Börek facts for kids
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Meat borek
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| Alternative names | Burek, börek, bourekas, boreg, byrek |
|---|---|
| Type | Savoury pie |
| Course | Tea pastry |
| Region or state | Many |
| Main ingredients | Flaky pastry (usually filo), various fillings |
| Variations | Meat, potatoes, leafy greens, cheese, eggplant, mushrooms |
Borek or burek is a yummy, savory pie. It is made from thin, flaky dough, like filo pastry. Inside, it has many different fillings. You might find meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes.
Borek is very popular in many parts of the world. These include Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), the Balkans, Cyprus, the Middle East, and Central Asia. It is also a favorite in places that were once part of the Ottoman Empire. This includes countries in Eastern Europe and Central Europe, Northern Africa, and Armenia.
You can find borek in different shapes. Sometimes it is baked in a big pan and then cut into pieces. Other times, it is made as small, individual pastries. Most boreks are baked, but some kinds can be fried. People often sprinkle sesame or nigella seeds on top. You can eat borek hot or cold.
In some places, borek is a special breakfast food. Sephardi Jews often eat bourekas for their Saturday morning breakfast. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, people enjoy borek with coffee for breakfast. It is also a common snack with afternoon tea there. In Serbia and North Macedonia, borek is often served with a yogurt drink.
Contents
Where Does Borek Come From?
The name borek comes from the Turkish language word börek. In countries that were once part of Yugoslavia, it is called burek. Other names include byrek in Albania, boureki in Greece, and burekas in Israel.
The Turkish word börek comes from the Persian language word burak. This word means "stew" and refers to any dish made with yufka dough.
Borek might have started in Turkish cuisine or Persian cuisine. Some people think it was created in Central Asia a long time ago. Others believe it came from an old Byzantine dish. This dish was called "cheesy placenta" and was made with layers of dough and cheese. No matter where it started, borek became a very popular food in the Ottoman Empire.
Borek Around the World
Borek is loved in many countries. Especially in North Africa and the Balkans, which were once part of the Ottoman Empire. It is also a special food for Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish communities.
Turkish Borek
In Turkish cuisine, there are many types of börek. Their names often describe their shape, ingredients, or where they come from. Here are some examples:
| Name | What it means | What it's like |
|---|---|---|
| Su böreği | boiled börek; water börek | The dough sheets are briefly boiled. Then they are filled with cheese and greens. It is baked in an oven. |
| Sigara böreği | filo rolls, 'cigarette börek' | Cheese, sausage, or potato filling is wrapped in filo dough. Then it is deep-fried. |
| Paçanga böreği | Pachanga pastry | Filled with dried cured beef (pastırma), cheese, tomato, and green peppers. It is rolled and fried. |
| Talaş böreği | sawdust pastry | Small square börek, often filled with lamb cubes and green peas. It is puffy and crispy. |
| Kol böreği | 'arm börek' | Made in long rolls, either rounded or straight. It can be filled with minced meat, cheese, spinach, or potato. |
| Sarıyer böreği | A smaller, richer version of Kol böreği. It is named after Sarıyer, a district in Istanbul. | |
| Gül böreği | rose börek, spiral börek | Rolled into small spirals, looking like a rose. |
| Çiğ börek | Chebureki | Half-moon shaped börek. It has a thin layer of raw minced meat and onion. It is fried in oil. |
| Töbörek | Another Tatar type, like çiğ börek, but it is baked instead of fried. | |
| Laz böreği | A sweet börek filled with a milk pudding (muhallebi) or custard. It is served with powdered sugar. | |
| Küt Böreği | Similar to Laz böreği, but without the custard filling. It is also called plain börek and served with powdered sugar. |
Borek in Former Yugoslavia
In the countries that were once part of Yugoslavia, burek is a very common dish. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is also called pita. It is made with layers of dough and different fillings. These fillings can be meat, cheese, or even empty (prazan). Today, bakeries offer many fillings like cheese and spinach, apple, sour cherries, or potato. People often drink plain yogurt with it.
