This dish has a bit of a long preparation part.. but it's soooo worth the effort! It's unique, rich in flavors and color, and if you are hosting, your guests are going to remember this one, only for the good!!

 

So you have basically 3 things you need to make: The "dough", the filling and the soup. IMPORTANT - you'll need to soak the beans at least 6 hours before you start making this dish.

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The dough

In a mixing bowl, combine the semolina flour, the oil, water and salt, and mix well. Then knead it for 3 minutes or so to get a smooth soft dough. Cover it with plastic wrap until filling.

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The filling 

This step will take you approximately 25 minutes (not including the extra 20-30 minutes

for cooking the beans).

Filter and then cook the soaked beans for an hour in plenty of fresh water and 1/2 tsp baking soda.

Meanwhile, on a hot pan with sunflower oil, fry chopped onions for 10-15 minutes on medium heat or until golden in color. Remove the onion and keep it in a clean dish.

While frying, thinly chop the mushrooms and when you're done with the onions, fry the mushrooms on the same pan on medium-high heat for about 5-7 minutes, to get the mushrooms dry, but not burnt. Mushrooms are full with fluids and if we put them inside a patty, they'll secrete the fluids into the patty... and you don't want that.  Right before you finish drying the mushrooms, add the minced garlic and stir it with the mushrooms for 30 seconds. Turn off the stove and combine the mushrooms, onions and cooked soft beans (when ready). Add the flour and mash them all up. The filling doesn't need to become smooth and consistent, but the texture will be better if the ingredients integrate with one another and there aren't any large chunks of anything.

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The soup

This step will take you approximately 20 minutes.

On a wide 3.5qt pot, fry one large onion, cut into half-rings, for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Add the celery, minced garlic & spices and stir well (so the garlic doesn't burn) for 30 seconds.

Grate steamed beets & the carrot and place in the pot.

Add the tomato paste and about 14oz/ 350ml water. Bring to boil and change to simmer.

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Putting everything together 

This step will take you approximately 15 minutes.

With very moist hands, pinch a small piece off of the dough and roll it into a ball. Then flatten the ball by pressing it with one of your palms against the other, to make about a 3-4 inch circle. In the middle of the circle, put a tbsp-size scoop of filling and then start picking the edges up like an envelope, to get the edges of the circle closed in one spot. Make sure you don't rip the dough.. if you do, try and apply a small patch of dough on the rip, but from experience it doesn't always work. Worth the try though...  Every patty you finish making you can already place in the hot soup.

When you're done, see if you have enough soup to cover your patties. If not, you can add some water and fix the spices accordingly. Cook the soup for 5 minutes on simmer, and then increase the heat to medium for 20-25 more minutes.