Khinkali - what kind of dish is it and how to prepare it? Technology of sculpting khinkali How khinkali are prepared recipe.

Italian ravioli... What cuisine does not have a dish that is a bag of dough with minced meat inside? In the countries of Transcaucasia, this dish is called “khinkali”. It is clear that the dishes differ from each other not only in name. Each of them has its own regional characteristics. Khinkali also has them. This feature lies in the fact that inside the dough bag there must also be broth. And the meat (in the traditional recipe this is lamb) is cut into tiny pieces with a dagger and mixed with herbs.

The art of sculpting khinkali is the skill of creating many folds. It should really be a bag, not a bag (dumpling). Visually, authentic khinkali looks as if tied with a thread. Considering this specificity, the requirements for the test are special. After all, it must be very elastic and at the same time strong, so that the broth does not leak out ahead of time. In this article we will look at how to prepare dough for khinkali. Making Caucasian dumplings is an art, and we will try to master it.

Classics and permitted innovations

Previously, the rules for preparing this dish were strict. The meat of mountain goats or domestic sheep was used for the filling. The minced meat was cut with a dagger. Only salt, black pepper, wild dill and cilantro were added there. The dough for khinkali also did not require many ingredients: only flour, water and salt. Sometimes an egg was added to it. But kneading the dough was very labor-intensive. But the efforts spent paid off handsomely. The dough came out soft and elastic and retained its seal well during cooking. The sizes of khinkali varied depending on regional characteristics. In some places they were the size of a walnut, and sometimes one “dumpling” took up the entire plate. But what all khinkali have in common is the shape of the bag with numerous folds. What is permissible for a modern cook who wants to taste delicacies? Firstly, expensive lamb can be replaced with beef or pork. Minced meat can be passed through a meat grinder. But the dough for khinkali, if you want to get a bag of broth, must be prepared according to a traditional recipe.

Kneading

Sift three cups of flour into a deep bowl. Add a few pinches of salt. Make a depression at the top with your finger and pour a glass of water into it. It must be icy - that is the requirement. Stir with a fork. When the mass begins to more or less resemble dough, transfer it to a table sprinkled with flour and knead for a long time. It should turn out elastic and stop sticking to your fingers. When you have achieved this, cover the khinkali dough with a napkin and leave for thirty minutes. While you're at it, make the filling. Add two onions minced to 500 grams of minced meat and pour in a glass of ice water or broth. The filling absorbs liquid well. It will come out moist and slightly viscous, but dense.

Another one for khinkali

Sift flour (half the amount indicated in the method described above) and mix with salt. Pour in a glass of broth. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with a fork and also add it to the “crater”. After kneading, transfer to a table sprinkled with flour. The dough will be very sticky to your hands at first. Therefore, your palms should also be dipped in flour from time to time. After the first, longest, kneading, you need to let the dough rest for half an hour. During this time you can prepare the filling. After this, you need to knead the khinkali dough, add the remaining half of the flour and knead for another ten minutes or a quarter of an hour. You need to start sculpting the bags right away.

Recipe No. 3

Some families add olive oil to the dough. This makes it even more elastic. And the egg makes the dough strong, so that the broth from the middle of the khinkali will not spill out during cooking. We start kneading as in the previous recipe. Sift one and a half cups of flour into a bowl. This is half the required norm. Add a teaspoon of salt. Mix and form a volcano with a crater. Pour two or three soup spoons of olive oil into it. We also beat in one chicken egg. Slowly knead with one hand, and with the other we begin to add cold water. You can do it a little differently. Dissolve the salt in water in advance and leave it to cool. But this is an insignificant difference. When you get a homogeneous and soft mass, cover it with a towel and leave to rest for half an hour. After this, as the recipe for khinkali dough No. 2 advises, add the remaining flour and knead for ten minutes. But, unlike the previous method, we do not start sculpting. Cover the bun with a towel again for half an hour. After this time, knead the dough again. If it still sticks to your hands, add more flour.

