Karelian pasties (Karjalanpiirakat in Finnish) are traditional pasties from North Karelia, Finland. Today they are eaten throughout Finland. According to the traditional recipe, the pasties are made from a thin rye crust with a filling of rice. Butter, often mixed with boiled egg (munavoi), is spread over the hot pasties before eating.
There are also versions with carrot or potato filling.
Ingredients
Filling
- 500 ml boiling water
- 300 ml short-grain white rice
- 900 ml milk
- 1½ tsp salt
Crust
- 200 ml cold water
- 1½ tsp salt
- 350 ml rye flour
- 150 ml wheat flour
Moistening
- 100 ml milk
- 50 g butter
Egg-butter spread (munavoi)
- 50 g butter, softened
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- ¼ tsp salt (optional)
- ½ can (125 g) cottage cheese (optional)
Procedure
Filling
- Mix the rice into the boiling water. Boil until the water has saturated the rice.
- Add the milk, and stir the filling for a few minutes. Reduce heat and agitate the porridge. Cook for about 40 minutes. Stir the porridge every now and then. When the porridge is ready, it will seem thick.
- Mix in the salt, and cool the porridge.
Crust
- Mix the flours and salt into the cold water.
- Knead the dough until smooth and pliable.
- Shape the dough into a block, and divide it into about twenty pieces.
- Roll the pieces into balls, flatten them into small discs, and cover them with plastic.
- Roll out the discs into thin circles, approximately 17 cm in diameter.
Baking
- Spread some of the rice filling in an oblong shape on each dough circle.
- Crimp the edges together with your fingers to make a crust.
- Bake the pasties at about 250–300°C for about 15 minutes, until the crust is browned.
Finishing
- Heat the butter and milk together until the butter is melted.
- Brush the pasties with hot milk and butter.
- Lay the pasties on each other and rest them under a towel and baking paper.
- Beat together the munavoi ingredients, and use it as butter on the pasties.