Love, Anny

Russian Language Blog

How to Make the Best Pelmeni

Posted on 08. Feb, 2011 by yelena in Culture, Russian food

Do you know that 95% of Russian households have at least one pack of «пельмени» [pel’meni - dumplings] in their freezers? Ok, I just totally made it up.

But I can’t be too far off since, according to «статья в Российской газете» [an article in the Rossiyskaya newspaper] an average «россиянин» [citizen of the Russian Federation] buys and consumes 3.98 lbs of «пельмени». This includes «младенцы, вегетарианцы и жители сельских районов, традиционно употребляющие только пельмени домашнего изготовления» [infants, vegetarians and village residents who, traditionally, consume only home-made pelmeni].

An average Russian family buys at least a pack of pelmeni «раз в месяц» [once a month]. But the heaviest «едоки пельменей» [pelmeni eaters] – «пенсионеры, проживающие в больших городах» [retired people living in large cities] and «студенты» [college students] – buy 5-6 times as many.

But I’m not here to talk about «состояние российского рынка пельменей» [the status of the Russian pelmeni market]. I’m quoting all this «статистика» [statistics] in hope of persuading you that, in order to further your understanding of «загадочная русская душа» [the mysterious Russian soul], you must try at least one «пельмень» [a singular form of pelmeni].

But don’t you be running to your nearest Russian store! Unless, of course, your nearest store sales fresh «домашние пельмени», meaning their pelmeni are hand-made. It’s not that I’m against workplace automation. It’s just that it’s a long way from one of Russia’s 500 «производители пельменей» [pelmeni producers] to your store. What I’m trying to say is what you pick up in the freezer at your local «русский магазин» [Russian store] is by no means fresh. Good in a pinch, but not the real thing.

Instead, try making your own pelmeni. It’s not hard at all, just kind of «нудно» [tedious]. But there’s simply no point in setting out to make pelmeni if you are not making at least «сотня» [a hundred] of them. So turn on some music or call friends over for a pelmeni-making party and let’s roll!

The recipe my mother has followed for years (and that never fails) calls for the following ingredients:

«Для теста» [for the dough]

«3 стакана муки» [3 cups of flour]
«1 стакан холодной воды» [1 cup of cold water]
«1,5 яйца» [an egg and a half] – I have no idea how to measure an egg and a half, so I just take one large egg.
«1 неполная столовая ложка соли» [1 scan tablespoon of salt] – I just eyeball it.
«Для начинки» [for the filling]

«500 г. мяса» [500 grams or meat] – you can use beef, mutton or pork or a combination of beef and pork.
«1 луковица» [1 onion]
«соль и перец по вкусу» [salt and pepper to taste]
Here’s what to do:

Combine dough ingredients in a bowl and mix until the dough is «однородное» [of uniform consistency]. Then cover with a towel and let rest for about half an hour.

While the dough is resting, mix the filling. Grind beef in «мясорубка» [meat grinder] with an onion. If you don’t have a meat grinder buy ground beef or whatever meat you’re using and grate the onion on «мелкая тёрка» [fine grater]. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Next get the dough and «раскатать в тонкий пласт» [roll it into a thin sheet]. Thin is «относительное понятие» [a relative term]. Russian recipes rarely tell you how thin to roll pelmeni dough, but some specify «тонко-тонко» [very thin].

Note: this is a very useful construction, especially in «разговорная речь» [colloquial speech] – repeating an adjective or an adverb twice to emphasize it, as in «быстро-быстро» [very fast], «сладкий-сладкий» [very sweet], «тёмная-тёмная» [very dark], etc.

I don’t believe in “very thin”. As a great Russian saying goes, «где тонко, там и рвётся», meaning literally “(the cloth) gets torn where it’s thinnest”. It’s the Russian equivalent of “the chain is only as strong as its weakest link”.

All this is to say that I personally don’t roll my dough “thin-thin”. I do use a small «стакан» [glass] to cut out the rounds of dough. But don’t cut too many «сразу» [at once] or they’ll dry out. Take the remnants of the dough, roll into a ball, then roll into a thin sheet and repeat (I promised you – tedious).

As to the size of the pelmeni… The size does matter – «чем меньше, тем лучше» [the smaller, the better]. Now put small portions of filling in the middle of each round and pinch the edges close.

Cover the finished pelmeni with a towel while working on the rest of the dough. If you are following my advice and making a few hundreds of them, start freezing them.

Finally, cook fresh pelmeni «в кипящей подсоленной воде» [in boiling salted water] for 5-7 minutes. I also love adding some bay leaves and a few whole peppercorns to the water. The pot must be big enough so all the pelmeni float and non stick together.

Just as you are about to «упасть в обморок» [pass out] from the mouth-watering smell, your pelmeni are ready. Serve them in their broth with some chopped «укроп» [dill] and «сметана» [sour cream]. Or drain and serve with «сметана» or a mix of broth and «уксус» [vinegar] or «сливочное масло» [butter] or «кетчуп» [ketchup] or «аджика» [adjika sauce] or other sauces (I’d stay away from BBQ sauce, but that’s my personal preference). «Приятного аппетита!» [Bon appetite!]

Pleeeeease let me back in!

Doh

My somewhat personal Tumblr blog, can be roughly described as a smörgåsbord
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L♥ve, Anna

I need some excitement in m’life right about now…and this is saying a lot since I NEVER get bored—up until now, obv. #ineedexcitement!