Georgian taste

Passport & Plate - Khinkali

Georgia | Wednesday, March 12, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Beef meat
Pork meat
flour
onions
water
fresh coriander
salt
fresh parsley glass with thin rim
black pepper
red pepper

 

How to prepare this recipe
We have to peel the onions and chop them up. Clean the fresh coriander and parsley in cold water and chop them up. Mix the onion and herbs together and add the caraway seeds, pepper, salt and water. Put the minced meat in a bowl and add the mixture. Mix well. Clean a workspace and make sure it is dry. Dust it generously with flour. Pour the flour onto the working space and add the salt. Make a pile with a hole in the middle. Then slowly add the water into the hole and knead to make the dough. Add an egg to make the dough more smooth and easier to handle.

Make a large, thin slab of dough using a rolling-pin (have an extra cup of flour handy to dust onto the dough, roller or working space in case they become sticky). Use the glass (upside down) to cut the dough into small rounds. Use the rolling-pin again to make each round larger and thinner. Put some stuffing on each round. Now fold them into dumplings by picking up the outside bit by bit and folding each bit to the previous one—like pleating a curtain. Work round until the dumpling is closed and has a thick dough part at the top like a handle. Fill a large cooking pot with water (or beef broth to enhance the taste) and bring to boil. Gently place the dumplings in and boil for 15 minutes. Take them out of the water using a skimmer and put them on a large plate. Serve Dust with freshly ground black pepper and serve directly.

 

The story behind this recipe
This recipe is so special because it one of the oldest and traditional food in Georgia. The root of this food is from 19th century and from the high mountain villages in Georgia,the name of this region is Tusheti. Its concerned that in high mountains there was really cold weather and traditional Khinkali is full of by fat and was eating with Vodka,which was helping people for warming up. In addition, the most important part was and still is, how many "wrinkle" has this food. The high class Khinkali should have 28 "wrinkles". Also, the specialty of this recipe was that, during cooking this food too many people were participating and the men who was able to take out from the boiling water directly and immediately would be able to eat (hot and just boiled) he was the most courage person. This tradition is remain more or less in high mountain villages and I was surprised when I saw this first time,several years ago.That's why this food is my favorite one.Somehow its connected with braveness and courageousness of Georgian people.