1885. Cypriot Basturma and Haloomi Pitas

Almost ten years ago (!) I published a recipe on freezer Iraqi basturma. It is completely different from the Armenian basturma. These Cypriot basturmas follow a very similar pattern wherein the meat is heavily spiced and garlicked. Freezing them into mini-rods makes the slicing easier. 

Pita bread is stuffed with the bastruma and haloomi slices, and is then cooked. Meliz, the Cypriot cook behind this recipe, cooks them over coals, barbecue style. You can also cook them in a pan or airfryer.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp + 1tsp (20g sea salt flakes)

1 Tbsp black peppercorns

2 tsp fenugreek seeds

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp granulated sugar

25g garlic, crushed / finely grated

2 Tbsp (30g) sweet paprika

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp (20g) hot paprika

1 Tbsp (15g) cumin

1 kg beef mince (at least 15% fat) or a combination of beef and lamb mince (no less than 50% beef mince)

Method:

Grind the sea salt, black peppercorns, fenugreek, coriander seeds and sugar together in a pestle and mortar until almost powder-like then add to the mince with the rest of the ingredients. Mix everything together really well with your hands until all the spices have dispersed into the mince as evenly as possible. Pan fry a little of the mixture (no oil needed) and taste. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 24 hours. After 24 hours, divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and roll each one into a sausage shape and tightly wrap them individually in cling film. Freeze until fully frozen, then slice from frozen and fry on a low heat (no oil needed) or pack into pita, with a slice of haloomi, and cook on the BBQ over low coals or brush the pita with a little olive oil and pan fry over a low heat, pushing down with a saucepan lid until the haloomi softens, the basturma is fully cooked, juicy and releases its oils and the pita is crispy.

صحة و عافية