Name: Georgian Khinkali Dumplings
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 5 servings
Cuisine: Georgian
Ingredients: 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling; 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water, for the dough; 2 tsp kosher salt, divided; 3/4 lb ground beef, 20 percent fat; 3/4 lb ground pork; 1 medium yellow onion, grated on the small holes of a box grater; 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, very finely chopped; 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving; 1/2 tsp ground caraway; 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes; 3/4 cup cold water, for the filling

Georgian Khinkali Dumplings

4.8 from 570 home cooks Free

Big, hand-sized dumplings from the Caucasus mountains, gathered into a thick twisted knob at the top and filled with loose, peppery beef and pork that releases a hot broth as it cooks. You hold one by the knob, bite a small hole, sip, then eat. Wonderful for a slow evening with friends and cold beer.

Prep

1 hr 30 min

Cook

15 min

Total

1 hr 45 min

Serves

Level

Hard

Cuisine

Georgian

Method

Step 1: Mix the flour and 1 tsp salt, then add the lukewarm water and knead for 10 minutes into a stiff, smooth dough that barely sticks. Wrap it and rest for 30 minutes; the gluten relaxes so it can be rolled thin without springing back.
Step 2: Combine the beef, pork, onion, cilantro, black pepper, caraway, pepper flakes and remaining 1 tsp salt. Work in the cold water a few tablespoons at a time, squeezing with your hand, until the mixture is loose and wet like a thick porridge. This water becomes the broth inside.
Step 3: Divide the dough into 20 pieces and roll each into a 5 1/2-inch round, thinner at the edges than in the middle. Keep the rest covered so they do not dry out.
Step 4: Place a heaping 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of a round. Lift the edge and fold it into a pleat, then keep pleating around the circle, rotating as you go, aiming for 18 to 20 folds.
Step 5: Gather the pleats together above the filling and pinch and twist them firmly into a tight knob, leaving no gaps for broth to escape. Set on a floured tray and repeat.
Step 6: Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Lower in 8 to 10 khinkali, stir gently once so none stick to the bottom, and boil for 12 to 14 minutes, until they float and the dough looks translucent and puffed.
Step 7: Lift out with a slotted spoon onto a platter and grind black pepper over the top. Eat by hand, holding the knob, and leave the chewy knobs on the plate.

Kitchen note

Grating the onion instead of chopping it releases its juice straight into the meat, which adds to the broth and keeps sharp onion chunks from poking holes in the thin dough.