Sha balep means meat bread, which is the whole description. Two rounds of dough are sealed around spiced mince and fried until the outside blisters and cracks. In central Tibet some people eat them at breakfast, though lunch or dinner with a bowl of rutang alongside is more usual, and in exile they are the first plate emptied at any Tibetan gathering. Yak is the meat at home, beef in the diaspora and buffalo across the border in Nepal, where they have become a Kathmandu street food in their own right and where Sherpa kitchens claim them as much as Tibetan ones. The shape has entered the language. There is a Tibetan expression that runs roughly as step out of line and I will give you a sha balep, which is to say you will get a slap, because that is exactly what a flat round pastry the size of a palm looks like.
INGREDIENTS
- 300 g plain flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 180 ml water
- 400 g beef mince (15 to 20 percent fat)
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 100 g spinach (finely chopped)
- a handful of coriander (chopped)
- 1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (for the filling)
- 300 ml vegetable oil (for frying)
METHOD
- Mix the flour, salt and water into a firm dough, knead for 8 minutes until smooth, then cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Combine the mince with 1 tbsp of the oil, the salt, ground peppercorns and coriander, then fold in the onion, garlic and spinach.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and cook the mixture over a medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until the beef has browned and the spinach collapsed. Spread it on a plate and leave until completely cold.
- Divide the dough into sixteen pieces and roll each into a thin round about 8cm across.
- Put a heaped tablespoon of the cold filling onto one round, lay a second round on top, and press the edges flat together.
- Crimp the whole way round, folding the sealed rim over on itself in small pleats so there is no gap anywhere.
- Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to a medium heat. Lower in two or three at a time and fry for 3 to 4 minutes a side, spooning hot oil over the top surface as they cook, until blistered and deep gold.
- Drain briefly on paper and eat hot, with a bowl of clear soup and a chilli sauce alongside.