Rolling out the dough

When real housewives make homemade khinkali, they roll out the dough for each bag separately. This can be done in two ways. The first involves simply pinching off pieces of dough the size of a large nut from the kolobok. This often leads to different sizes of khinkali. You can resort to the second method: form the entire dough into a sausage, cut it into slices one and a half centimeters thick. Well, the easiest way is the way we usually make dumplings or dumplings. Roll out the dough into one thin layer and use a mold to cut out round cakes. The only difference is that the pattern here is not a glass or even a glass, but a saucer. The cakes should be large - about 10-12 centimeters in diameter (like a CD) - and thin, no more than two millimeters.

Formation of pouches

The canon requires the housewife to ensure that each khinkali has at least 20 folds. And some craftswomen can bring their number to 36! How to sculpt khinkali correctly? The step-by-step recipe advises first placing a tablespoon of minced meat in the middle of the flatbread. Next, with two fingers we take two opposite ends of the circle and connect them. Let the khinkali hang a little so that the dough becomes taut. Now let's remember how in childhood we folded an accordion from a sheet of paper. It's the same principle here. We make folds one next to the other at the tail, moving the cake in a circle. This requires skill. Most likely, you will ruin the first ten khinkali, but over time the skill will come. Some chefs try to form the preparations in a different way. They simply press the edges of the cake together and twist the bag so that it is screwed on like a candy wrapper around a piece of candy. This method is easy, but there is one problem. In a pan of boiling water, the bag can come undone just as quickly as it was screwed on.

Cooking

Cooking khinkali is no different. They are cooked in the same way as regular dumplings. The only thing is, do not throw all the products into boiling salted water at once. If they come into contact with each other, they may stick together and the dough may tear. Lower them with a slotted spoon one at a time. After the bags float to the surface, they need to be boiled for about six more minutes. Place them on a large plate and sprinkle with coarsely ground black pepper. You can serve tkemali, satsebeli or dogwood sauce separately. And a bottle of Khvanchkara wouldn't hurt.

How to eat khinkali

This dish can only be taken with your hands. If you pierce it with a fork, the broth from the bag will flow out onto the plate, and preparing khinkali is a rather labor-intensive process to allow such barbarity. After all, the numerous folds that the hostess painstakingly sculpted are a guarantee that the dough will not tear. This is how they eat khinkali. They take it by the tail, dip the “butt” into the sauce (if there is one) and bite it. Then the delicious, scalding broth will fall straight into your mouth. Well, then eat everything else. The tails can be placed on the edge of the plate.

After spending a few hours in the kitchen, preferably with the whole family, you can replenish your bins with home-made semi-finished products. Today we are preparing khinkali - a traditional dish of Georgian cuisine, which is large dumplings with a juicy filling.

The cooking process will not be fast - khinkali is never made in a hurry, because this dish requires maximum attention and some skill. We tried to prepare a detailed step-by-step khinkali recipe with photos! We hope everything works out for you!

Ingredients:

For the test:

• flour - 500 g;
• salt - ½ teaspoon;
• drinking water - 250 ml.

For filling:

• minced meat - 500-600 g;
• large onion - 1 pc.;
• cilantro or other greens (optional) - a bunch;
• meat broth (or water) - about 80 ml;
• salt, spices - to taste.

For the sauce (optional):

• sour cream - 150 g;
• tomato paste - 2-3 tbsp. spoons;
• boiled water - 50 ml;
• garlic - 2-3 cloves;
• greens (any) - 3-4 sprigs;
• salt, ground red pepper - to taste.

How to make dough for khinkali

1. Khinkali is traditionally prepared with a simple basic dough. To make it, sift the flour onto a work surface and add salt. We form a depression and add warm drinking water to the flour mixture.
   
2. Carefully knead the mass, kneading a moderately dense, stiff dough that does not stick to your hands. If necessary, increase the portion of flour. Cover with a napkin and be sure to give the dough about half an hour of rest.
   

