Vegan soya borek is a delicious, crispy savoury pastry made with phyllo sheets, olive oil and soya filling. The soya is cooked with spices like onion, garlic, spice powders to create a comforting and delicious flavor. When baked with phyllo pastry sheets, it turns super crunchy.
Borek Recipe
During this week's grocery shopping, I ended up buying a large quantity of soya. So, I've already prepared a big batch of soya cutlets for the upcoming week. While stocking things in the refrigerator, I found some unused phyllo sheets and with the remaining soya, I finally thought of making a borek recipe that has on my waiting list recipes to try.
The recipe is so simple to make and you can easily made this vegan borek recipe with a flavourful soya filling. The soya is cooked with olive oil, garlic, onion, spice powders and cinnamon. The soya masala is wrapped inside the phyllo sheets and baked till it is golden crispy.
What is Borek
Borek is a flaky pastry popular in Mediterranean cuisine, especially in Turkey and the Balkans. Traditionally it is made with phyllo sheets or yufka dough and comes with various fillings like spinach, cheese, potato or minced meat.
Borek making process is similar to our puffs, like having crispy layers on the outside and flavourful filling on the inside. But unlike puff pastry, the borek recipe uses thin phyllo sheets, so it will be even lighter and flakier.
Enjoy this crunchy and flavourful borek as a snack or serve as a party appetizer with hummus, mayonnaise or tomato ketchup.
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FAQ
Q. Can I use different filling for borek ?
Absolutely ! You can swap soya filling with other vegetarian options like paneer, potato, spinach, tofu, mushroom or non veg mince like mutton, turkey or chicken. Just make sure to cook the filling until it is completely dry.
Q. Can I use puff pastry sheets instead of phyllo sheets ?
Yes, you can try with puff pastry sheets. But the final output will not be the same. Phyllo sheets tend to be more crispy and flaky, whereas the puff sheets will puff up well, resulting in a thick pastry.
Q. Shall I brush the pastry top with egg ?
Since this recipe is a vegan version, I have used butter to brush the top. You can also brush the top with eggs to achieve the golden, crispy color.
Q. Can I make the filling in advance ?
Yes, you can prepare the filling a night before and assemble them whenever you're ready to bake. You can also use any leftover dry curry as a filling.
Ingredients
Phyllo pastry sheets : I have used store bought phyllo sheets. If you want to make it from scratch, check the homemade phyllo dough recipe in my blog.
Olive oil : Olive oil is used to brush the pastry sheets, which will turn them super flaky and crispy while baking. You can also use a mix of oil and butter for brushing.
Sesame seeds : I have used 2 tablespoons of black sesame seeds. It gives a nice nutty texture and taste while munching warm borek.
Onions : I have added 2 thinly sliced onions. Cook the onion until it caramelizes, so that will add mild sweetness to the filling.
Garlic : Finely chopped garlic is used for its pungent flavour. You can swap with garlic powder or ginger garlic paste.
Soya chunks granules : cooked 4 cups Soya chunks also known as meal maker, is one of the good sources of vegetarian protein. Soak them in hot water for 5 minutes, until it becomes soft. Then squeeze out all the moisture completely, so that the masalas coat really well while cooking and dry. Other vegan filling options to try are potato, tofu, paneer or spinach.
Spice powder : I have used red chilli powder ( 2 teaspoon ), cumin powder ( 2 teaspoon ), garam masala powder ( 1 teaspoon ) , black pepper powder, cinnamon( 1 teaspoon ), and coriander powder ( 2 teaspoon ) to add spice and flavour to the filling.
Tomato sauce or ketchup : I have added ¼ cup of tomato sauce for a mild sweet - tangy flavour.
Expert Tips
Thaw the sheets : Thaw the phyllo pastry sheets and bring it to room temperature before using. Also once you start working with the sheets, cover the rest of the sheet with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out.
Golden crust : Use a pastry brush or spoon to apply a generous amount of butter or oil between each layer of phyllo sheets. This helps to achieve golden crunch on top.
