1. DOUGH. The butter should be soft, so take it out of the refrigerator ahead of time. 2. In a large bowl, combine kefir, egg, salt, and sugar. Mix well. 3. Add 2 cups of flour and the baking powder. Stir until combined. 4. Add another ½ cup of flour and start kneading the dough. Add the remaining flour gradually while kneading. 5. Add pieces of the soft butter and knead until the dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky. 6. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest. 7. FILLING. Finely chop the herbs (fresh parsley, cilantro, and basil work especially well). 8. Peel and finely chop the onion. 9. In a bowl, combine the ground meat, chopped herbs, onion, salt, freshly ground black pepper, coriander, and sweet paprika. Mix well. 10. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 2 mm (⅛ inch) thick. Cut out circles 3–3½ inches in diameter. Place a spoonful of filling on each circle. Fold in half with the filling inside and pinch the edges, leaving a small opening at each end. 11. Gently flatten the pie with your hand to remove excess air, then seal the remaining openings. Place the pies on a floured plate. (You can shape all the pies in advance, cover them with plastic wrap, and keep them in the refrigerator until ready to fry.) 12. Heat oil in a deep skillet. The oil is hot enough when bubbles form around a wooden spoon placed in it. Fry the pies over medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to paper towels to absorb excess oil. 13. Preheat the oven to 410°F (210°C). 14. Place the fried pies in an oven-safe dish, cover with a lid or foil, and bake for 15 minutes to let them finish cooking and become tender. SERVING IDEAS: - With sour cream on the side for dipping. - Serve with a simple cucumber-tomato salad or shredded cabbage with a little oil and salt. - With pickles or sauerkraut — the acidity balances the rich fried dough. - Arrange on a large plate and serve with black tea with lemon.

   Apricot jam can be replaced with another favorite jam (preferably light) or honey. Butter and cream cheese should be at room temperature. You will need 2 large bowls. 1. Preheat the oven to 356F (180 C). Line the bottom of a baking pan with parchment paper. Prepare a larger pan so that the baking pan can fit in it. We will pour water into it. 2. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Place 160 g of cream cheese in a large bowl. Place the bowl with the cheese on the saucepan and whisk until the cream cheese is warm. Add 20 g of butter. Whisk the mixture until the butter melts. 3. Pour in 50 ml of milk and whisk again until smooth. Remove the bowl from the saucepan. 4. Mix 30 g of flour and 10 g of cornstarch. Sift into the cream mixture and whisk. 5. Separate the whites and yolks. 6. Stir the yolks into the cream mixture. Set aside. 7. In a second large bowl, combine 4 whites and 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Add 80 g of sugar in three stages, whisking very thoroughly. Whisk the whites until soft peaks form. 8. Add 1/3 of the whites to the cheese mixture and mix with a whisk. Pour the cheese mixture into the whites and mix with a silicone spatula very carefully, moving from the bottom up, turning. Mix until all the ingredients are mixed (the mixture will be quite liquid.) 9. Pour the mixture into a baking dish. Place the baking dish into a larger dish. Fill the larger dish with hot water 1/3 full. And place in the oven on the middle shelf. 10. Bake for 20 minutes. Open the oven for 10 seconds. Reduce the temperature to 230F(110C) and bake for another 60 minutes. 11. Remove the cheesecake from the oven, turn the pan over, tap it lightly so that the cheesecake falls out. Turn it over onto a plate. Brush the top with apricot jam or honey.