To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and roughly cut into the flour (there should still be some larger chunks of butter in the dough which will make the pastry lovely and flaky as it cooks). Add the milk and vinegar and stir to combine, then knead until the mixture just forms a dough. Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours.

Stir together the apricot jam, chopped apricots and vanilla in a saucepan over low heat for 2–3 minutes until the jam has melted. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each one on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 3 mm (⅛ in). Cut out a 16 cm (6¼ in) circle from each piece. Place 2 tablespoons of the apricot mixture in the centre of each circle then fold over to form a semi-circle, pinching the edges to seal. Repeat with the remaining pastry circles and mixture, then chill for 1 hour.

Heat enough oil to deep fry, in a large saucepan frying pan to 170°C (340°F). (If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer you can test if the oil is hot enough by dropping in a small cube of bread; it should sizzle and turn brown in 20 seconds.) Cook the pies in two batches for 5 minutes, turning them over halfway through cooking, until the pastry is golden and cooked through.

Drain the pies on paper towel and toss in the sugar to serve.