   How to make the filling for khinkali

3. At the same time, prepare the filling. Georgian khinkali is usually made from mixed minced meat, often with the addition of lamb. However, it is not available for sale everywhere, so at home, minced beef with the addition of fatty pork is suitable. If you don’t trust the quality of the finished semi-finished minced meat, you can pass the meat pulp through a meat grinder. Throw in salt, spices and chopped onions as finely as possible.
   
4. Stir the mixture until smooth. To make the finished khinkali as juicy as possible, add meat broth or plain water to the minced meat and knead. You will need as much liquid as the minced meat can completely absorb without separating into meat and water parts. Now the filling is ready! Sometimes garlic or fresh cilantro is added to the minced meat, but this is optional.
   
   
5. Partially roll out the “rested” dough into a thin layer (no more than 2 mm thick). Using a bowl/bowl or any round shape, cut out flat cakes with a diameter of 12-15 cm. Collect the remaining dough and roll out again.
   
6. Place a portion of minced meat (about 1 tablespoon) in the center of each circle.
   
7. Carefully lift the edges of the cake, folding it in a circle. Simply put, we form a kind of “bag” with meat filling.
   
8. We tightly mold all the folds in the center. We take the formed workpiece by the formed tail and lift it, allowing the semi-finished product to hang a little. This is necessary for better gluing of the edges. We form all the khinkali in the same way and place them on a cutting board sprinkled with flour. If you are not going to boil all the semi-finished products at once, store them in the freezer.
   
   
9. Boil the khinkali, a few pieces at a time, in plenty of salted boiling water. We lower the semi-finished products into boiling water carefully, trying not to tear the thin dough. After our “bags” float to the surface, continue cooking for 10-15 minutes.
   
10. You can serve khinkali in Georgian without any additions, lightly sprinkling them with ground pepper. But if you wish, you can also prepare a spicy sour cream sauce. To do this, put sour cream and tomato paste in a blender bowl with knives, add chopped herbs and 50 ml of pre-boiled and cooled water.
    
11. Combine the components into a homogeneous mass. Taste, add salt, hot ground pepper to taste and squeeze out the garlic cloves. Mix again. By the way, this sauce is also suitable for

Khinkali are dough products filled with meat, created many years ago by Georgian chefs. In terms of cooking technology, they partly resemble the famous Russian dumplings, although they look different. To prepare such a dish, you must not only know how to make a tasty filling, but also how to properly knead the dough for khinkali. We offer to make a semi-finished product in different ways.

The simplest khinkali dough can be made with only three main components:

• 250 milliliters of drinking water;
• 750 grams of premium flour;
• 10 grams of table salt.

Semi-finished product preparation technology:

1. Sift a measured amount of flour and pour into a deep container. This could be a large bowl.
2. Add salt.
3. Add flour in portions and mix the ingredients with your hands. First, this is done directly in a bowl, and a little later the process needs to be transferred to a cutting board.
4. The result should be a lump of tight dough that will not stick to your hands.
5. Next, the almost finished dough needs to be wrapped in thin cling film and left on the table to mature.

Literally in half an hour the semi-finished product will be suitable for further work.

Georgian with egg

The Georgian classic recipe is slightly different from the version described above. Local chefs usually add an egg to this dough.

It will make the semi-finished product more elastic, which will facilitate the final stage of sculpting the products in the future.

For this option you will need:

• 1.2 kilograms of wheat flour;
• a little fine salt;
• 2 raw chicken eggs;
• 450 milliliters of warm water.

You need to prepare the dough in stages:

1. Pour all the flour into any wide bowl. Make a small indentation in the center.
2. Pour salt into this hole and beat in the eggs.
3. Start mixing the ingredients with your hands. You can do this for 5 minutes in a bowl. Then, when the mass is slightly compacted, transfer it to the board and continue kneading. This will take another 5 minutes.
4. Roll out the finished dough with a rolling pin into a thin layer. Then you can cut blanks from it.

