Piroshki (Pirozhki)

I love rain. Let me rephrase that. I really love heavy rain, thunderstorms and lightening bolts that rip through the sky and in night time they cast daylight in my rooms.
I'm not a summer person, and everything that is not summer puts me in a good mood. Especially a good thunderstorm.
As luck would have it, yesterday was one of those days. Although it was not severe thunderstorm, it did the trick for my mood.
In a lovely evening like that, there's nothing better than staying in and getting busy in the kitchen.
It was Piroshki evening then :)
This recipe is kinda old, and when I say old, I mean more than 20 years old. It was printed into a booklet by the company "Podravka", while they were promoting 2 of their products: "Vegeta" and "Digo yeast".
It was lovingly prepared by my mother and I still have the recipe in the original, unedited version.


So, for 12 medium sized piroshki, you will need:

1 sachet (7 grams) instant yeast
1 tablespoon "Vegeta"
2 tablespoons of milk at room temperature (to 'feed' the yeast)
150 grams potato, boiled and mashed
50 grams of cubed butter at room temperature
150 milliliters of milk
2 egg yolks
350 grams all purpose flour.

And for the filling you will need:
120 grams cubed Cheddar cheese
120 grams cubed ham
120 grams Greek strained yogurt (or soured heavy cream)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
freshly grounded black pepper to taste.

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Method:

In a small cup mix the dry yeast with 2 tablespoons of milk, cover it and let it bubble.
Mix the flour, Vegeta, cubed butter, mashed potato and egg yolks. Add the yeast and the 150ml of milk and bind well. Let it rest for 35-40 minutes while you're preparing the filling by mixing the cubed ingredients with the sour cream/Greek yogurt.
When the dough has rested, take it out from the bowl, cut out 12 even sized pieces and roll each piece on slightly floured surface into rectangular shape, about 4 inches long and 3 inches wide. Put about 1 tablespoon of the prepared filling in the middle and close the piroshki well bu lightly pressing.
As you go along, let the piroshki rest on a lightly floured tray/plate.
Heat the oil well in a pan and according to the pan size, drop 2-3 piroshki in the hot oil until they come out golden on all sides.
Remove them with slotted spoon and let them drain on kitchen paper towels.
Enjoy!