Piirakka also called Karjalan Piirakka or Karjalanpiirakka (Karelian Pie/Karelian Pasties) refer to the traditional pastry from the Karelian region of Finland and is also one of the street foods in the country.
It is a savory pastries filled/stuffed with variety of fillings, such as minced/ground meat, rice and usually butter. Various varieties are Piirakka are: (1) Lihapiirakka - deep-fried pastries filled with minced or ground meat and (2) Karjalanpiirakka are filled with rice . Other traditional fillings include mashed potatoes, fish (salmon), carrots and cheese. The pastry is made with thin rye crust, filled with rice pudding or mashed potatoes, and baked or deep-fried and boiled egg-butter is spread on top.
It is sold by street vendors all over the Karelia region of Finland and is now available all throughout Finland. It is served best with Finland's sauerkraut soup called Hapankaalikeitto .
Moreover, this delicious and traditional "boat-shaped" pastry with its simple rice filling topped salty egg butter is usually served as a side dish and made commercially and sold widely in Finland. It is not only eaten in Finland, but also in its neighbor country, Estonia.
Piirakka is Finnish term which means pie.
Egg butter is called Munavoi in Finland and it is made with butter, usually mixed with boiled egg and is spread over the hot Piirakka before eating.