This option is convenient because the dough practically does not need to mature. After a short kneading, it is completely ready for use. In addition, the presence of eggs in the recipe makes the mass more elastic, while maintaining the desired density.

How to make it with kefir

Georgian khinkali dough is sometimes made not with water, but with kefir. This semi-finished product remains soft, tender for a long time and does not dry out.

This is especially important when large batches of products are planned.

For this test you need to take:

• 1 kilogram of baking flour;
• 24 grams of baking soda;
• salt;
• 2 full glasses of kefir.

How to prepare this semi-finished product:

1. First, sift the flour into a bowl. You can even do this several times.
2. Add unslaked soda to it. In this case, kefir will play the role of vinegar. At the same time add salt and mix it all lightly.
3. Pour in kefir. This should be done slowly with constant stirring. Gradually the dough will turn into a plastic tight ball.
4. After this, it should rest a little (about 2-3 hours).

Before work, the ripe semi-finished product will only have to be rolled out with a rolling pin on the table, sprinkled with flour.

Dough for khinkali with mineral water

If desired, you can make dough for khinkali even with mineral water. It is slightly different from the usual lean semi-finished product.

Due to the gas present in the mineral water, the dry components dissolve faster. This reduces the time required for kneading.

We select the following composition:

• 640 grams of flour;
• 10 grams of salt;
• 1 glass of mineral water (carbonated);
• 50 grams of sugar;
• egg category C1.

The test execution technology will be completely different:

1. Break the egg into a wide bowl.
2. Add the bulk ingredients, then beat everything with a mixer.
3. Pour mineral water into a bowl.
4. Add flour in portions and complete the final kneading.
5. Cover the finished dough and set aside for 20-25 minutes.

The mass turns out to be moderately dense, and due to the eggs it is also quite strong. Unlike the usual lean semi-finished product, it does not tear.

Cooking in a bread machine

To prevent the products from falling apart during the cooking process, the dough for khinkali must be sufficiently stiff and homogeneous. This cannot always be achieved by hand. It is simple and reliable to prepare dough in a bread machine.

There is one original recipe for which you will need:

• 450 grams of flour;
• a pinch of salt;
• 200 milliliters of water;
• 1 egg;
• 40 grams of vodka.

How to make dough in a bread machine:

1. First sift the flour. Due to this, the dough will be softer.
2. Load all components into the form at once.
3. Place it in the bread machine body, close the lid and select the “dough” program on the panel. The device itself will signal the end of the process.

The dough prepared according to this recipe does not need to rest. You can immediately put it on the table and roll it out.

Puff base for dish

When using juicy fillings, it is best to choose puff pastry for khinkali. The process of its preparation is quite long and labor-intensive. If the housewife has limited time, she can use a simplified version.

Let's take:

• 320 grams of wheat flour;
• 25 grams of sugar;
• 200 grams (1 pack) butter;
• half a glass of cold drinking water.
• 2-3 grams of salt.

Prepare the quick dough as follows:

1. Place flour on a cutting board.
2. Place the butter here, cut into small cubes, and chop the food well with a knife.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until the mass turns into a dense ball. In this case, flour should be added in portions.
4. Wrap the bun in film and put it in the refrigerator for several hours.

Before work, the ripened dough will only need to be rolled out 5-7 times, folding it in several layers.

Choux pastry for khinkali

For a dish like khinkali, choux pastry is ideal. Thanks to its original consistency and plasticity, it rolls out quite thinly. In addition, this semi-finished product never breaks during molding or cooking.

To prepare it you need only four components:

• 3 cups flour;
• 20 grams of butter;
• 2 grams of table salt;
• 400 milliliters of water.

To make choux pastry for khinkali:

1. Pour water into a saucepan.
2. Add salt and oil to it, then stir and bring to a boil.
3. Add 2 cups of flour one at a time into hot water. Mix very quickly, as the mixture will immediately begin to cool.
4. Add the rest of the flour and make the final knead. The dough will be quite stiff.
5. Place the dough in a bag and leave it alone for literally 30-35 minutes. During this time it will mature and level out.

