Pelmeni

Catherine Palace, Gatchina Palace, Kaliningrad

What it is

Pelmeni are dumplings of Russian cuisine. A filling is wrapped in thin, unleavened dough. The dough is flour and water, sometimes with a little egg. Each pelmen is small, about two to three centimetres across. The filling can be minced meat, such as pork, lamb or beef, or mushrooms, or a mix of the two. Black pepper, onion and garlic are mixed in. Pelmeni are never sweet. Russians consider them a national dish.

Where it comes from

The name comes from pel'n'an', which means "ear bread" in the Komi and Udmurt languages. Where the dish began is contested, but many see it as a Siberian gift to Russian cuisine. One theory points to Chinese jiaozi, carried by the Mongols. Another says the Urals. A Kungur census book from 1679 holds surnames drawn from the dish. In the 19th century pelmeni reached the wider Russian table, often called Siberian pelmeni.

How it is made

Pelmeni are made just before eating. The cook mixes flour and water into a thin dough and wraps a raw filling in it. Doing this by hand is the easiest way, if slow. Many cooks use a pelmeni maker, a mould like a muffin pan, to shape a few dozen from two sheets of dough and ground meat. The pelmeni are boiled in salted water until they float, then two to five minutes more.

How it is eaten

Pelmeni can be a main dish for lunch or dinner. Some are smothered in melted butter or topped with smetana, which is sour cream. Siberian-style, they get vinegar and freshly ground pepper. Others add mustard, horseradish or tomato sauce. In the Russian Far East, soy sauce is common. Some cooks fry them golden after boiling. Tatar cooks serve their version, pilmän, in clear soup with fresh herbs.

Where to try it

Pelmeni belong across Russia. In Moscow, look in dumpling cafés, at food stalls by metro stations and in plain Russian eateries. Novosibirsk has dumpling cafés and beer restaurants in the city centre. Near Catherine Palace, home-style cafes in Pushkin town serve them. Near the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, try diners and canteens in Sergiyev Posad. Near the Virgin Komi Forests, everyday restaurants in Syktyvkar offer them. Vladivostok has canteens and cafés across the centre.

Sources

Wikipedia, “Pelmeni” (CC BY-SA 4.0): the facts.

Picture 1: photograph (cropped) — Pelmeni Russian.jpg — Eugene Kim @ Flickr, CC BY 2.0.

Picture 2: photograph (cropped) — Sokolov Ruchey, Leningradskaya oblast', Russia, 187040 - panoramio (2).jpg — Дмитрий Cкляренко, CC BY 3.0.

Picture 3: painted from the facts of a photograph — Modeling pelmeni. Buryatia, Russia.jpg — Newspaper "Number One" (photographer Виктория Лачугина), Public domain.

Picture 4: photograph (cropped) — Пельмени жареные.jpg — Pannet, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Picture 5: photograph (cropped) — Russian Pelmeni (Dumplings), Rostov-on-Don, Russia.jpg — Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0.