Pelmeni are small stuffed dumplings that supposedly originated in Siberia. Historically the facts show that they actually originated in Northern China in the area of Manchuria and passed from there to Siberia. Tribal groups in Siberia used these dumplings as portable food. They freeze well, are easy to cook by just boiling and are tasty as well as versatile. Traditionally pelmeni are stuffed with a meat or meat mixture, potatoes with onions, tvorog cheese (farmer's cheese), or even bits of fish or shrimp or crab.
In more ancient times pelmeni were even used as a form of barter-currency by caravan traders and fur traders. The Mongols brought them the southern regions of the Rus in the 13th. century but they came earlier than that to the Rus by way of trans-Siberian caravans and fur trappers/traders. Siberian tribal groups such as the Chukcha, Yakut, Komi, Kazan and others had these delicious little dumplings for centuries. They use meats such as venison, caribou, duck, goose, ptarmigan, seal, bear, fish and liver as the filling along with such things as berries, bits of dried fruits.
Pelmeni came to Russian cuisine from Siberia and the name is translated like "bread ear" from Komi language. There are many stories about pelmeni and one true thing is that you can eat a little pelmeni, especially if they are done in best traditions. Pelmeni are usually made by the whole family coming together as agroup and each having their own job in the pelmeni-making process.
Cooking pelmeni is usually accomplished by boiling but steaming pelmeni works as well. Now in this modern age pelmeni are available as frozen items in the supermarkets all over the former Soviet Union. There are special pelmeni molds & forms called "pelmenitsa" that are made and sold to aid in the making of these delectable dumplings.
The dough is rolled out, stretched over the mold and then the small circles are cut out by a press or another sheet of dough is stretched over the fisrt one after it has been loaded with filling in the defined spaces. Once the 2nd. sheet of dough goes on they are pressed together and the pelmeni are cut out, twisted into shape and either stored by refrigeration or freezing or are cooked and consumed.
There are thousands of pelmeni recipes but they are all basically the same. Below are several recipes for making these delicious dumplings.
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