After this, the dough can be rolled out and the shaping process can begin.

Traditional filling for khinkali

Khinkali, as is known, is a dish of Georgian cuisine. Therefore, traditionally the filling for it is made from lamb meat. The Georgian classic recipe requires that the minced meat be juicy and aromatic.

Therefore, you can use the following set of products:

• 0.4 kilograms of lamb fillet;
• a few cloves of garlic (to taste);
• 200 milliliters of broth;
• a little salt;
• 2 medium onions;
• pepper;
• 1 bunch each of dill and parsley.

To prepare the filling:

1. Cut the meat into small pieces with a sharp knife. Using a meat grinder in this case is not recommended.
2. Roughly chop the onion and garlic. Try to make the workpieces as small as possible.
3. Chop the greens.
4. Collect the crushed products in one container.
5. Add a little salt, a little pepper, stir.
6. Add broth. Stir everything again.

The mixture should stand for a while so that the meat partially absorbs the liquid. The filling should not crumble or separate into fractions.

Khinkali, the recipe for which belongs to the national Georgian cuisine, is made in the likeness of Russian dumplings made from a flour base with filling, but has a characteristic shape given by the cook during modeling. The amazing juiciness, excellent taste and originality of the products made them popular far beyond the Caucasus.

Khinkali in Georgian

If you don’t yet know how to cook khinkali, check out the basic rules for preparing them, which will help you get the authentic taste of the delicacy:

1. For the filling, use minced meat with onions, which are cut very finely with a knife - no meat grinder! No less important components that give it a unique taste are Georgian spices.
2. The dough is kneaded without adding eggs or dairy products. Its main components are water, flour, salt and vegetable oil.
3. Khinkali are made from a rolled out flour base by filling flatbreads cut out according to a template with meat.
4. The products are boiled in water, less often they are additionally fried in oil.
5. Separately, serve sauce for khinkali based on tomato with garlic, spices and herbs.

Khinkali dough - recipe

Having prepared the right one, you can be sure that the dish will turn out as it should. A well-rolled, plastic, but dense flour base will allow you to easily complete the modeling, preserve the integrity of the products during heat treatment and, as a result, their juiciness, which is almost the main aspect in the characteristics of the dish.

Ingredients:

• flour – 500-600 g;
• water – 250 ml;
• vegetable oil – 30 ml;
• salt – 1 teaspoon.

Preparation

1. Sift flour into a bowl, add butter and salted water.
2. Knead long and thoroughly, adding flour until the mass absorbs it.
3. A dense and tight lump is left in the bag for 40-60 minutes, after which it can be used for rolling out and decorating a Caucasian dish.

Minced meat for khinkali - recipe

An equally important component is the minced meat for khinkali, which largely determines the taste characteristics. The mass should turn out juicy, so water must be added to it, which must be well cooled. The original recipe uses a mixture of several types of meat. Lamb and beef or beef and pork are often combined.

Ingredients:

• pork – 250 g;
• beef – 250 g;
• onion – 150 g;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• ice water – 250 ml;
• cumin, salt, pepper.

Preparation

1. The meat is frozen a little, chopped very finely along with the onions.
2. Season the mixture with cumin, garlic, pepper, salt, add water and stir.
3. Let the filling base sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

How to make khinkali?

In addition to familiarizing yourself with the dough and filling recipes, you need to know how to wrap khinkali. Both its appearance, taste characteristics and tasting impressions depend on the correct execution of this stage of creating a Caucasian delicacy. To design products you need to perform the following steps step by step:

Georgian khinkali recipe with meat

You became familiar with the intricacies of creating dough and minced meat and learned how to cope with sculpting products. The next recipe will tell you in more detail how to properly cook khinkali with meat filling, which is classic. If desired, the meat can be mixed with chopped cilantro or basil and added. From the dough and minced meat made according to the recipes proposed above, 6 servings can be prepared in 1.5 hours.

