Gambir
Mongolian pan-fried flatbreads made by folding sugar and oil through a simple wheat dough.
Traditional method
Boortsog (Mongolian unyeasted fried pastry)
Боорцог · Boortsog · Mongolian fried butter cookies
Firm Mongolian fried pastries made from an unyeasted wheat dough enriched with butter and sweetened with sugar; the dense dough is rested, cut or knotted, and fried until golden.
History
Boortsog has variants; this record covers one unyeasted, firm-dough formula. The materials consulted do not date its first attestation, and this formula should not stand for every boortsog tradition.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
White flour
1000 g
Amount not stated
100–250 g; source says quantity varies by tasteWaterWarm.
500 mL
Amount not stated
100–200 g; source says quantity varies by taste1 pinch
Mutton fat (optional)
Amount not stated
For deep frying; source describes it as traditional in Mongolia. Vegetable oil is also increasingly used.Vegetable oil (optional)
Amount not stated
Alternative frying medium mentioned by source; use enough for deep frying within safe pan-fill limits.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Hot frying oil
Deep frying can cause severe burns or a cooking-oil fire if oil overheats or the pan spills.
Hazard sourceRaw flour dough
Uncooked flour can carry harmful bacteria; the dough is handled before frying.
Hazard sourceDo not fill the pan more than one-third with oil; stay with the pan while heating and frying.
Control sourceIf oil smokes, turn off the heat if safe and let it cool. Never put water on hot oil or an oil fire.
Control sourceDo not taste raw dough; wash hands, utensils and surfaces after handling it.
Control sourceHot oil can burn or catch fire. Keep the pan attended, limit oil to one-third of its depth, and never use water on hot oil or an oil fire.
Do not taste the uncooked dough. The source gives no numeric frying temperature or time; fry until golden as directed without treating color as a food-safety measurement.
- Dissolve the sugar and salt in warm water.
- Mix the sweetened water with the butter and flour. Knead thoroughly into a tough, dense dough.
- Cover and rest the dough for 30 minutes. Knead again until visible air bubbles are gone.
- Roll the dough to about 1 cm thick. Cut strips, rectangles or other shapes about 2–5 cm wide and 5–10 cm long. For a traditional knot, cut a slit lengthwise in a rectangle without cutting through either end, then pull one end through the slit.
- Heat mutton fat or vegetable oil in a deep saucepan for frying. Do not fill the pan more than one-third with oil. Keep the pan attended; if the oil starts smoking, turn off the heat and let it cool.
- Fry the pieces in batches in hot oil until golden brown. The source gives no frying temperature or fixed cooking time.
- Serve as a sweet or snack. The source suggests butter, honey or cheese according to how sweet the dough is, and notes that boortsog is often dipped in tea.
Places
Mongolia
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe recipe appears on All Mongolian Recipes and describes the unyeasted preparation as Mongolian; no narrower locality is given.
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Sources
All Mongolian Recipes (mongolfood.info), G. MischlerMethod · Ingredients · Mongolian association · Serving context
Boortsog — Deep Fried Butter CookiesUnyeasted formula uses 1 kg white flour, 100–250 g butter, 500 ml water, 100–200 g sugar and a pinch of salt; quantities vary by taste.
Dissolve salt and sugar in warm water, combine with butter and flour, knead to a tough dense dough, rest 30 minutes, then knead again until air bubbles disappear.
Roll to about 1 cm, cut strips/rectangles 2–5 cm wide and 5–10 cm long, with knot shapes as an option; deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown.
The page says mutton fat is traditionally used in Mongolia, with vegetable oil increasingly used; boortsog is eaten as a sweet or snack, often dipped in tea.
Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue ServiceSafety
Cooking with OilDo not fill a frying pan more than one-third with oil; do not leave it unattended; smoking oil is overheated and should be taken off heat to cool; never put water on hot oil or an oil fire.
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowRaw flour can carry harmful bacteria; do not taste raw dough and clean hands, utensils and surfaces after handling.