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I have not heard of anyone who doesn't love these little things. Pelmeni, dumplings, wonderful little meat-filled-dough mouth-poppers; whatever you want to call them! They're all the same. And if I had heard of such a person, I'd say, "Have you ever tried mine?" Give it a shot!
Throughout all my years of cooking, I've either sampled or made pelmeni with various meat filling and found that I like turkey breast meat best. It is naturally leaner and healthier, softer in texture than other meat, and doesn't have that meaty aftertaste. And it's also not as heavy on my stomach. And for the same reasons, I feel it's also the best for a baby to eat.
My 17-month-old,
... absolutely loves them and devours the same portion as my four-year-old. I don't have one child that doesn't love pelmeni. But of course we all have our preferences, so I'd recommend that you experiment with different filling variations using my Vareniki Dough Recipe for that extra fluffiness. One thing I'll say, no matter which meat they're made with I don't think I have ever seen leftovers.
When it comes to pelmeni, I make a ton to freeze them up for those rainy days. During busy days when the time is in short supply, your dinner won't be! Plop them in a pot of water and you've got one happy family at the dinner table. These also make an incredible addition to a pot of soup.
Come to think of it, I wonder if there is a Slavic household that doesn't have a good stockpile of pelmeni in their freezer. Taking the freezing option into consideration, if you still feel this recipe size is still too large for your family; you may certainly half the recipe and freeze what you don't cook. It’s a very much enjoyed comfort food in our family and I'm positive it will be yours too!
Dough Ingredients:
2 cups (475 ml) – whey
1 large – eggs (I used homegrown eggs)
5 cups (625 g) – sifted all-purpose organic flour
1 tbsp. (15 ml) – Baking Soda
¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) – Sea Salt
Filling Ingredients:
2 - 1.25 lbs. (567 grams) – Turkey Breast Tenderloins
1 tsp. (5 ml) – Sea Salt
¼ tsp. (1.25 ml) – ground Black Pepper
1 large – egg (I used homegrown egg)
1 small – organic onion
1 - 2 small – garlic cloves (I used homegrown garlic)
Meat Instructions:
Wash turkey breast tenderloins and grind them. Add shredded onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, and egg. Mix well with hand mixer until all combined. Cover with plastic food wrap and place in refrigerator until ready for use.
Dough Instructions:
1. Combine all the dry ingredients together and set aside.
2. Pour whey into the mixer bowl, add egg and mix on medium speed with the mixer whisk attachment for 30 seconds or until combined.
3. Switch attachment to mixer's dough hook, add half of the flour mixture to whey mixture and mix on lowest speed. Continue adding ½ cup of flour mixture at a time thereafter until soft dough forms with no clumps.
4. Transfer dough onto a large cutting board or work surface dusted with flour. Cut a fist size piece out of the dough and roll it out into a large circle (little wider than the Pelmeni Maker).
5. Place Pelmeni Maker on the dough. Sprinkle some flour to dust Pelmeni Maker and dough (to prevent from sticking).
6. Place the floured side of the dough over the floured Pelmeni Maker.
7. Place 1 tsp. of seasoned ground turkey meat into each hexagon pocket.
8. Roll another dough circle and place it over the Pelmeni Maker filled with meat.
9. Using a rolling pin, press, and roll over the top (from the center outward) until all pelmeni are cut and the all the hexagon shapes are well visible.
10. Remove the outer layer of the remaining dough and knead it into a ball (to be used for the next bottom layer). Turn the Pelmeni Maker (filled with pelmeni) over and hit an edge against the rolling pin or cutting board a couple of times until all pelmeni falls out from the pockets.
I place the raw/uncooked pelmeni onto a rectangular plate so it’s easy to toss them into a pot of boiling water for cooking all at once. Repeat the same steps until you've used up the rest of the dough and meat. You should have approximately 5 batches or 275 pelmenis. I freeze leftover pelmeni in a ziplock back.
Unfrozen Pelmeni Cooking Instructions:
1. Bring a medium pot filled with water halfway to a boil (on high temp) then carefully toss in pelmeni. Reduce the heat to medium and stir. The boiling will subside and then resume. As soon as gentle boiling starts. simmer pelmeni for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Transfer cooked pelmeni into a bowl. Add 1 tbsp. of butter, cut into smaller pieces, then toss to coat.