Ingredients:

• dough – 800 g;
• meat filling – 800 g.

Preparation

1. Prepare the dough, chop the meat into minced meat and season it.
2. After the two bases are ready, the blanks are drawn up.
3. Place a wide, large saucepan on the stove, pour in water, add some salt and let it boil.
4. Create a whirlpool with a spoon and add one product at a time.
5. If you don’t know how long to cook khinkali, then medium-sized pieces are kept in moderately boiling water for 10 minutes.

Khinkali with cheese

In addition to traditional variations with meat, there are recipes for Georgian dishes with other fillings. From the following recommendations you will learn how to prepare khinkali filled with cheese. In this case, suluguni is used, but it is acceptable to use feta cheese or its mixture with hard cheeses. The filling can be supplemented with herbs and crushed garlic. In an hour you will get a treat for 6 people.

Ingredients:

• dough – 800 g;
• suluguni – 700 g;
• butter – 100 g;
• yolks – 2 pcs.;
• salt, herbs.

Preparation

1. The recipe for khinkali with cheese is simple. Knead the dough, let it sit, roll out and cut out round cakes.
2. Grind the suluguni, mix the shavings with butter and yolks, and place them in the center of the pieces.
3. Decorate the products and cook them in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Lamb khinkali

Khinkali, the recipe for which is presented below, is prepared, unlike the authentic version, exclusively from lamb. For those who do not like this kind of meat, tasting a dish prepared without the proper approach can be a real challenge. But if you carefully approach the execution of the process, choose the right product and complement the filling with appropriate accompaniment, the meal will bring incredible taste pleasure. You can make 6 servings in 1.5 hours.

Ingredients:

• dough – 800 g;
• young lamb – 400 g;
• fat tail – 100 g;
• onion – 350 g;
• water – 200-300 ml;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• chili pepper – 2 pcs.;
• dried savory, pepper mixture, suneli hops - a pinch.

Preparation

1. Cooking khinkali begins with preparing the filling. The lamb is chopped with fat tail, onions and garlic, seasoned with seasonings, water is added and placed in the refrigerator to infuse.
2. Knead the flour base, after about 30 minutes roll it out, cut out the templates and shape them into products, filling them with minced lamb.
3. Cook the preparations for 10 minutes.

Fried khinkali

Khinkali, the recipe for which will be outlined below, is prepared using classical technology, but in the end it turns out not as usual. This is due to the fact that the products are additionally fried in oil, acquiring a golden brown crust and, as a result, new taste characteristics. In this case, the dough is rolled out a little thicker, up to about 2 mm. A meal for 6 people can be organized in 1.5 hours.

Ingredients:

• dough – 800 g;
• minced meat – 700 g;
• onion – 200 g;
• broth – 200 ml;
• seasonings, vegetable oil.

Preparation

1. Prepare the minced meat by adding onions and broth with spices, knead the dough, let the ingredients brew and decorate traditional Georgian products.
2. Immerse them in small portions in boiling water and cook for 7-10 minutes.
3. Place in a colander and allow to drain.
4. Read more about how to fry khinkali. Place the boiled specimens in a single layer of oil in a hot frying pan, brown on all sides and remove to a napkin.

How to eat khinkali correctly?

Whatever khinkali recipe you choose, it is important, at a minimum, to implement it correctly. In addition, it is necessary to acquire knowledge of the use of products. Next you will learn how to eat khinkali:

1. The products are served hot, with additional pepper.
2. When eating, no cutlery (forks and knives) is used - khinkali is eaten exclusively with your hands, holding it by the tail.
3. They bite the product on one side, drink the broth, and then eat the filling with dough.
4. The tails are left on the plate.

