Recipe File: Beef Empanadas

Empanadas, are a Mexican snack. They're little turnovers or hand pies.

 They’re very versatile and be fried or baked. The best part is you can be as creative as you want with Empanada fillings.There are no specifics and in fact I would say Empanadas are the perfect way to use leftovers. Make the dough and use anything you have on hand to fill and fry! 

For Hope's Mexican Fiesta, I made the Empanadas with a beef filling. I also modified rather added Goan touched to it to suit my guests taste buds. You can substitute it with Chicken or mutton mince. One can even add some chopped boiled eggs to it. Here is our version of these tasty morsels.

FRIED BEEF EMPANADAS

Ingredients

Dough:
350 gms all purpose flour
1 tsp powdered sugar
100 gms  butter, chilled and cubed
100 gms margarine (I used Nutralite), chilled and cubed
120 mls (about 1/2 cup)ice cold water

Seive the flour and sugar into a large bowl. Add the butter and shortening cubes t
to the flour mix. Using a pastry cutter or a fork quickly cut the fat in the flour till it looks like coarse meal or fat breadcrumbs. There should be tiny peices of the fat throughout  the flour.
Add the ice cold water in tiny increments stirring it into the flour mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Once the dough comes together in large lumps,stop
Flour a cool kitchen surface and transfer dough onto it.The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky. Using floured hands, fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated into the fats. Form it into a ball. Divide dough into two. Wrap tightly with cling film and keep in the fridge till filling is ready and cool.

Filling:
500 gms ground Beef/ chicken/mutton mince
1 heaped tbsp Goan Green Masala* 
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 large onions, chopped fine
1 large tomato, chopped
3 tbsp tomato puree
5-6 large cloves of garlic peeled and chopped 
1 heaped tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sugar
salt
Oil
water

Put the ground meat into a large bowl. Add the Green Masala,vinegar and salt to taste. Let it sit for a bit.
Heat oil in a large pan. Add chopped onions and fry till pale. Throw in the chopped tomato and season with salt. Fry till both are soft and cooked through. Add the chopped garlic and fry till fragrant. Add the ground beef at this point and fry off. Once the meat has browned and released water add the tomato puree, spices, herbs and sugar. Season with salt.Add a couple of tablespoons of water. Stir well and cook till meat is cooked through and the mixture is dry. Cool completely.

Assembly:
Take out one ball of the dough and on a floured surface roll out the dough thinly. Use a round cutter or a large glass overturned to cut out round shapes.Spoon a bit of the filling in and wet the edge of the dough circle.
Press together to join. You can fold the edges or press a fork along the edge to seal and make it pretty. Repeat this process till all dough or filling is over. You can refrigerate the uncooked empanadas for up to 3 hours.
Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Fry the empanadas until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Serve and Enjoy!