Sfiha (Meat Pie)
Sfiha dates back to the fifteenth century.
It is a delicious meat pie known in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and South America because of Middle Eastren immigrants.
Sfiha is popular in all countries because it is cheap and easy to prepare. There are two ways to bake Sfihas in the oven: folded into a triangular pastry like Fatayer, and open-faced (4 inches round flat bread); with various toppings, including cheese, curd, lamb, beef or vegetables.
Sfiha has many other names such as: Arab Pizzas or Lahm Bi Ajin.
The main ingredients of Sfiha are: meat, onions, tomatoes, pine nuts, salt, pepper (variations like pomegranate molasses or chili are added depending on the taste). It is served with Sour Yogurt.
Ingredients
Filling:
1kg beefor lamb meat, finely minced
1onion, finely grated
1tomato, peeled and grated
1tablespoon olive oil
1tablespoon pomegranate molasses or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1tablespoon pine nuts
Dough:
3cups white flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1tablespoon instant yeast
2tablespoon milk powder
1/3cup vegetable oil
Preparation
1. In a medium size bowl, combine flour, salt, milk powder, yeast, and vegetable oil. Rub the mixture together until oil is well combined into the flour. Add 1 cup of warm water gradually while kneading using one hand. Add another quarter cup of warm water if the dough is still too dry. Add some vegetable oil to your both hands and try to form the dough to a ball. Cover the bowl with plastic bag and leave it in a warm dark place for about 40 minutes to rest.
2. Meanwhile, combine all filling ingredients in another bowl except for the pine nuts and put it aside until the dough is ready.
3. Cut the dough into egg size balls and put them in a pan greased with vegetable oil. Spread dough balls a little, enough to add 1 tablespoon of beef filling to each of them. Add couple of pine nuts to the dough pieces. Press the beef filling firmly into the middle of dough pieces.
4. Place the pan in the bottom shelf of preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until the dough pieces are golden. Place the pan in the middle shelf to get a golden color from the top for about 5 minutes.
5 .Serve hot with Yogurt.
Hamsa.Zugheb