I bet you anything that if you ask any Iranian how they feel about Persian Pirashki, they will start salivating. I personally LOVE Persian Pirashki. There are a few dishes in the Persian Cuisine that were originally Russian. The fact that we have some similar dishes is no surprise at all given the history of our region. Another reason is also the fact that some Iranians were sent to Russian boarding schools. In fact my own maternal grandmother and her siblings and cousins attended boarding school in Russia for a good few years. I loved my grandmother’s cooking and wonder if she got some of her inspiration from her childhood years spent abroad.
A few weeks ago I purchased the Piroshki that you see in these photos from the one place where, in my humble opinion, sells the best: Jordan Market in Westwood. For me this is one of those treats that I allow myself to have once in a while. I was thinking about trying to make them on my own to post them here. It was a very ambitious moment which came to a screeching halt when I called my Russian mom. Well she is not really my mom, biologically, but I call her my Russian mom because she is like a second mom. Her name is Mela and I met her eight years ago. We were office-mates and she is one of the most kindest and generous people I have ever met. I called her to ask her for the recipe for the dough, before I started researching how Persians make it. I figured it is best to go to the expert source. The conversation went something like this:
“Mela Joon, how do you make your dough for Piroshki?”
“You buy the dough for bread and fill it up with meat or cabbage.” (said with a exquisite Russian accent)
“Bread dough??? WHAT?”
“Yes, it is so easy!”
“But bread dough won’t go well with custard, it is too doughy. It needs to be fluffy”
Come to find out that Russians don’t make Piroshki with custard like we do. “There is no such thing as sweet Piroshki” Mela said with a stern voice. Ya know like what are you talking about? Have you lost your mind? Oh boy! So I go on and on telling her that’s how Persians eat it. Poor Mela said with complete bewilderment and disbelief, “how can Piroshki be with custard?” Like what have you crazy Persians gone and done with our Piroshki? And I laughed and laughed!
Here is my conclusion about this subject matter. Persians stole the idea of Pirashki from the Russians and made it into their own by doing what the Russians didn’t think of doing: adding a delicious custard. Frankly, I say it’s genius. Don’t get me wrong, you have not lived until you have Mela’s cabbage Piroshki or her pancakes for that matter, but there is something so incredibly delicious about these Piroshkis, see for your self!
Anyway, this is what happens when you bite into a PERSIAN Piroshki
You take a bite and there it is the deliciousness of the custard. So delicately sweet and smooth!
It just oozes out of the Piroshki. YUM!
If you live in LA, do yourself a favor: stop by Jordan Market and get yourself one of these. Make sure to stop by in the morning when they are still nice and warm. 
Hi Mela! you believe me now??!!
Does anyone have a recipe for the dough? The Persian dough that is!
I absolutely love Persian cuisine! I learned how to make a few dishes but had no idea about this one that you just described! Looks heavenly indeed!
Actually, in my humble opinion, I would look for inspiration in the French repertoire. The French have a bread similar to the one you just described that uses brioche dough (with yeast in it) and has a filling of custard made of crème patissière, or pastry cream. It is a recipe from Brittany, I think. In any case, it looks just like this one, and they sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.
tasteofbeirut,
thanks for the suggestion, I will most definitely look into it! The French indeed The French most definitely know a thing or two about such things!
Have you ever visited the Armenian eating establishments in Glendale. Ghannady Shahreza has excellent pirashki among other thins and Paradise Bakery serves fresh hot Armenian food on demand.
Maybe we need to go on a field trip there one time.
No, I have never heard of them before. I don’t go to Glendale often, and the few times that I have gone there, to be honest I made a quick stop at Porto’s! I’d go anywhere on a field trip with you Moujan khan!!!
Pirashki has a sister called “Ponchik”. I remember buying this when I was in high school. No-one had heard of cholesterol in those days! I love to make one of these but have no idea how to do it. Here is a photo I found from an Armenian store that makes them:
http://www.pbase.com/breider/image/63517035
Please let us know how to make these.
Oh la la! Here is yet another recipe to look for.
They look delicious, what’s in them?
No idear…It has a been a while since high school…I know it was sweet and breakfasty. My thought is that it is the middle eastern response to donuts but I know I may get arrested by a cop over this comment. I say a lemon custard would be a good start.
Have no fears Hungry Tiger, I called my trusted Armenian friend and he is going to ask his mom for the recipe!
Hungry Tiger, Do you have a recipe for Ponchik? I have not had one for 35 years.
Hello,
We make Pirashky once a month but we fill it with meat and vegis. I tried it with custard too, but I dont remember the recipe for it. Here is the recipe I use for the dough:
Yeast 1pkg,
Warm Water 1 cup,
Sugar 1tbs,
Salt 1/2 tsp,
Oil 3 tbs,
Yogurt 1 cup,
Eggs 2
Flour 2-3 cups
Combine first 3 ingredients and let rest for 5 minutes.
Then add next 3 and combine them well.
Add the flour 1 cup at the time, and mix well, you might need more or less flour. Kneed for few minutes (The dough should be smooth and not sticking to your hand) and let rest for an hour.
Mahnaz Khanoom, you are my HERO!!! I am definitely going to make it!
I made a mistake in my post. The second group of addition has 4 ingridient and i said 3, sorry about that.
Also, the dough should be fried first and then be filled with custard.
I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you SO much Mahnaz khanoom!
Pirashki
from Farah’s persian cooking
Farah Aryanpand
600gr plain flour
4 large eggs
1 1/2 plain yogurt
1tsp baking soda (jush-e shirin, not baking powder)
1Tbsp yeast
4 Tbsp oil
2Tbsp sugar
mix eggs, sugar and oil
mix baking soda, dreied yeast and yogurt , add to rest of the mixture and stir
Add flour and mix thouroughly, cover and set aside 3 hours
pn a flour dusted board, flatten dough with a rolling pin, cut into cirles, fill , press open edges together and fry
I never had a pirashki with custard, my favorite was with albaloo or meat
For the person asking about Pontchik nun kjameyi
make a pate a chou dough, and bake
the filling is sweet whip cream +1 egg white
Thank you Vivi! We will definitely try your recipe!
The sweet pirashki is delicious, but sadly in Iran whenever I used to buy them 9 out of ten times it would be stale and hard. I actually have fond memories of the handful of times as a kid I managed to get fresh ones from the shop.
The savory style are actually pretty popular in Iran as well, I assume they’re a lot like the Russian ones. My favourite kind was the type with some kind of sausage/pepperoni and bell peppers. It’s kinda like the pizza pockets here except the ones here are gross and too saucy, and the sauce tastes like corn syrup…
By the way, for those wondering ponchik is basically the same thing as the sweet pirashki posted here. The filling is the same as far as I can remember, except the bread is a tiny bit more dense and crusty at the edges unlike the pirashki which is all soft.
Both are good… now I’m so hungry.