Empanada – A Delicious Versatile Dish
One of the most universal foods that is made in almost all cultures on the planet is empanada. This versatile food is either sweet or savory, and can be eaten anytime – at breakfast, lunch or dinner and anywhere in between, to satisfy you like a full meal. The most attractive part is its sealed edge which you can make in various ways, either by hand or with a fork. Because of this decorative edge, empanada looks even more appealing.
Empanada is a well-known food in almost all cultures in the world and has various names in those cultures, like dumplings, hand pies, Cuban pastelitos, Brazilian pastel, British or Cornish pasties, Indian gujiyas or karanjis, bolani, empanadilla, Indonesian panada, and so on. It may be vegetarian or non-vegetarian and can be served alone or with sauces for dipping. One of the most popular sauces served with empanada is the Argentinean chimichurri sauce. Also you can bake them or deep fry them, or even cook them on a grill or griddle.
Filling
As said earlier, empanada is extremely versatile. You can stick to the traditional recipes or can even create your own and enjoy it. However, in general, you don’t have to scratch your head to innovate a new filling as you can get so many of them. Some popular fillings are:
- Beef or chicken spiced with paprika and cumin
- Boiled egg, onion, raisins and olives
- Beef, onion, tomato and lemon juice
- Ground beef, black olives, onions, hard boiled eggs and raisins (pino from Chile)
- Clams, crabs, sea snails or special oysters named crassostrea and cheese
- Fruits like pears or apples
- Vegetables (often chard), chicken, cheese, fish (salmon, galaxias or mackerel), napolitanas (ham, cheese, oregano and tomato sauce) and cochayuyo
- Khoya, sugar and dry fruits (Indian gujiya)
- Rava, sugar, dry fruits and desiccated coconut (Indian karanji)
- Bengal gram flour, sugar, dry fruits and desiccated coconut (Indian karanji)
- Spiced tuna or cakalang fish (skipjack tuna) (Indonesian panada)
- Cauliflower, chard, almonds, spinach, onion, pine nuts or raisins (Spain)
And there are many more!
Dough
The dough of empanada is also of various types, though the most popular is of wheat flour. Plus it can be made of corn flour or corn meal, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mashed plantains, cassava or yucca and more. Even sweet empanada dough can be made with chocolate, almond flour, flavored with citrus rind, clove and cinnamon, and many other flavors. You can even use whole wheat flour or organic flour to make your own healthy dough.
Sealing the Edge
Once you make the filling, the rest in making the empanada is easy. But presentation is important and it is seen when you seal the edges of an empanada in a decorative way. You can do it with your hands or a simple fork. But here is the most convenient empanada fork with which you can easily seal your empanada’s edges in a most beautiful way.
So, make this delicious dish and get praises from your family and friends.
