Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Makes 20 large khinkali
For the dumpling dough
- 500 g (4 cups) sifted all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 2 large eggs (optional)
- 1 glass (150 ml / ⅔ cup) warm water
- 1 tsp salt
For the filling
- 350 g (12 oz) ground beef (minced beef), or half beef, half lamb
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 handful fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped
- 1 handful parsley, chopped
- Salt, pepper
- 1 level tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin or ground coriander (optional)
- 1 tsp chili powder (optional)
- 1 small glass (100 ml / ⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp) water
A little trip to Georgia today with khinkali (in Georgian: ხინკალი). These are dumplings with a juicy meat filling that you eat with your hands.
Making the dough
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, put the flour, eggs and salt, then gradually add the water while kneading until you get a dough that is fairly stiff but smooth and pulls away from the sides. Shape into a ball, cover and let rest for about 30 minutes.
Making the filling
- In a large bowl, mix the meat, the chopped onions (I like to do this in a mini chopper along with the herbs), the chopped cilantro and parsley, the paprika and the ground coriander, then season with salt and pepper. Add the water. The mixture should be soft.
Shaping the khinkali dumplings
- Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out very thinly with a pasta machine or a rolling pin, then cut out disks about 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter (as a guide, each piece should weigh about 60 g / 2 oz). You can use a glass to cut the circles, then roll them out again with the rolling pin.
Place 1 Tbsp of filling in the center of each disk, then fold the edges up into a little pouch, pleating as you go and sealing well so they don’t open during cooking. This is the trickiest part.
Cooking the khinkali dumplings
In a large pot of boiling water, gently drop in the dumplings so they don’t stick to each other. Try to keep the side with the knot fully submerged in the water so it cooks through. Stir with a wooden spoon if needed. They are done after about 7 minutes. Lift them out gently with a slotted spoon so you don’t tear them.
Arrange on a serving platter and sprinkle with pepper. They are eaten hot, traditionally with your hands, holding them by the knot. If your khinkali have turned out well, meat juices will run out when you open them. Some people don’t eat the knot because it’s thicker.
Tips and variations
The dough can be made a few hours ahead and kept in the refrigerator. Just take it out a little beforehand and knead it for a few moments.
The dumpling dough can be made without eggs.
-When you roll out the dough, you can cut disks with a glass, then roll them out again lightly, leaving the center a little thicker than the edges.
For a vegetarian version, replace the ground meat with mushrooms sautéed in a skillet.
They can be frozen before cooking. Just cook them in boiling water straight from the freezer.
If you have a little filling left over, shape it into small meatballs and fry them in a skillet with a little neutral oil.