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Pelmeni
пельмениpel'menisay pel-MEN-ee
Siberia's frozen treasure.
DDated textFamily C · Slavic & Baltic boiled pocket
About
Small ear-shaped meat dumplings from the Urals and Siberia. The name comes from Komi or Udmurt pel'nyan', "ear bread". They appear in print from 1837 and 1855.
Tastes of
- beef, pork and lamb
- onion
- black pepper
- sour cream
Texture
- firm
- dense
How to eat it
Serve with sour cream, butter or vinegar, or in broth.
When
Winter; made in bulk and frozen outdoors.
Did you know Siberians froze sacks of pelmeni in the snow; Avdeeva wrote in 1837 that they became hard as stones.
History
Name from pel'nyan' "ear bread". Still Ural-Siberian in the early 19th c.; recipe in Ignati Radetsky's 1855 Gastronomes' Almanac. Chinese/Mongol transmission theory is unproven. A pelmen monument stands in Izhevsk (2004).
Where
- OriginUrals/Perm · Urals/Siberia · historical or cultural region · Russians, Komi, Udmurts
Sources
This entry is drawn from the World Dumpling Atlas, §6.14, the project's source report. Its grade, D dated text, says how far that has been checked against a primary source. How grading works.
Related
Ural pelmeni with beef, pork and onion
How to fold: Ring (ear)
1 A little filling on a small round
2 Fold into a half-moon and seal
3 Bend the two corners down and round
4 Pinch the corners together: a ring, like an ear
Placeholder diagram. The atlas's illustrated fold animations will replace it.
Ingredients for 4
Dough
Filling
To cook
To serve
Method
- Mix the flour and salt, add the egg (or oil) and pour in the cold water gradually, stirring until a shaggy dough forms.
- Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is firm, smooth and elastic. · timer 10 min
- Cover tightly and rest the dough. · timer 30 min
- Combine the meats, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and mix well.
- Add the ice or ice water and beat the mixture with your hand until it is sticky and holds together.
- Chill the filling while the dough rests. · timer 30 min
- Roll the dough very thin, about 1–1.5 mm, working with a quarter at a time and keeping the rest covered.
- Cut rounds about 5 cm across with a small glass or cutter.
- Put a scant teaspoon of filling in the centre of each round.
- Fold the round in half and press the edges firmly to seal into a half-moon.
- Bring the two corners together around your fingertip and pinch them so the dumpling forms a small ring, like an ear.
- Lay the pelmeni on a floured tray without touching. Freeze them for at least an hour if you have time; they hold their shape better. · timer 60 min
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil with the bay leaves.
- Add the pelmeni in batches and stir gently once. Once they float, boil a few minutes more until the meat is cooked through (longer if frozen). · timer 5 min
- Lift out with a slotted spoon, toss with butter and serve with sour cream, vinegar and dill.
Notes. Pelmeni belong to the Urals and Siberia, where they were made in large batches in winter and frozen outdoors in sacks to keep through the season. The Ural style uses three meats (beef, pork and lamb) and an eggless dough; many home cooks use just beef and pork and add an egg to the dough. Some serve them in their cooking broth. Fish pelmeni (with pike or salmon) and versions with mushroom or radish are also made in the region. A pelmennitsa, a honeycomb mould, speeds up shaping a large batch.
Written for the atlas from several sources, cross-checked: Уральские пельмени (Ural pelmeni), Gastronom.ru; Pelmeni: Handmade Siberian Meat Dumplings, Scott Hocker (TASTE); Ural Pelmeni, ivebeen.cooking. Not yet kitchen-tested.
The tagline and story are editorial; facts trace to the atlas research. History sources are from the atlas and not yet independently checked.
Family C
