Khuushuur (Mongolian fried meat pastries)
Non-vegetarian
Хуушуур · khuushuur
Flat half-moon pastries filled with minced mutton, onion and garlic, fried until blistered and golden. The essential snack of the Naadam summer festival.
Khuushuur (Mongolian fried meat pastries) is a Mongolian street food, ready in about 1 hour 20 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and ground lamb. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- 20 min
- Total
- 1 h 20 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 658
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
Method
Step 1
Knead the flour, water and salt into a smooth dough and rest 20 minutes.
- 8 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 2
Mix the lamb, onion (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab), salt, pepper (opens in a new tab) and water.
- 5 min
Food safety: Wash hands and surfaces after handling raw meat.
Step 3
Divide the dough into 12 and roll into 12 cm rounds. Spread a spoonful of filling over half of each, leaving a border, fold over and press flat to push out the air, then crimp the edge.
Step 4
Heat 2–3 cm of oil to 175 °C and fry the pastries a few at a time, turning once, until deep golden and the filling is cooked through.
Food safety: Hot oil — never leave it unattended. The meat must be cooked through; press flat so it cooks evenly.
About this dish
- Origin
- Mongolia · Well documentedMore food from Mongolia
- Dish
- Lunch · Snack · Street food · Pastries
- Cooking method
- Deep-fried, Shallow-fried
- Taste
- savoury, rich
- Diet
- Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-proteinWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Non-vegetarian · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein - Good for
- Street food · Festive & celebration · Portable / lunchbox
- Cook more with
- All-purpose flour · Ground lamb · Onion · Garlic
- Techniques
- Shallow-frying · Deep-frying · Kneading
Allergens
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
658 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 271 g · recipe makes 4
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 15%
- Carbohydrate 37%
- Fat 47%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 658 kcal | 243 kcal |
| Protein | 24.8 g | 9.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 60.7 g | 22.4 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 58 g | 21.4 g |
| Sugars | 1.4 g | 0.5 g |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 2.6 g | 1 g |
| Fat | 34.2 g | 12.6 g |
| Saturated fat | 11.1 g | 4.1 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 73 mg | 27 mg |
| Sodium | 937 mg | 346 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 2.3 g | 0.9 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 355 mg
- Calcium
- 44 mg
- Iron
- 5.2 mg
- Magnesium
- 42 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 0 µg
- Vitamin C
- 3 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 2.3 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 242 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Mongolians often roll a hot khuushuur between their palms to warm their hands before eating.
Common mistakes
- Leaving air pockets when sealing — they balloon and burst in the oil.
- Oil not hot enough, so the pastries soak up oil before the filling is cooked.
Storage
- Refrigerate up to 2 days.
Reheating
- Re-crisp in a dry pan or oven at 180 °C.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 35 min
Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.
Rest · about 20 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Bake · about 15 min
Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.
- Start to finish: about 1 h 10 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | Flour | 300 g | 100% |
| Water | Water | 170 g | 56.7% |
| Salt | Salt | 3 g | 1% |
- Total flour
- 300 g
- Hydration
- 56.7%
- With milk, eggs…
- 56.7%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
- Salt 1% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).
If something goes wrong
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Crust too hard or thick
Likely causes
- Baked too long at too low a temperature
- No steam at the start
What to do
- Bake hotter for a shorter time
- Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
- Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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