Pelmeni
Small Siberian dumplings with a thin wheat wrapper and a raw meat filling, boiled and eaten with soured cream, butter and black pepper.
Photograph credit: Mini-Pelmeni by Brücke-Osteuropa · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
The filling goes in raw with a splash of iced water worked into it, which turns to steam inside the sealed dumpling and gives the juicy interior that cooked-filling dumplings never have. The wrapper is rolled very thin and the dumplings are small, so the meat cooks through in the four minutes the pasta needs.
Quick Answers
How long does Pelmeni take to make?
1 hour of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking, plus 40 minutes of resting, so allow 1 hour 55 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 6.
Photograph credit: Moscow, TC Gagarinsky Feb.2025 - Auchan - Pelmeni 01 by Retired electrician · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
The Method for Pelmeni
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Mix the flour and salt, add the egg and cold water, and knead 10 minutes to a firm, smooth dough. Wrap and rest 40 minutes.
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Mix both minces with the grated onion, salt and pepper, then beat in the iced water a tablespoon at a time until the filling is soft and slightly sticky.
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Roll the dough as thin as you can — 1.5 mm — working in batches and keeping the rest covered.
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Cut 6 cm rounds. Put a teaspoon of filling in the centre of each.
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Fold into a half moon and seal the curved edge firmly, pressing out all the air. Then bring the two corners together around your fingertip and pinch them into the classic ring.
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Set the finished pelmeni on a floured tray without touching. At this point they can be frozen on the tray and bagged.
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Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil and drop in a batch.
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Stir once, and cook 4 minutes from the moment they float — 6 if from frozen.
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Lift out with a slotted spoon into a warm bowl, toss with butter, and serve with soured cream, dill, black pepper and a little vinegar.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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A Few Pointers
- Iced water beaten into the raw filling. It is what makes them juicy.
- Press every bit of air out before sealing, or they burst.
- Freeze them on the tray first, then bag. They cook straight from frozen.
Serve It With
Soured cream and dill · A shot of cold vodka · A sharp vinegar dip
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Vinegret.
Storage
Freeze raw on trays for 3 months. Cooked pelmeni do not keep well.
Pelmeni Nutrition
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.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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