Albania
In Albania, this dish is called byrek. In some areas, it is also known as "pite". Byrek is usually made with thin layers of dough rolled by hand. You can find it as small, individual triangles from street vendors. Or it can be a large byrek cut into pieces.
Common fillings include cheese, ground meat and onions, spinach and eggs, or milk and eggs. It can also be made with tomato, peppers, beans, potato, or sweet fillings like pumpkin.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, burek is a meat-filled pastry. It is traditionally rolled into a spiral shape. If it is filled with cottage cheese, it is called sirnica. If it has spinach and cheese, it is zeljanica. With potatoes, it is krompiruša. All of these are generally called pita.
Bulgaria
The Bulgarian version is called byurek. It is a type of banitsa, which is a similar Bulgarian dish. Bulgarian byurek is a banitsa with sirene cheese and eggs added.
In Bulgaria, the word byurek can also mean other dishes made with cheese and eggs. For example, chushka byurek is a roasted pepper filled with cheese.
Romania
In Romania, this food is called "plăcintă". It is often made with cheese or cheese and spinach. In the Dobruja region, you can find both Turkish-style plăcintă and a deep-fried half-moon shaped dough called Suberek.
Serbia
In Serbia, the "round" burek was created in the town of Niš in 1498. It was introduced by a Turkish baker named Mehmed Oğlu. From there, burek spread to other parts of Yugoslavia.
Niš holds a yearly burek competition and festival called Buregdžijada. In 2005, a huge burek weighing 100 kg (220 lbs) was made. It was 2 meters (about 6 feet) wide and was thought to be the biggest burek ever!
Slovenia
In Slovenia, burek is a very popular fast-food dish.
Other Countries
Algeria
In Algeria, this dish is called bourek. It is a tasty roll of pastry filled with meat, onions, and spices. It is a main appetizer in Algerian cuisine. People often eat it when they have guests or during the holy month of Ramadan. It is usually served with Algerian Chorba soup.
Another Algerian type of Bourek is called Brik. It is a specialty of Annaba. It is a savory dish made from a brik leaf, filled with mashed potatoes, minced meat, onions, cheese, and parsley. A raw egg is put on top, and then the brik is folded and fried in hot oil.
Armenia
In Armenia, byorek or borek is made of dough, often filo dough. It is folded into triangles and filled with cheese, spinach, or ground beef. The filling is usually spiced.
Greece
In Greece, boureki or bourekaki are small pastries. They are made with phyllo dough or other pastry crust. Pastries in the borek family are also called pita (pie). Examples are tiropita (cheese pie) and spanakopita (spinach pie).
Galaktoboureko is a sweet phyllo pastry filled with custard and syrup. It is common in Greece and Cyprus. Bougatsa is a Greek type of borek. It has semolina custard, cheese, or minced meat between layers of phyllo. It is very popular in Thessaloniki.
Israel
Burekas have been part of Sephardic Jewish cuisine for a long time. They were brought to Israel by Sephardi Jews. Burekas can have many fillings. Meat is less common in Israel because of Jewish food rules. Most burekas in Israel are made with margarine dough, not butter. This means they can be eaten with either milk or meat meals, following kosher rules.
The most popular fillings are salty cheese, spinach, eggplant, and mashed potato. Other fillings include mushrooms, sweet potato, chickpeas, olives, and pizza flavor.
Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, Burēk is usually made in the Hejaz region. It looks like the Bosnian rolled burek but can also come in other shapes. It is filled with minced meat or salty cheese and dill. It is often served during the month of Ramadan.
Libya
In Libya, this popular dish is known as brik.
Tunisia
In Tunisia, there is a type called brik. It is a thin, crepe-like pastry with a filling. It is usually deep fried. The most famous is the egg brik. This has a whole egg in a triangular pastry pocket. It also has chopped onion, tuna, harissa (a spicy paste), and parsley. The Tunisian brik is also very popular in Israel. It is sometimes served in a pita bread.
See also
In Spanish: Börek para niños
