Crispy Bubble Chebureki with Vodka Dough
Golden, juicy, beautiful - simply the best! Vodka chebureki turn out very crunchy with lots of bubbles. The dough is made using a scalded method, so it doesn’t take long. Kefir adds a light tang to the filling, and together with onion makes it extra juicy.
Updated : 18 February, 2026
Easy
About 1 hour.
Ingredients
Dough
2 cup
Wheat flour
150 milliliters
Water
1 tablespoon
Vodka
1
Chicken eggs
1 tablespoon
Vegetable oil
0.25 teaspoon
Salt
Filling
350 grams
Any type of meat
2
Onions
20 grams
Greens
0.5 cup
Kefir
to taste
Ground black pepper
to taste
Salt
Frying
2 cup
Vegetable oil
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How to make crispy vodka chebureki? Start with the dough. Prepare the ingredients. Use all-purpose flour (best/finest grade). A small egg is enough. Don’t worry about alcohol in the dough - it will evaporate during frying. Because vodka evaporates faster than water, it helps make the chebureki crisp and airy.
Step 2
Sift the flour to aerate it and remove any small debris. Set aside about 1/2 cup of the flour.
Step 3
Add salt and vegetable oil to the water and bring it to a boil. It’s most convenient to do this in a small pot or saucepan - you’ll scald the dough in it.
Step 4
Add the reserved 1/2 cup flour to the boiling water and quickly stir with a spoon or whisk so the mixture starts coming together into a single mass.
Step 5
Let the scalded base cool until just warm. Add the egg and vodka. Mix until smooth and uniform. I used a farm-fresh egg, which gives the dough a yellow tint.
Step 6
Add the remaining flour little by little and keep kneading. When it becomes hard to stir with a spoon, start kneading by hand.
Step 7
The dough should be elastic, smooth, and not stick to your hands. If it already feels too stiff but still sticks, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. Then continue kneading, adding a little flour at a time until it no longer sticks. Cover again and let it rest.
Step 8
While the dough rests, make the filling. You can use ready-made ground meat, but it’s better to make your own. I used chicken breast fillet.
Step 9
Prepare the meat: rinse and pat dry with paper towels or a clean cloth. Cut into small pieces that fit into a meat grinder. Peel and rinse the onion and cut it into pieces similar in size to the meat.
Step 10
Grind everything through a meat grinder using medium or large holes. You can also finely chop the onion and meat with a knife, but that takes more time.
Step 11
Remove any wilted leaves from the herbs, rinse and dry them. Chop and add to the meat. You can also use frozen herbs, like I did.
Step 12
Season with salt and pepper and start mixing the meat, adding kefir a little at a time. Kefir binds the moisture (so the filling won’t run on the dough) and then releases it into the finished chebureki (making them juicy).
Step 13
Knead the filling until the kefir is fully incorporated. The filling is ready.
Step 14
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
Step 15
Roll one piece into a thin round, about 2-3 mm thick (about 1/8 inch). Spread about 1 tablespoon of filling over one half of the round.
Step 16
Fold over the other half, press out the air, and seal the edges firmly. You can trim the edge with a fluted pastry wheel if you like.
Step 17
Pour oil into a pan to a depth of about 2-3 cm (about 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch). Heat it well and fry the chebureki over medium-high heat on both sides until golden. Chebureki absorb a lot of oil, so add more oil as you fry the rest.
Step 18
To remove excess oil, place the fried chebureki on a plate lined with several layers of paper towels. Serve hot. Enjoy!
Author note
Share the recipe
