Russian Pelmeni

Name: Russian Pelmeni
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Yield: 100 pelmeni
Ingredients: 1 egg; 1 teaspoon vegetable oil; 1 teaspoon salt; ¾ cup warm water; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour; 18 ounces ground beef; 1 small onion, chopped; 1 ½ tablespoons ice-cold water; 1 tablespoon coarse salt; freshly ground pepper to taste

Rating: 4.71 stars

17 Ratings
12 Reviews
3 Photos

Pelmeni are traditional Russian meat-filled dumplings. Making pelmeni is favorite family pastime in the long winter months. These dumplings are a common convenience food - big batches can be frozen and quickly boiled or fried on demand.

By Volnushka

Gallery

Recipe Summary

prep:

1 hr

cook:

15 mins

additional:

1 hr

total:

2 hrs 15 mins

Servings:

Yield:

100 pelmeni

Nutrition Info

Directions

Step 1
Combine egg, vegetable oil, and salt in a measuring cup; add enough water to fill to 1 cup. Pour into a bowl, add 3 cups flour, and knead into a smooth, elastic dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and rest for 30 minutes.

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Step 2
Dust a baking sheet lightly with 1 tablespoon flour.
Step 3
Combine ground beef, onion, water, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix filling thoroughly by hand or using a fork.
Step 4
Roll out a portion of the dough very thinly on a lightly floured surface and cut out 2 1/2-inch rounds with a cookie cutter or a wine glass. Keep the rest of the dough covered with a towel to avoid drying out. Place 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of filling on one side of the dough circle. Fold dough over and seal the edges using fingers, forming a crescent. Join the ends and pinch them together. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Freeze pelmeni for 30 minutes to prevent them from sticking together.
Step 5
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a simmer and drop small batches of frozen pelmeni into simmering water. Cook and stir until the meat is cooked and pelmeni float to the top, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer to serving plates using a slotted spoon.

Cook's Notes:

Instead of ground beef you can also use a mixture of half ground pork and half ground beef. Sometimes we use ground turkey for the filling. If you're not a fan of raw onion, saute onion in butter first for 5 to 7 minutes on medium heat.

You can also make the dough in a Kitchen Aid(R), just turn it off once the dough is forming a ball.

The meat filling can also be made by processing filling ingredients through a meat grinder but do not use a blender or food processor, unless you have a special setting for meat.

In Russia, people often use a pelmeni mold for forming pelmeni. If you have a pelmeni mold, roll out portions of the dough very thinly on a slightly floured surface. You should end up with a circle slightly bigger than the mold. Place rolled out dough onto the mold with the floured side down (the "sticky" side should be facing you). Place a little ball of filling (about 1 teaspoon) into every cell. Cover with another dough layer and sprinkle with flour on top. Roll with a rolling pin over the top, until pelmeni start "popping out" from the mold. Gather the remains of the dough, add a little bit of new dough to it, and roll out again, repeating the process until all the dough is used up.

Pelmeni can also be fried in a skillet. Melt butter or bacon grease in a skillet and saute frozen pelmeni until they are soft and the meat is cooked through, just like pierogi. Pelmeni are usually served with sour cream or vinegar.

In our house we usually double this recipe and fold about 200 pieces. Leftover pelmeni can easily be frozen for later use.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

212 calories; protein 10.6g; carbohydrates 25g; fat 7.3g; cholesterol 41mg; sodium 800mg. Full Nutrition

Reviews (12)

Most helpful positive review

Gustav

10/14/2018

I used deer instead of beef and it still tastes good. Read More

Helpful

(3)

17 Ratings

5 star values: 12
4 star values: 5
3 star values: 0
2 star values: 0
1 star values: 0

Reviews: Most Helpful

Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest

Gustav

10/14/2018

I used deer instead of beef and it still tastes good. Read More

Helpful

(3)

Susan

06/14/2019

I did half pork and half beef for the mixture. We made them at work one night and everyone loved them. We brushed with some garlic butter and cooked them in an airfyer. Read More

Helpful

(3)

Hariet Brown

10/23/2019

Russia has just been in the news so much that we had to take it upon ourselves to learn a little bit about their culture. Luckily we were able to find this great Russian Dumpling or “Pelmeni” recipe. Open your horizon’s people, food is the great unionizer! Read More

Helpful

(3)

JessicaBuhler

05/29/2019

I looooove this Pelmeni recipe! It’s simple and delicious. I personally cut the onions really small (more of a mince than a chop) and I prefer to sauté them before adding them to the ground beef. Make sure you season with an ample amount of salt and pepper, if you don’t the filling will be bland. My favorite dipping sauce to serve with these is sour cream mixed with a splash or two of white vinegar (sometimes I add dill weed too). They freeze great, just make sure to flour them before putting them in the freezer. I didn’t do this the first time and they all stuck together. Banging them on the counter to separate them was a workout LOL. Read More

Helpful

(3)

Alienova

10/30/2017

Delicious pelmeni recipe.. so happy to make my own since the nearest Russian store is 50 miles away. Read More

Helpful

(2)

thedailygourmet

Allstar

09/10/2017

This is very good. I do have a pelmeni mould, and made no changes to the recipe other than first sautéing the onion. I think the seasonings can be enhanced - I'm not too fond of just salt and black pepper. I will make this again and tweak the seasonings to taste. Read More

Helpful

(2)

DetroitTigress

04/08/2020

In Lebanon we have a meat pie called “Sambousek” that’s almost identical to this recipe, but it’s folded differently at the end (just a crescent shape). One other thing we do differently is cook the meat prior to frying. I just couldn’t wrap my head around not draining the grease and frying these with raw meat as in the recipe. I would love to know what happens to the grease if you fry these with the meat uncooked. They’re so much work but totally worth it in the end. My kids don’t want to waist 5 days til Easter to eat them they’re that good! Read More

Helpful

(1)

Artemus Syman

12/22/2019

Fond memories of Pelmeni making parties. My mom and several of her friends and my aunts would sit around the dining room table "folding" pelmeni. Hundreds would be made. Since my family is Russian by way of Shanghai we have and still eat them with vinegar and soya sauce. Delicious! Read More

Helpful

(1)

beverlymae

04/09/2019

We used half hamburger and half hot sausage added fresh dill and a few shakes of Franks hotsauce and garlic powder to the meat mixture. We also added a lot of fresh ground pepper. The dough was very firm and hard to roll out I suspect that because of the firm dough I wasnt able to roll them as thinly as preferred. We chose to fry them and they turned out well. We've got plenty of frozen ones that we ll try to boil. We garnished with sour cream and Sriracha sauce. We will make again. Read More

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All Reviews for Russian Pelmeni

- of Reviews

Russian Pelmeni

Servings Per Recipe: 12
Calories: 212.2

% Daily Value *

protein: 21 %

carbohydrates: 8 %

dietary fiber: 4 %

sugars:

fat: 11 %

saturated fat: 13 %

cholesterol: 14 %

vitamin a iu:

niacin equivalents: 41 %

vitamin b6: 6 %

vitamin c: 1 %

folate: 16 %

calcium: 1 %

iron: 13 %

magnesium: 5 %

potassium: 3 %

sodium: 32 %

thiamin: 26 %

calories from fat:

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.

Reviews for Photos of Russian Pelmeni

1 of 12

All Reviews

Gustav

10/14/2018

I used deer instead of beef and it still tastes good.

Helpful

(3)

Susan

06/14/2019

I did half pork and half beef for the mixture. We made them at work one night and everyone loved them. We brushed with some garlic butter and cooked them in an airfyer.

Helpful

(3)

Hariet Brown