Hinkali (master class)
Description
Serve the hinkali hot, drizzled with melted butter, accompanied by coarsely ground pepper, fresh herbs, sour cream, and tkemali sauce—after all, this is a Georgian dish! Hinkali are eaten by hand, holding them by the stem, carefully taking a bite to keep the juice in your mouth. Svanetian salt consists of crushed garlic, dried cilantro (can be substituted with coriander), dried dill or its seeds, and ground red pepper. Sometimes ground cumin, saffron, and crushed fenugreek pods are added. Good luck!
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients. Grind the freshest meat into mince (use a coarse grind). The ratio of pork to beef is up to your preference. The original recipe uses lamb, but increasingly often hinkali are made with beef and pork (1 kg of mince = 700 g beef, 300 g pork). The traditional herb is cilantro, but since I don't like it, I replace it with dill and green onion.
- 2
Step 2
Prepare the dough. To do this, sift the flour into a deep bowl, but not all of it—set aside about 1 cup for now. Make a well in the center, break the egg into it, and pour in the vegetable oil.
- 3
Step 3
Dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water. Begin mixing the dough with a spoon, gradually adding the water.
- 4
Step 4
Knead the dough. Cover it with a towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- 5
Step 5
Prepare the minced meat. To do this, in a bowl combine fresh minced meat with chopped onion and herbs, and half a teaspoon of salt (without a heap). Pour in half a cup of ice water. Mix the meat thoroughly with your hands until it absorbs the water. Don't worry, the mixture won't be liquid.
- 6
Step 6
The mince is ready! You can add a pinch of ground black pepper.
- 7
Step 7
Cut off a piece of dough, knead it slightly, and roll it out thinly on a floured surface. Cut out circles using a glass or cookie cutter.
- 8
Step 8
Place a portion of meat filling onto each dough circle. And now comes the most interesting part: lift the edges and pleat them together to form a "little pouch." Hold the pleats with one hand while using the other hand to create new ones. Soon, you'll have a neat little pouch. Then, gather the pleats into a tight, attractive knot—sometimes twisted and trimmed, or simply sealed by joining the edges of the dough into a pouch shape.
- 9
Step 9
The cooking time directly depends on the size of your khinkali. Boil them in salted water with bay leaf. Once the khinkali float to the surface, continue cooking for about 10 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate.