
About This Recipe
Most families have someone with a signature dish. In my family, that someone is my sister, Rosa. The dish she's known for is the focus of this post. Since she works out of the country, we don't get to see each other very often.
Luckily, we were able to plan our trips to Chicago during the same period. I decided to take advantage of this rare occurrence by planning a day of cooking with her.
How to Make This Recipe
STEP 1: Brown ground beef in a skillet, breaking up any large clumps. Add minced onion to the pan. Saute until soft.
STEP 2: Sprinkle salt, pepper, and remaining spices over the meat. Add parsley and cook for an additional minute. Set aside to cool.
STEP 3: When the filling is ready, place one egg roll wrapper in front of you. Add approximately two tablespoons of filling close to the bottom edge of the wrapper.
STEP 4. Lift the bottom edge of the egg roll wrapper over the filling. Next, fold the sides of the wrappers over the filling and roll all the way up. Seal the corner with a dab of water, and repeat.
STEP 5. Heat oil in a large frying pan to 375-degrees F. Carefully place a few Bourak in the pan. Fry until golden brown, and do the same with the rest.
STEP 6. Drain fried Bourak on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve while hot.
Bourak Varieties
While trying to decide how to spell the name of this recipe, I found many alternative spellings online.
Bourek, borek, and burek, are some examples. For the purposes of this recipe, I'll be referring to them as "
I also discovered a lot more nationalities make them than I originally thought. Some of these nationalities include Croatians, Algerians, Turks, Greeks, Arabs, and of course, Assyrians.
While my family mainly makes meat-filled bour
The origins of this dish date back to the Ottoman Empire. However, their "borek" was prepared as a
Although I plan to write a post for the cheese-filled variety in a future post, today I'm sharing my sister, Rosa's, recipe.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Bourak can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.
- Toss the Bourak in cornstarch before refrigerating them to keep them from sticking to eachother or to the plate.
- To reheat cooked bourak, use a toaster oven or an air fryer. If you use a microwave, they will be soft and soggy instead of crispy, as they are intended to be.
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📖 Recipe
Middle Eastern Egg Rolls (Bourak)
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef 15% fat
- 1 small white onion minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon curry
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- ¼ cup Italian parsley chopped
- 1 package eggroll wrappers
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in a skillet, breaking up any large clumps. Add minced onion to the pan, and saute until soft.
- Sprinkle salt, pepper, and remaining spices over the meat. Add chopped parsley and cook for an additional minute. Set aside to cool.
- When the filling is ready, place one egg roll wrapper in front of you. Add approximately two tablespoons of filling close to the bottom edge of the wrapper.
- Lift the bottom edge of the egg roll wrapper over the filling. Next, fold the sides of the wrappers over the filling and roll up. Seal the corner with a dab of water, and repeat.
- Heat oil in a large frying pan to 375-degrees F. Carefully place a few bourak in the pan. Fry until golden brown, and do the same with the rest.
- Drain fried bourak on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve while hot.
Notes
- Bourak can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.
- Toss the Bourak in cornstarch before refrigerating them to keep them from sticking to each other or to the plate.
- To reheat cooked bourak, use a toaster oven or an air fryer. If you use a microwave, they will be soft and soggy instead of crispy, as they are intended to be.
Raman Michael says
Authentic Assyrian style Bourak like I remember my Mom making. Thank you!
HildaSterner says
Thank you so much, Raman. I really appreciate your review and I'm glad you approve of this recipe. 😘
angie Toulakany says
I am so happy to find you here finally . I have introduced you to our children and they are very excited keep up the good I am very proud to be Assyrian. Basimta.
HildaSterner says
Hi Angie
Basimta raba! XO
Edison youkhana says
I love Bourak. Thanks for the recipe.
HildaSterner says
Hi Edison, You wouldn't be Assyrian if you didn't love bourak, right? Hope you give the recipe a try! Thanks for your comment 🙂