Turkish Meat Pies - Genuis recipe

Ingredients For Dough 2 tsp active dry yeast 1/4 cup water lukewarm 1/2 tbsp sugar 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup yogurt plain 1/4 cup olive oil For Arabic Spice Mix 2 tbsp black pepper ground 2 tbsp cumin ground 1 tbsp coriander ground 1 tbsp cloves ground 1 tsp nutmeg ground 1/2 tbsp cardamom ground 1/2 tbsp cinnamon ground For Meat Mixture 1 tbsp olive oil 1 lb ground beef 1 onion finely chopped 3 cloves garlic minced 2 tbsp tomato paste 2 tsp sugar 2 tbsp fresh mint chopped 1/3 cup yogurt plain 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted (optional) US Customary - Metric Instructions In a small bowl get the yeast going by mixing it with the warm water and sugar. Let it sit until it bubbles.In the bowl of your mixer, add the flour and salt and mix it well. Add the yogurt to the flour, the yeast mixture and the olive oil. Using the paddle attachment mix well. The dough should be soft. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and rub some additional olive oil over the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a couple hours. While the dough is refrigerating mix all the spices for the Arabic spice mix together. In a skillet heat the tablespoon of olive oil and add the ground beef and finely chopped onion and garlic. Stir well and cook for a couple minutes, after which add a tablespoon of the spice mix, the tomato paste, sugar and mix. Cook for a couple more minutes till the meat is cooked through. Add the mint, yogurt and salt to the meat mixture and mix well. Let it cool. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut it into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Take each ball and roll it out, do no use extra flour, use olive oil to stretch the dough as needed. The meat pies should be about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. If you use a cookie sheet you'll be able to fit about 6 pies on it. Spoon a couple tablespoonfuls of the meat mixture over the rolled out dough and spread it evenly. Sprinkle some pine nuts over the meat. Bake the pies for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with some mint before serving.