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From: norvien@byron.u.washington.edu (Christopher Possanza)
Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes
Subject: MEAT: Pelmeni
Summary: orig. subject: MEAT: Pelmeni
Keywords: recipe MEAT
Message-ID: <1991Apr03.030310.4736@mthvax.cs.miami.edu>
Date: 26 Mar 91 00:44:33 GMT
Followup-To: rec.food.cooking
Organization: n/a
Lines: 54
Approved: aem@mthvax.cs.miami.edu


Someone recently requested a recipe for pelmeni ("Siberian Ravioli").
I was in the Soviet Union recently, and this is a recipe I brought back
with me--I haven't tried it yet, but here it is, complete with
description and history:

	Pelmeni are among the most popular Russian dishes.  They are
served in special Pelmennaya cafes and sold frozen in bright red boxes
in shops, but any housewife worthy of her name considers it a matter of
honour to make them herself.

	Pelmeni have spread throughout the whole country from Siberia,
which is why they are are often called Siberian pelmeni.  Siberia is
not only an enormous territory, with wonderful towns, rivers and lakes,
but is also the home of many original dishes, which have become part of
Russian cooking.  Pelmeni originated in Siberia long ago.  To the Komi,
a people living in the area of the Urals, the word 'pelnyan' means 'an
ear made of dough', and pelmeni really are this shape.  They are made
from pastry and meat.  People in Siberia usually make them in huge
quantities, by the thousand, and then freeze them---the Siberian winter
makes this easy.  Any Siberian who sets out on a fishing or hunting
expedition, or just on a long journey, inevitably takes a whole bag of
pelmeni with him.  All he has to do when he feels hungry is build a
fire, boil some water and drop some of the pelmeni, frozen hard by the
frost, into it; a few minutes later an appetizing smell will rise over
the taiga, letting him know that lunch is ready.

	Making pelmeni begins with the preparation of the pastry.  Sift
300-400 grammes of flour into a mound, make a well in the centre and
add a teaspoonful of salt, one or two eggs, half a glass of warm water
and knead the dough.  Cover it with a tea towel and leave to stand for
30-40 minutes.

	Meanwhile, make the meat filling.  Take 200 grammes of beef and
200 grammes of pork and put through the mincer twice, together with
onions.  Add first salt and ground black pepper to taste and then some
cold boiled water.  The mixture should be not quite so thick as for
rissoles.  When the filling is ready, return to the pastry.

	Roll it out thinly, cut out circles and put a small ball of
filling onto each.  The edges have to be joined and pinched together,
which is not as easy as it sounds.  No one cook's pelmeni are the same:
some make large ones, others small ones, some pelmeni are very
intricately, and others more simply joined.  Put the pelmeni in the
fridge so that they become firm.

	To serve, cook the pelmeni in boiling salted water for about 10
minutes, until they rise to the surface.  They are served with sour
cream, melted butter, vinegar, pepper and mustard.

There you have it.  Just one small note: I've never made them, but I've
bought them at the Russian bazaar we have here every year, and I've
found that they are wonderful boiled in chicken broth rather than
water.