Frozen Pelmeni Cooking Instructions:
Bring a medium pot filled with water halfway to a boil (on high temp) then carefully toss pelmeni into the pot. Do not reduce the heat (keep it on high) and stir.The coldness of frozen pelmeni will cause boiling to subside and then it will resume.
As soon as pelmeni start boiling again reduce the heat to low/medium and let them simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.Transfer cooked pelmeni into a bowl. Add 1 tbsp. of butter, cut into smaller pieces, then toss to coat.
Serve pelmeni right away with vinegar or sour cream (our preference).
Enjoy!
Recipe Card
Authentic Pelmeni Recipe
Valya's Taste of Home
Pelmenis are traditional Russian and Ukrainian dumplings. They have a tender bite of dough and savory meat filling for a satisfying dish!
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Servings 275 pelmeni
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 2 cups whey
- 1 large eggs
- 5 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 1 tbsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
For the Filling:
- 2 - 1.25 lbs. turkey breast tenderloins
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 onion small
- 1 - 2 garlic cloves small
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Instructions
How to Prepare the Meat Filling
Wash the turkey breast tenderloins to clean off any impurities, then grind them using a meat grinder.
Add shredded onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, and egg to the ground turkey.
Mix all the ingredients well using a hand mixer until they are thoroughly combined.
Cover the mixture with plastic food wrap and place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
How to Make the Dough
Combine all the dry ingredients together - sift all-purpose organic flour, baking soda, and sea salt, then set the mixture aside.
In a mixer bowl, pour in the whey, add the egg, and mix on medium speed using the mixer's whisk attachment. Mix for about 30 seconds or until the ingredients are well combined.
Switch the attachment to the mixer's dough hook. Add half of the flour mixture to the whey mixture and mix on the lowest speed. Continue adding ½ cup of flour mixture at a time until a soft dough forms with no clumps.
Transfer the dough onto a large cutting board or work surface that has been dust with flour. Cut a fist-sized piece out of the dough and roll it out into a large circle, a little wider than the pelmeni maker.
How to Fill and Shape the Pelmenis
Place the pelmenis maker on the rolled-out dough. Sprinkle some flour to dust the pelmenis maker and the dough to prevent sticking.
Place the floured side of the dough over the floured pelmenis maker. Press the dough into the pockets.
Place 1 tsp. of the seasoned ground turkey mixture into each pocket.
Roll out another dough circle and place it over the pelmenis maker filled with meat.
Use a rolling pin to press and roll over the top of the pelmenis maker from the center outward until all pelmenis are cut and the hexagon shapes are well visible.
Remove the outer layer of the remaining dough, knead it into a ball (to be used for the next bottom layer).
Turn the pelmenis maker filled with pelmenis over and hit an edge against the rolling pin or cutting board a couple of times until all pelmenis fall out from the pockets. Place the raw/uncooked pelmenis onto a rectangular plate.
Repeat the same steps until you've used up the rest of the dough and meat. You should have approximately 5 batches or 275 pelmenis. Any leftover pelmenis can be frozen in a ziplock bag.
How to Cook the Pelmeni
Unfrozen Pelmenis: Bring a medium pot filled with water halfway to a boil (on high temp) then carefully toss in pelmenis. Reduce the heat to medium and stir. The boiling will subside and then resume. As soon as gentle boiling starts, simmer pelmenis for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Frozen Pelmenis: Bring a medium pot filled with water halfway to a boil (on high temp) then carefully toss pelmenis into the pot. Do not reduce the heat (keep it on high) and stir. The coldness of frozen pelmenis will cause boiling to subside and then it will resume. As soon as pelmenis start boiling again reduce the heat to low/medium and let them simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Both Unfrozen and Frozen Pelmenis: Transfer the cooked pelmenis into a bowl. Add 1 tbsp. of butter, cut into smaller pieces, then toss to coat.
Serve the pelmenis right away with vinegar, sour cream, or anything else you prefer. Enjoy your delicious, homemade pelmenis!
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Kitchen items I used in making this recipe:
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