Pizza Pockets / Kıymalı Pişi

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Jul 19

Grandma’s savoury doughnuts for a vibrant morning

Here is a crazy delicious, crispy, juicy, and very easy breakfast recipe for you. All you need is a pocket of frozen pizza dough or a fresh bread dough!
Fresh bread dough is very commonly available in Istanbul, at neighbourhood bakeries.
In fact, every Istanbul household has quick recipes for fried or baked bread dough. Stuffed or plain fried pizza pockets were the treats of family breakfasts, especially on the cherished weekends of my childhood!
A glass of hot Turkish tea is one of my favourites for a breakfast with grandma’s pizza pockets.
Crispy, soft, and juicy; these pockets make your morning peerless!

Pizza Pockets / Kıymalı Pişi:
Grandma’s savoury doughnuts for a vibrant morning

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Ingredients

1 bag of pizza dough (or 1 bread dough)

For the filling:

300 g ground beef
1 shallot
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground black pepper

For frying:

3 cups grape seed oil (or fine vegetable oil)

Notes from the Kitchen

Use fresh dough for the best result. If the dough is frozen, thaw it in the fridge for 1 night then rise for 1-2 hours at room temperature.
Do not leave the pan unattended while the pizza pockets are cooking.
Keep the oil heat stable by adding new uncooked pizza pockets.

Directions

PREPARATION
Prepare the rest of the breakfast dishes and drinks first, since pizza pockets are best served fresh!
Pour 1 cup of water in a small bowl to prevent the stickiness of the dough.
Cover a sieve with 1-2 layers of paper towel to drain excess oil.
Place fresh dough on a large plate.
Pour 3 cups of oil into a deep-frying pan and heat the oil on the medium-high setting.

SHAPING
Lightly wet your fingers with water. Take a walnut-sized dough, form a little pizza round. Place a tbsp od filling and carefully close the dough by sticking the edges together.
Make sure filling is thoroughly covered with dough for easy cooking: 1. Keep the filling in the center of the dough, so the edges stick well! 2. Do NOT leave holes in the dough! 3. Before submerging them into oil, rest for 1-2 minutes. Any small holes will then become visible. Fix them before submerging in the oil!

COOKING
Once the oil is bubbling around the dough, submerge the pizza pockets slowly into it.
Make sure each one has enough space in the oil.
They will double in size and flip in the oil as they cook.
Place the golden-brown pockets on to the paper towel covered sieve to drain excess oil.
Continuously add new uncooked pizza pockets into the pan to maintain the heat of the oil. Empty pan means very hot oil! Your pockets might burn or hot oil may splatter dangerously!
Once the cooking is completed, transfer the pockets on to a serving plate and serve fresh.

SERVING

Stuffed or plain fried pizza pockets were the treats of family breakfasts, especially on the cherished weekends of my childhood! Crispy, soft, and juicy; These pockets make your morning peerless!
Some like them as is, some add feta, olive, or jam to enrich every bite!
I strongly recommend this very easy and tasty journey with your family.
Enjoy playing around with the dough for delicious new discoveries! Simple and cozy!

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