Pelmeni

Pelmeni are one of the most ancient of traditional Russian foods.
The idea of these delightful dumplings came hundreds of years ago
when the early Mongols (an ethnic group that originated in what is now Mongolia, Russia, and China) borrowed the idea from the Chinese (pot stickers).
Polish pirogies are like a dumpling cousin to the Pelmeni. Much later on the Italians borrowed the idea and created“Ravioli”.

1 1/2 cups flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. ground pork

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

garlic to taste

To make the dough, combine the flour, eggs, water and 1/2 tsp. salt. Knead mixture. Let rest for 30 minutes. Mix the ground beef, ground pork, onions, 1 tsp. salt, pepper and garlic together. Cut the dough into three equally sized pieces and roll each one into a cylinder the diameter of a finger. Cut each cylinder into pieces the size of a walnut, then roll each piece into a very thin flat cake with a diameter of about 2 inches. Put some of the ground meat mixture in the center of each flat cake (quite a lot, but not so much that you can't then seal up the dough). Then fold the dough in half and join up the edges to seal them. Pinch the corners together: you should now have a ravioli-shaped "flying saucer." If you wish to make this job a bit easier they do have “Pelmeni Dumpling Molds” that you can purchase.

Cooking: (If you plan to store your pelmeni, freeze them uncooked).Boil a generous amount of water with 1 tsp. salt. Drop the pelmeni into the boiling water. They are ready to eat when they float to the top and stay there.
Presentation: Serve pelmeni with one of the following: butter and salt, sour cream and dill, sour cream and vinegar, as a soup with meat broth (you may boil the pelmeni in meat broth for added flavor). You may also serve pelmeni with a traditional Russian salad of chopped cucumbers and tomatoes with mayonnaise or sour cream.