Pelmeni

Pan-fried pelmeni with smetana and fresh dill

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City/Region: Russia | Siberia

Time Period: 1861

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For one of the most powerful people in the world, Tsar Nikolai Romanov, or Nicholas II, preferred rather unassuming foods. Instead of the extravagant French dishes that were served in the Russian court, he liked simple traditional dishes, like these Siberian pelmeni.

They are simple, but they are very good. With just beef, onion, salt, and pepper, these dumplings are delicious. I think the best way to prepare them is to boil and then pan fry them so you get a nice crispiness, but you can serve them as a soup as well. The only thing I’d change is to make them a little smaller. Elena Molokhovets is very specific on the size they should be, but I think you should make them whatever size you prefer.

“Using a knife, scrape 1 1/2 lbs first-quality beef from the short loin. Add 1 finely chopped and squeezed-out raw onion, sieved black pepper, and salt. Use this filling to make pelmeni…If the beef is lean, use 1 lb beef and 1/2 lb finely chopped kidney suet. Boil the pelmeni in salted water or in bouillon in a separate saucepan…These pelmeni are best made the size of kolduny or shaped like small ears…Siberians prepare pelmeni for several occasions at once, sprinkling them lightly with flour so they do not stick together. Then they are frozen and boiled in salted boiling water as needed.”

— A gift to young housewives by Elena Molokhovets, 1861

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Ingredients:

Dough

• 3 3/4 cups (450 g) flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water, more or less as needed

Filling

• 1 1/2 lbs (680 g) ground beef, at least 20% fat
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup (140 g) diced onion
  
  
• About 2 tablespoons butter or ghee, optional
• Smetana* or sour cream, for serving
• Fresh dill, for serving

*Smetana is an Eastern European cousin to sour cream, usually with a higher fat content. Substitute with sour cream or creme fraiche.

Instructions:

1. For the dough: In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Add the eggs and begin to mix them in with your hands as if you were making pasta (because, essentially, you are). The egg won’t be enough liquid to make a dough, so add about half of the water and continue to mix. Add more water as needed until you get a somewhat dry dough that has just enough moisture to come together.
2. Once it’s formed a dough (there may still be some dry flour), turn it out and knead it for about 10 minutes or until it’s nice and smooth. Form the kneaded dough into a ball and wrap it up, then let it rest for at least 20 minutes. If you want to make this the day before, you can wrap it and put it in the fridge. While the dough rests, make the filling.
3. For the filling: In a large bowl, mix the salt and pepper into the ground beef until it’s evenly distributed. Mix in the diced onions until they’re also evenly distributed.
4. To assemble: Divide the rested dough into 4 equal parts. Roll 1 piece into an even log. Be sure to cover the remaining pieces so they don’t dry out. Cut the log into 10 equal pieces. Take one of the pieces and form it into an even cylinder, cut side up, then roll it out into a circle of dough about 3 inches (7.5 cm) across.
5. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of the circle. Fold the dough over into a half circle and pinch it all around the seam to seal it. You don’t need to add any water to make the dough stick together. Take the two ends and overlap them and pinch them together to make an ear-like shape. Repeat the steps until all 40 pelmeni have been filled and shaped.
6. Bring a large pot of salted water or clear bouillon to a boil. Boil 6 to 8 pelmeni at a time, giving them a stir so they don’t stick to the bottom. Boil them until they float, about 3 to 5 minutes. After they’ve risen to the surface, boil for an additional 3 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through. Remove them from the pot and set them aside while you cook the rest of the pelmeni.
7. You can serve them forth like this, or in broth as a soup, but I chose to pan fry them like Nikolai preferred. Melt the butter or ghee in a pan over medium-high heat, then fry the pelmeni until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.
8. Serve the pan fried pelmeni forth with a dollop of smetana and a few sprigs of fresh dill.

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