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Siberian Meat-Filled Dumplings (Pelmeni)

Ingredients

For dough

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup cold water

For filling

  • 1 pound ground lamb
  • 2 medium onions, one yellow and one red
  • 1 head garlic
  • ¼ teaspoon fenugreek
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon coriander
  • ¼ bunch parsley
  • ¼ bunch cilantro
  • ¼ cup ice, crushed
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • white of 1 egg
  • butter, melted

For serving

  • lamb stock
  • white vinegar
  • Tabasco sauce
  • sour cream

Instructions

Prepare dough

  • Place flour and salt in large mixing bowl. Combine.
  • Add egg and water. Mix until all the flour is incorporated.
  • Knead until smooth and springy, about 5 minutes.
  • Cover and let rest at least 30 minutes.

Prepare filling

  • Toast fenugreek, cumin, and coriander. Once toasted, grind finely.
  • Mince onions. Smash and mince garlic. Finely chop cilantro and parsley.
  • Combine meat, spices, onions, garlic, herbs, ¼ cup crushed ice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare dumplings

  • Divide dough into two halves. On a pastry cloth and with a rolling pin covered with a cloth sleeve, roll first piece of dough until about 1/16 inch thick.
  • Using a 2½ inch diameter ring, cut out a circle of dough.
  • Wet half the outer edge of the circle of dough with egg white.
  • Place a small amount of filling, about ½ teaspoon, in the center of the circle of dough.
  • Fold the dough over the filling, wet edge on dry. You should have a ½-circle shape.
  • Pinch the dry and wet edges together to seal the entire outer edge.
  • Pull the two corners together, and pinch them together to seal.
  • Place on lightly floured baking sheet.
  • Repeat until you have used up the dough. Roll out the second piece of dough and repeat. Combine scrapes of dough, roll out and repeat, continuing until you run out of dough.

Cooking dumplings

  • Bring one or two large pots of salted water to a boil.
  • Gently place dumplings into boiling water. Do not overcrowd. You may need to cook the dumplings in two or more batches.
  • Boil for approximately 10 minutes, occasionally stirring gently with a wooden spoon to prevent dumplings from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
  • Remove dumplings and place briefly in colander to drain. Remove from colander and place in bowl with a small amount of melted butter (to prevent dumplings from sticking to each other).

Serving dumplings

  • Serve dumplings. They can be served in broth, such as lamb broth, with vinegar and/or Tabasco Sauce, with sour cream, etc.

Notes

Adapted from Siberian Meat-Filled Dumplings, Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook, by Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman.