baking pan with lightly oiled aluminum foil.
Then place the tri-corners in the foil.
Preheat the oven to three hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake for about forty minutes, or until brown.
This recipe caters for about forty eight pieces.
You may adjust the ingredients for more or less.
These are best served warm but you may cool and freeze in plastic bags for future use.
After frozen, you will need to thaw out for about half of an hour and heat in a three hundred and fifty degrees preheated oven for five to ten minutes.
So, since this recipe has its origin in Afghanistan, I will from this point forward use the Afghan word "Bichak" to refer to the "stuffed baked tri-corners" referenced in this piece of writing.
This approach will also save me time by substituting one word in the place of three.
Bichak is a wonderful appetizer which consists of dough, meat, cheese, stuffing of squash, and jam.
To make the dough for the bichak, you will need to first have your ingredients organized.
You will need about one and a half cups of warm water.
You will need one teaspoon of sugar.
You will need one pack, that is, a quarter of an ounce or seven grams, of dry yeast.
You will need three and a half cups of flour.
You will need three tablespoons of corn oil.
You will need one "separated" egg.
Note that in cooking and recipes terms, the word "separated" when referenced to an egg, means that the white of the egg has been separated from the yellow.
You will need the yolk of an egg beaten up with a half of a teaspoon of corn oil.
In making bichak, you will have to make "stuffing".
This stuffing can be made using squash, calabasa, or pumpkin, whichever you choose, and it is entirely up to you.
In case some of our readers are wondering, the term "calabasa" refers to a fruit which is similar in appearance both externally and internally to the pumpkin, but it is not pumpkin.
It is also spelled "calabaza".
To make the bichak stuffing, you will need a quarter of a cup of corn oil.
You will also two cups of chopped onions.
You will need a cup of hot water.
You will need a quarter of a teaspoon of salt.
You will need two tablespoons of sugar.
You will need a pound of butternut squash, or calabasa, or pumpkin.
Now let's move on to the "meat" of the matter.
I want you to get handy two tablespoons of corn oil.
Get also two cups of chopped onions.
Get one pound of ground beef or ground lamb.
Get half of a teaspoon of salt (this amount may be adjusted to suit your taste).
Get a quarter of a teaspoon of pepper which were peeled and cut into half-inch pieces.
In a separate corner, you will need to make available one pound of farmer's cheese.
Make available also the yolk of one egg, and beat it well.
Make available three tablespoons of sugar.
Make available half of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
For this great appetizer dish from Afghanistan, you will also need one cup of strawberry, grape, or prune, jam and two tablespoons of bread crumbs.
It should be noted that this dish is popularly used as an appetizer for coffee or tea hour.
This dish may be prepared in large quantities and cooled and frozen for future uses.
Enough said.
Here is how you go about making bichak.
For the stuffing you will heat the quarter cup of corn oil in a pan.
You will now throw the two cups of chopped onions into the heated oil and "sauté" until the onions turn golden brown.
Now take one cup of hot water and mix a quarter of a teaspoon of salt into it.
Stir well.
Add the two tablespoons of sugar into the onion and oil and stir.
Further add your one pound of butternut squash (or pumpkin, or calabasa) and stir so that everything mixes well together.
Now pour the cup of water and salt mixture and allow it to come to a boil.
Give another thorough stirring and then cover and let cook over low heat for about twenty minutes.
During this time, the squash, calabasa or pumpkin will become soft and disintegrate.
Remove the cover from the pan so that the liquid may evaporate, creating a thick jam.
The mash will be moist.
Now comes the time to prepare the meat.
Heat the two tablespoons of corn oil in a skillet.
Add the two cups of chopped onions and stir over moderate heat until the onions develop a light brown color.
Then you add the one pound of ground beef or lamb, the half teaspoon of salt and the quarter teaspoon of peeled and cut pepper.
Stir-fry this for about five minutes or until the liquid has evaporated and the mixture becomes dry.
Take this off the fire and set aside to cool.
You're doing great! Now here's the cheesy part: mix the one pound of farmer's cheese, the beaten egg yolk, the three tablespoons of sugar and the half teaspoon of ground cinnamon thoroughly and set it aside.
The next step is to thoroughly mix the cup of jam with the two tablespoons of bread crumbs and also set this aside.
So far the above steps may well be labeled the "prep" stage in making bichak.
Now we will go on to prepare the tri-corners.
Take half of a cup of warm water and mix with one teaspoon of sugar and the pack of dry yeast mentioned earlier (that is the quarter ounce of yeast).
Now leave this in a warm place to "proof".
That means you leave it for about ten minutes to make sure that it foams.
This tests the potency of the yeast.
Note: if the mixture doesn't foam then your yeast is not good.
In a container of your choice, mix the three and a half cups of flour and make a "well" in the middle of it.
Now add the yeast mixture.
Now add one egg white and stir well into flour.
Add one cup of warm water, or enough to prepare a soft dough.
Knead the dough for several minutes and roll into a ball.
Oil the top of the dough lightly and leave it in the mixing bowl.
Now cover the bowl with a foil or towel and allow the dough time to rise, that is, about forty five minutes to one hour.
In the next step you punch down the dough ball, pull off about half a cup of dough, and roll into a slightly flattened ball.
Prepare six balls.
On a well floured board, roll out each ball, one at a time to circles about twelve inches in diameter.
Now,using a can or cookie cutter that is three inches in diameter, cut out smaller circles from the large circles.
Put one tablespoon of stuffing in the center of each circle.
Now fold the left side and right side of the circle over to meet in the center and bring up the bottom also to meet in the top center.
Now carefully pinch the ends to close the apertures.
There you almost have your bichak! The next step is to paint the tops with egg yolks.
Here's for the baking part of things.
You will need to line the baking pan with lightly oiled aluminum foil.
Then place the tri-corners in the foil.
Preheat the oven to three hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake for about forty minutes, or until brown.
This recipe caters for about forty eight pieces.
You may adjust the ingredients for more or less.
These are best served warm but you may cool and freeze in plastic bags for future use.
After frozen, you will need to thaw out for about half of an hour and heat in a three hundred and fifty degrees preheated oven for five to ten minutes.
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