Balish with raisins
Description
Perfect with tea and coffee. A traditional dish of Tatar and Bashkir cuisine. Sweet balish is a pie with rice and dried fruit; the dough is tender and thin, and there is plenty of filling—it is very tasty. I recommend using short-grain rice so the filling turns out sticky, holds its shape well, and does not fall apart. It does not take very long to prepare, and you will get immense pleasure from it. Be sure to try it. The pastry is ready. Serve at the table.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all the ingredients according to the list. The butter for the dough should be soft—take it out ahead of time and let it come to room temperature. Kefir can be replaced with whey.
- 2
Step 2
Rinse the rice, cover with water, and cook until almost done.
- 3
Step 3
Add 50 grams of butter, 1–2 tbsp sugar, and mix.
- 4
Step 4
Cover with a lid and let cool.
- 5
Step 5
Then add the thoroughly washed raisins.
- 6
Step 6
Wash the dried apricots and cut them into cubes. If necessary, pour boiling water over the dried apricots beforehand.
- 7
Step 7
Mix the rice with the dried fruit. The filling is ready.
- 8
Step 8
In a deep bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and 1 tbsp. sugar.
- 9
Step 9
Add 200 grams of softened butter.
- 10
Step 10
Rub with your hands into crumbs.
- 11
Step 11
Add kefir or whey.
- 12
Step 12
Knead a soft dough; it should not stick to your hands. If the dough is too sticky, you can add a little more flour—I used about 3 more tablespoons.
- 13
Step 13
Divide the ready dough into two parts, one should be slightly larger than the other.
- 14
Step 14
Grease a round baking pan with butter. Roll out most of the dough into a thin sheet. Transfer the sheet of dough into the pan and carefully press it in so that it covers the bottom and sides.
- 15
Step 15
Spread the rice with dried fruit and level with a spatula.
- 16
Step 16
Roll out the remaining dough the same way into a thin sheet and carefully cover the pie with it. Trim off the excess dough.
- 17
Step 17
Pinch the edges of the pie together to form a braided rim. Make a small hole in the center for steam to escape. You can use the remaining dough to shape small figures and use them to decorate the top of the pie.
- 18
Step 18
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.
- 19
Step 19
Sweet balish is ready. Carefully cut off the lid and place a little sliced butter on the still-hot rice.
- 20
Step 20
It can be served hot or cold. If sweet balish is served hot, it is placed on the table whole, right in the baking dish it was baked in.