Dry filling : Make sure the filling isn't watery. Cook until all the moisture content has evaporated.
Assembling variations : Here I assembled the borek like a spiral. You can try with other looks like layering the phyllo sheets like lasagne or fold them into triangles like samosa.
Reheating : Don't reheat the borek using a microwave. Instead, reheat them using an oven or air fryer. Preheat the oven or airfryer to 180 degree celsius. Place the borek slices and reheat them for 5 to 8 minutes or until it turns hot and crispy.
Storage & Serving
Store the leftover vegan borek pieces in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Or freeze them for up to a month.
Don't use the microwave to reheat the leftover borek. It will turn soggy, not crispy. To get the perfect flaky and crispy texture, reheat the borek using an oven or air fryer.
Serve the vegan borek with mediterranean dips like hummus, tahini sauce or with tomato ketchup.
Step by Step Pictures
1)Heat oil in a skillet. Add in onions and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes.
2)Add in garlic and mix well. Cook until fragrant.
3)Now add in cooked soya granules and toss that through. Cook for 2 more mins.
4)Now add in all spice powders, salt, pepper.
5)Add in tomato sauce and water. Mix well. Cook for 2 more mins.
6)Now add in cilantro and mix well.
7)Soya filling is ready. Set aside to cool.
8)Now let's assemble borek. Preheat oven to. 180 degree c. Take a large plate or pan and grease generously with oil. Set this aside.
9)take your phyllo pastry.
10)Take 2 sheets of phyllo.
11)and brush it with oil generously.
12)Now spread the filling on it evenly.
13)Start rolling from one side tightly like a log.
14)Now place this over the greased pan and Coil into a spiral. Prepare second log exactly like the first one. Join a second log to the first by stuffing the ends inside each other. Continue forming the spiral. Log sides should be in contact but not tightly squished.
15)Once it is all rolled. Brush top with oil or melted butter generously. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place this into the oven and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.
16)Remove from oven, let it cool slightly. Slice and serve.
17)Enjoy.
📖 Recipe Card
Borek Recipe (Vegan Borek)
Equipment
- Baking tray or pan
- Cooking Skillet
Ingredients
- 8 to 10 sheets phyllo pastry sheets
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
For filling
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large onions peeled and sliced thinly
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 4 cups soya chunks granules cooked (check notes)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- salt to taste
- ¼ cup tomato sauce or ketchup
- ½ cup water
- 4 tablespoon cilantro or coriander leaves chopped finely
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet. Add in onions and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes. Add in garlic and mix well. Cook until fragrant. Now add in cooked soya granules and toss that through. Cook for 2 more mins.
- Now add in all spice powders, salt, pepper, tomato sauce and water. Mix well. Cook for 2 more mins. Now add in cilantro and mix well. Soya filling is ready. Set aside to cool.
- Now let's assemble borek. Preheat oven to. 180 degree c. Take a large plate or pan and grease generously with oil. Set this aside.
- Take 2 sheets of phyllo and brush it with oil generously. Now spread the filling on it evenly. Start rolling from one side tightly like a log. Now place this over the greased pan and Coil into a spiral. Prepare second log exactly like the first one. Join a second log to the first by stuffing the ends inside each other. Continue forming the spiral. Log sides should be in contact but not tightly squished.
- Once it is all rolled. Brush top with oil or melted butter generously. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place this into the oven and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from oven, let it cool slightly. Slice and serve.
Notes
How to cook soya granules
For 4 cups of cooked soya kheema. Take 200 grams of soya granules in a bowl. Pour over hot water over it and give a quick mix. Let it sit for 4 minutes. Strain this through a fine sieve. Rinse under cold water. Squeeze and extract as much liquid as possible. Use as requiredNotes
- Instead of soya granules you can use any crumbled vegan meat substitute. You can use any ground meat like chicken, turkey, lamb also.
- You can use any filling of your choice in this. Cheese would be perfect too.
Nutrition
If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @aarthi198689@gmail.com and I'll help as soon as I can.
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