2014 Cooking Club Week 29: Žagarėliai

BaZmO*

Žagarėliai is a traditional Lithuanian dish, that apparently was normally made as a snack for kids, but to me it seems more a snack that you'd have with a cup of tea or coffee.
My OH is Lithuanian so that’s where I got the inspiration for this dish, and I also can’t take credit for the cooking as she made them.
Even though they are deep fried, they're a really light snack. When cooked they puff up leaving a crispy outside.

They are super simple to make, with a minimal amount of ingredients, most of which you'd have in the cupboard.


Žagarėliai


INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Eggs
• 50g Sour Cream
• 1tbsp Sugar
• 230g Plain Four (plus some for rolling out)
• 0.5 to 1 litre of Sunflower Oil
• Pinch of Salt
• Icing Sugar (depending on your taste)

Step 1 – Preparation

• Gather all your ingredients (not many to gather!)

Step 2 – Mixing

• Mix the eggs, sugar, salt and sour cream
• Sift in the flour
• Mix until everything is combined, then work the dough with your hands, (bashing it a bit on the counter top until it becomes a bit elastic)
• Leave it to rest for at least 30mins

Step 3 – Rolling

• Roll the dough out to about 1mm thick
• Cut into strips about 25mm (an inch) wide
• Cut into rectangles on an angle (so essentially a parallelogram/diamond shape)
• Cut a little slit in the middle of each one
• This is the only tricky bit. Fold one end into the slit and pull it back on itself to form a ribbon/bow-tie type shape.

Step 4 – Cooking

• Put oil into pot and heat
• Depending on the size of your pan, cook them in batches of 5/6 at a time making sure to turn them once the first side becomes golden brown
• Once cooked place them into paper towel lined bowl and dust them with Icing Sugar.

Enjoy!

The Hill Billy

They look fab!

Staph

Hi, they look lovely! How much granulated sugar is added?

BaZmO*

Staph wrote: »

Hi, they look lovely! How much granulated sugar is added?

Whoops! Forgot to list the sugar. It's 1 tablespoons.

I also forgot to add a photo of the inside of one once they're cooked.

Staph

Thanks! Think I'll have to give them a go.

dimple_smile

Omg first you forget to put the quantity and then you get it wrong.... It's one (1) tablespoon of sugar

Mr E

Tune in for Cooking Club Week 30, where you will learn how to pronounce them

They look great, BaZ!

Neyite

Ooh they look nice How long would they keep for once you made them?


And can you tell us how to pronounce them?

BaZmO*

Neyite wrote: »

Ooh they look nice How long would they keep for once you made them?

Any time I've had them they were gone by the next day so I'm not sure. I'll find out for you.

Neyite wrote: »

And can you tell us how to pronounce them?

I'll ask the boss when I get home. I asked when I was putting up the recipe but I didn't have the patience to try and spell it phonetically.

oscarBravo

Ooh, they look very similar to Danish klejner - if they taste anything like them, they're gorgeous!

BaZmO*

oscarBravo wrote: »

Ooh, they look very similar to Danish klejner - if they taste anything like them, they're gorgeous!

Wow, they really do look similar. The ingredients seem to be a little bit different though, no sour cream in the klejner's. Actually, I've always thought the addition of the sour cream seemed odd.

BaZmO*

Shza ga ree-ay lay, is how they're pronounced phonetically. That's why I always refer to them as the "fried Lithuanian things"

Mrs Fox

These were lighter than I thought, and quite addictive. Managed to get about 42. They cook quicker than you think.
Thanks Bazmo.

Mrs Fox

Hmmmm I'm even toying with the idea of making these savoury. Maybe spring onions & crispy bacon bits?

BaZmO*

Mrs Fox wrote: »

These were lighter than I thought, and quite addictive. Managed to get about 42. They cook quicker than you think.
Thanks Bazmo.

They look great Mrs Fox, glad you liked them.

Yeah they're actually deceptively light. You'd imagine that they'd be heavy and doughy like doughnuts because they're fried, but not at all, they're really light......and very addictive! I always end up saying, "Just one more!" until there are none left.

Neyite

These really are lovely! These would be lovely being dipped in whipped cream while you are eating them.

BaZmO*

Neyite wrote: »

These really are lovely! These would be lovely being dipped in whipped cream while you are eating them.

Cool. Glad you liked them. I reckon they'd be lovely with a chocolate sauce too.

Neyite

BaZmO* wrote: »

Cool. Glad you liked them. I reckon they'd be lovely with a chocolate sauce too.

Oh Jesus, you are right!

Mrs Fox

Made these again, with nutella dip. My my my. Zagarelicious.
I only used half the dough though, the other half will be for guests coming over tomorrow.

BaZmO*

Mrs Fox wrote: »

Made these again, with nutella dip. My my my. Zagarelicious.

Ha! I must remember that!

blueshed

Will give them a try next week and suprise the Lithuanian lads i work with.

BaZmO*

blueshed wrote: »

Will give them a try next week and suprise the Lithuanian lads i work with.

Are you gonna try and pronounce them too?