Khinkali was first prepared in the mountainous regions of Georgia, but soon the recipe was learned in other regions of the Caucasus. In fact, the similarity between khinkali and dumplings lies only in the composition of the dough and filling, since preparing a Georgian dish requires real skill, because khinkali is molded like a bag with pleats such as pleated or corrugated and there must be at least 18 folds. The more skillful the housewife, the more she makes folds, some Georgian craftswomen prepare khinkali with 36 folds, which is considered the pinnacle of culinary art. Another feature of khinkali is its very juicy filling, which is meat in broth, and you need to prepare the dish in such a way that the filling does not leak out. In general, khinkali is a dish that is not made in a hurry; it needs to be prepared “with feeling, with sense, with care”, choosing a free day, for example a weekend. You can involve the whole family in this activity - it will be fun!

How to prepare khinkali dough

The classic dough is kneaded from water and flour, without adding eggs, but modern housewives use eggs and vegetable oil - this dough turns out tastier and more elastic. However, many Georgian chefs categorically reject all kinds of additives, especially eggs, arguing that the yolks turn the unique khinkali dough into ordinary pasta. It is advisable to take durum flour and be sure to sift it so that it is saturated with oxygen, and the ideal ratio of water and flour is 1:2.

The dough is kneaded in 3-4 stages, resting in between - this method makes it possible to obtain a tight dough.

How to properly prepare the filling for khinkali

Once upon a time in Georgia, the filling for khinkali was made only from lamb, but now cooks more often use beef, veal and pork, mixing different types of meat, and sometimes lamb is added to the minced meat for a piquant taste. In classical cooking methods, meat is not ground in a meat grinder, it is finely chopped with a very sharp knife - like onions, and then broth, milk, cream or boiled water is added to this mass. In order for the meat to be chopped well, it must first be placed in the freezer for 15 minutes.

The minced meat should not float in the water, but should not remain dry, so add so much water so that the filling is juicy, but not liquid - until it has the consistency of thick sour cream. If you decide to grind the meat through a meat grinder, use a grid with large holes, then the filling will be similar to the traditional one, which is prepared in the mountainous regions of Georgia. You can add garlic, cumin, suneli hops, pepper and cilantro to the minced meat - with seasonings it will turn out much tastier. Georgian chefs advise leaving the minced meat for 20 minutes after adding spices and salt so that it marinates well.

Making khinkali correctly

Roll out the finished dough into a layer 5 mm thick, cut out circles with a regular glass, then roll each into a flat cake with a diameter of up to 15 cm and a thickness of 2 mm. Place a tablespoon of minced meat on the flatbread, lift the edges and fold them together in a circle. Use the fingers of one hand to hold the finished folds, and with the other hand continue to make new ones - soon you will have a neat bag into which you need to pour a teaspoon of broth or the juice released from the minced meat. Next, the folds are connected into a beautiful and tight knot, which is sometimes twisted and cut. If you don't have time to make folds, just connect the edges of the cake in the form of a bag. By the way, in order for the products to cook well, you need to take 100 g of minced meat per 100 g of dough.

How to cook khinkali

Khinkali is boiled in salted water with bay leaves, trying to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. It is important to understand how long to cook khinkali so that the minced meat is ready, but the products are not overcooked. After the khinkali float to the surface, cook them for about 10 minutes, and then scoop them out with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate. How long to cook khinkali depends on their size, but it is better to cook no longer than 20 minutes, otherwise they will boil. Khinkali in a multicooker turns out no less tasty - to do this, you need to pour water into the multicooker bowl, add a bay leaf, turn on the “Soup” mode, and when the water boils, put the khinkali in and cook for 15-20 minutes. You can also steam them y, placing the products on a greased steaming bowl y, in this case the cooking time will be approximately half an hour.

Serve hot, poured with melted butter, with coarse pepper, herbs, sour cream and tkemali sauce - after all, this is a Georgian dish! They eat khinkali with their hands, holding it by the tail, carefully biting it so that the juice remains in the mouth. If you use a knife and fork, you won’t get any pleasure from eating, because the juice will remain on the plate.

