Ingredients for Pastırma Börek Rolls (Pastırmalı Sarma Börek)
- 1 sheet yufka (thin Turkish phyllo-like dough)
- 200 g (about 7 oz) pastırma (Turkish air-dried cured beef)
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 water glass (about 200 ml / 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) yogurt
- 1/2 tea glass (about 50 ml / 3 tbsp) vegetable oil
- 1/2 water glass (about 100 ml / 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) water
How to Make Pastırma Börek Rolls (Pastırmalı Sarma Börek)
- In a bowl, whisk together 1 egg and 1 water glass of yogurt. Add half a tea glass of vegetable oil and half a water glass of water, then mix everything together.
- Lay out 1 sheet of yufka and generously brush the mixture over it. Repeat this process for each of the 3 yufka sheets one by one. Cut the prepared yufka sheets into triangles, as you would for sigara böreği (cigar-shaped fried pastry rolls). Place the 200 g of chopped pastırma inside and roll them up just like sigara böreği. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, arrange the böreks on it, brush the tops with 1 egg yolk, and bake in the oven.
About This Recipe
The history of pastırma traces back to the food culture of nomadic Central Asian Turks. Being both nomadic and warrior in their way of life, the Central Asian Turks always carried salted pieces of beef and other animal meat with them to keep moving on horseback without losing time and to avoid running out of nourishment. They transported these cuts of meat sometimes stuffed inside leather pouches, and sometimes tied to the horse's saddle and pressed between their legs. During these journeys that lasted for weeks, these compressed, salted pieces of meat would transform into pastırma.
Pastırma is such an important food that the famous Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi mentions it in his travelogue with the following words: "Nowhere else can you find the cumin-spiced beef pastırma, known by the name 'lahm-ı kadit,' or the musky meat sucuk (Turkish spiced beef sausage). They are sent as gifts to Istanbul."
Today's soft Pastırma Börek Rolls recipe is at least as delicious as our Beef Pastırma Tray Börek recipe. Enjoy the cooking!
