Sigara Böreği (Cheese & Parsley Rolls)
سیگارا بوریگی (پنیر اور پارسلے کے رول)
Sigara böreği means "cigarette börek", after its thin, rolled shape. Triangles of are rolled around a simple filling of crumbled white cheese and parsley and fried until golden and crisp. They're served with tea in the afternoon, as part of a meze spread, and on almost every Turkish iftar table. For Pakistani cooks the best news is that ready-made samosa or spring-roll patti makes excellent sigara böreği, so they're as quick as rolling spring rolls.
- ⏱ Total: 40 min
- Prep: 25 min
- Cook: 15 min
- Easy
- Serves 20
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Mix the cheese, parsley, beaten egg and pul biber in a bowl. Taste: it should be pleasantly salty.
Lay a strip of patti in front of you. Put a heaped teaspoon of filling in a thin line near the bottom edge, fold in the sides, and roll up tightly like a thin cigar. Seal the end with a dab of flour paste.
Heat the oil in a to medium-hot. Fry the rolls in batches for 2–3 minutes, turning, until golden all over.
Drain on a wire rack and serve hot, with tea or as part of a meze spread.
Kitchen notes
Don't overfill. A thin line of filling keeps the rolls slim and crisp and stops the cheese bursting out.
Keep unused patti under a damp cloth so it doesn't dry and crack.
To freeze, lay the uncooked rolls on a tray, freeze, then bag. Fry from frozen for 4 minutes, a handy Ramadan trick.
Börek, the Turkish pastry family
Börek is a whole family of Turkish pastries made from thin sheets: layered, rolled, coiled or folded, baked or fried, and filled with cheese, mince, spinach or potato. Sigara böreği is the quickest and most popular, the one that appears whenever guests come for tea.
Why it’s easy here
In Turkey, cooks cut big round sheets of yufka into triangles. Pakistani samosa and spring-roll patti, sold frozen everywhere, are already the right size and thickness, so you can skip that step entirely. If you already make spring rolls or samosas for iftar, you already know the technique.
The filling
The classic filling is just crumbled white cheese and parsley. Turkish beyaz peynir is salty and crumbly, like feta. Paneer is much milder, so season it with salt and a little pul biber. A beaten egg helps the filling hold together.
Serving
Serve hot with Turkish tea, alongside mercimek çorbası at iftar, or with kısır and çoban salatası as a spread.
Questions people ask
What cheese should I use in Pakistan?
Feta from a supermarket is closest to Turkish white cheese. Paneer works if you add salt; a mix of paneer and a little grated mozzarella is also good.
Can I bake them?
Yes. Brush with oil or beaten egg and bake at 200°C for 15–18 minutes, turning once.
Can I use other fillings?
Yes: spiced mince, potato with herbs, or spinach and cheese all work. Keep the filling dry.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 80
- Protein
- 3 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
