Pelmeni

Pelmeni. Pelmeni as a traditional Russian dish and Slavic cuisine in general has a relative for ways of preparing and / or stuffing with Varéñikis , with Mantis and even with ravioli. In general, they are intermediate in size between Varéñikis and Raviolies, but also their basic filling is a proportioned mixture of beef, pork and lamb, spiced and, like both, boiled in salted water. They are distinguished by many times being made before use so they are kept frozen one or two days before cooking. Sauces are hardly used unless they are smetana, butter or cream .

Table of Contents

Summary

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1 Definition
2 History
3 Preparation
- 1 Variants
4 recipes
- 1 Russian Pelmeni
- 2 Siberian Pelmeni
- 3 Pelmeni with mushrooms (mushrooms)
5 Sources

Definition

Pelmeni (пельмени in Russian, singular pel’men`, пельмень; пяльмені in Belarusian; pilmän (när) / пилмән (нәр) in Tatar) is a traditional dish of Russian cuisine. It is made with filling of small meat balls made from minced meat of pork, lamb, beef.

The dough that surrounds the meat ball is made with flour, eggs, water and sometimes milk. The traditional recipe from the Urals area requires 45% beef, 35% lamb and 20% pork to make the filling. Spices often differ, such as pepper, onions, and garlic, mixed together in the filling. Pelmeni is a food with clear social connotations, it is the “food of the workers”.

History

There are no known serious studies about the origin of this dish, but it is a common belief that its origin is established in Udmurtia, where they were called as pelnyan, literally “ear of bread” in the native language of the region. It is quite possible that in the past the pieces of meatball-shaped minced meat were eaten in flattened breadcrumbs and then rolled into the shape of an ear.

Etymologically this origin can explain why they are called uszka (“ears”) in Poland . Another version about the origins of this dish is based on the fact that it was initially designed by hunters, it was very common to prepare a meal that was easily transportable and simple to prepare. There are documents that affirm the existence of pelmeni in Russia since the 16th century .

Preparation

Pelmeni is generally kept frozen before being cooked. It is usually prepared by boiling in brine water with some bay leaves, pepper and chicken or meat broth, they are boiled until they float on the surface, and then they are left 2-5 minutes more. Pelmeni are prepared in a traditional way but nowadays they are also often found frozen in stores, sometimes made industrially by Italian food companies such as: Arienti & Cattaneo, Ima, Ostoni, Zamboni, etc. They are very common in the frozen area of stores where there are Russian communities.

The resulting dish is served with butter and / or sour cream (or the popular smetana), it is also common to use milk cream, other supplements are also popular such as: mustard, horseradish and vinegar, tomato sauce, etc. Sometimes it is usually decorated with a few sprigs of parsley.

Some recipes suggest frying the pelmeni in a pan after boiling until they turn brown or golden, this variant is very applied to leftover pelmenis after a day has passed since their first cooking.

Variants

The pelmeni is closely related to the dumplings of Polish cuisine called pierogi or the vareniki themselves (made with mashed potatoes and cottage cheese). They are similar to the Italian tortellini and the Chinese jiaozi.

Modern restaurants with more refined menus show variants of pelmenis made with stuffed salmon or mushrooms. In some parts of Russia, such as Siberia, it is mentioned that pelmeni were made from horse meat.

Recipes

Russian pelmeni

Ingredients

200 gr. Beef
200 gr. Pork Meat
1 egg
1,5 glasses of Flour;
1-2 medium large onion
Saltand pepper

Preparation:
Filling: Grind the meat with onion twice. Add a little water, salt, pepper and mix everything well.

Dough: On the table spread the flour, add an egg and 1/4 glass of water , add salt and mix everything very well and for a long time.

Final: Roll out the dough with a roll until you get a very thin layer of 3-4 mm. Cut out circles using a tumbled glass with a diameter of 5-6 cm. Put a teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the circle.

Join (press with your fingers) the edges by folding the circle in half so that the filling is inside the dough. So that the edges do not come off, it is recommended to join and glue the ends of the semicircle. When you have the pelmeni ready cook in boiling water for 8-10 minutes.

Siberian pelmeni

Ingredient

600 g of flour
1 egg
the necessary water (about 330 gr.)
Salt

Filling

1 kilo of ground meat
1 medium onion pureed
Ground black pepperto taste
Saltto taste

Preparation:
Put the flour on the table, mix the water with the egg and a little salt. Knead the mixture well and let it rest for at least an hour. Separately mix the ingredients of the filling. Roll out the dough and with a round mold or a cup of tea and make discs. In the center of each disc put a ball of ground meat , glue the sides, press them with the tips of your fingers along the edge until they are well glued together.

Cook in boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes. Pelmeni are served with what you like best: butter, vinegar, soy sauce, sour cream, mayonnaise or in the form of soup with the broth where the pelmeni were prepared. In this case, add a little butter and, if you like, pepper and garlic .

Pelmeni with mushrooms ( mushrooms )