Money Packs

This entails a detailed job but it’s worth every bite! I think it would have been easier if I have a short pastry but unfortunately, I can’t find it in the grocery store here, so for pastry needs, I’m doing it at home. I wouldn’t mind though.

Here’s how:

Meat Filling:
½ Kilo ground meat
1 white onion (Finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
Salt and pepper
Red pepper (finely chopped)

Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl making sure all the ingredients are well incorporated. Do this ahead while making the pastry.

Pastry dough:
3 cups flour
Pinch of salt
100 g butter, chopped

2-3 tablespoons iced water

Procedure:

In bowl of flour add knobs of butter and a pinch of salt. Work on the butter by pressing them with your finger tips; coating the butter with the flour, until the butter is well mixed with the flour. This will give a crumbly mixture. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing each addition until it forms a soft dough. Turn mixture into floured board. Knead until the dough becomes fine. Add more flour if necessary. Shape the dough into a log. Cut into 3 portions. While working with 1 portion, refrigerate the other two portions. Flatten each portion as flat as possible using a rolling pin. Cut into 3 inch square. Put 1 teaspoon meat mixture into each square and gather the ends at the top of the meat. Do this by lifting the diagonal opposite sides of the dough; seal partially by pressing just before the edges and do the same with the other two sides. Carefully press the edges all together to seal, forming a sack of money with a little handle.

Optionally, cut ½ cm of the edge of the dough, forming like a string and use this to seal each pack of meat by pressing the meeting ends. Leave an extra string to it would look more realistic like a pack of money tied with a string.
Place the packed meat in a flat plate lined with plastic to avoid the dough from sticking to the plate. Refrigerate for 20 minutes before frying. This allows the dough to be firm.

Deep fry few at a time until golden brown with a moderately fire, but not very slow. The dough absorbs a lot of oil if the oil is not so hot. Heat up the oil first and turn the fire moderately slow after adding the money packs.