Khinkali

Don't Make These Mistakes

The filling should look far too wet. That water becomes the broth.

Thin rim, thicker centre. It is what makes the pleating possible.

Stir the water before they go in, and never let it boil violently.

Cooking Khinkali

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1. Mix the flour, salt and cold water and knead 12 minutes to a very firm dough — firmer than pasta. Wrap and rest 40 minutes.

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2. Mix both minces with the onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, chilli and coriander.

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3. Beat in the iced water a little at a time until the filling is loose and sloppy — it should look too wet. That is the soup.

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4. Refrigerate the filling 30 minutes.

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5. Roll the dough thin, about 2 mm, and cut 14 cm circles. Roll each circle out again from the edges so the rim is thinner than the centre.

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6. Hold a circle in your palm and put 2 heaped tablespoons of filling in the middle.

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7. Pleat the edge around with your fingers, turning as you go, folding at least 18 pleats and gathering them upward.

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8. Twist the gathered top firmly into a knot and pinch off the very tip.

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9. Boil in a wide pot of well-salted water, stirring the water first so they do not stick. Cook 8 minutes from the moment they float.

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10. Lift out, grind coarse black pepper over, and eat by holding the knot, biting a small hole, drinking the broth and then eating the rest.

    Mark done

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Why the Method Works

The soup inside is not stock added as jelly but water beaten into the raw mince, which renders and mixes with the meat juices as the dumpling boils. The thick knot at the top exists so you have somewhere to hold while you bite a hole and drink the broth — it is a handle, and leaving it uneaten is the convention.

After You've Cooked It

Freeze raw on trays for 3 months and boil from frozen, adding 3 minutes.

Swaps and Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Good With

• A Georgian red such as Saperavi
• Coarse black pepper
• Pickled vegetables

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Adjaruli Khachapuri.

Common Questions About Khinkali

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: an ingredient listed without an amount is not counted, so the figures run low. How the figures are worked out.

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