A few secrets on how to cook khinkali at home

Some chefs advise not to skimp on onions for minced meat, recommending taking three onions per half a kilo of meat so that the filling is juicier and tastier. Knead the minced meat for at least 15 minutes - the longer you do this, the better the liquid is absorbed, and the filling will be more uniform, soft and juicy.

Do not put too much filling on the flatbread, otherwise there will be no room left for the broth, and connect the folds of the khinkali in such a way that there is not even a small hole left for the juice to flow out.

Make as much khinkali as you can cook in a pan at the same time, otherwise the dough will become soggy from the wet filling. Georgian “dumplings” should not be cramped - let them float freely, otherwise they will stick together and become deformed. In Georgia, khinkali are not stirred during cooking, but are carefully shaken so as not to stick together. Before removing the khinkali from the pan, pour a glass of cold water into it so that they are not too hot before serving.

Homemade khinkali: step-by-step recipe with photos

Ingredients: for the dough: flour - 3 cups, water - 1.5 cups, vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l., egg - 1 pc., for filling: beef - 700 g, lamb - 300 g, onion - 2 pcs., cilantro - 1 bunch, Svan salt - 1 tsp.

If you don’t have Svan salt, you can make this seasoning yourself, which includes medium or coarse table salt, chopped garlic, dried cilantro (can be replaced with coriander), dried dill or its seeds, ground red pepper. Ground cumin, saffron and crushed fenugreek pods are also added to Svan salt.

Cooking method:

1. Pour half the flour into a mound, make a well, pour the oil into it and break the egg.

2. Knead the dough, gradually adding slightly salted cold water. You should get a homogeneous and soft mass.

3. Let the dough rest for half an hour, covered with a towel.

4. Add the remaining flour and knead the dough well again for 10-15 minutes.

5. Leave the dough again for half an hour under the towel.

6. Knead the dough one last time - if it seems sticky, add a little more flour. Wrap the dough in cling film - in this form it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

7. Scroll through a meat grinder or finely chop the meat and onions.

8. Finely chop the cilantro.

9. Add salt to the minced meat and knead it well, gradually adding 0.5 cups of water.

10. Roll out the dough and cut out circles 2-3 mm thick with a glass.

11. Place 1 tbsp in the middle. l. filling, lift the edges and pinch the “bag” with folds, as described above.

12. Boil water with bay leaf in a large saucepan.

13. Drop a small amount of khinkali and cook for 15 minutes.

14. Serve the dish on the table piping hot, pouring butter, sour cream, any sauces, herbs and pepper.

The traditional khinkali recipe can be varied by using different types of dough and meat, unusual seasonings and additives. Khinkali made from yeast dough is very tasty; many housewives also add vegetables to meat or prepare vegetable, cheese and mushroom khinkali, and serve sweet khinkali with dried fruits and nuts as a dessert.

Khinkali with pumpkin

These khinkali, reminiscent of manti with pumpkin, are good during Lent. Knead unleavened dough from 300 g of wheat flour, 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, a pinch of salt and water, and just enough water is needed to make a soft and fairly stiff dough. After this, cover the dough with a towel and start filling.

Cut 300 g of pumpkin pulp, cleared of seeds and peel, into pieces, finely chop the onion and 50 g of lard, and then mix all the ingredients. Roll out the dough into a layer, cut out circles with a glass, roll out the flatbreads and place the filling in the middle of each. Lift the edges of the tortillas and make nice folds all around, bring them together and pinch them well. Boil the khinkali in salted water for 10 minutes after floating to the surface. Serve with sour cream and herbs.

Khinkali with chicken and cheese

This is a very tasty and original dish that children love very much. Knead the dough from 500 g of flour, 1 egg, a pinch of salt and about 1 glass of water - the dough should be non-sticky and elastic. Leave it for a while and prepare the filling. Pass 400 g of chicken fillet and 1 onion through a meat grinder, although you can grind the meat and onions in a blender or food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste, 50 ml of meat broth and 100 g of any grated cheese to the minced meat. Mix all the ingredients well into a homogeneous mass, and then cut out circles from the dough, fill them with minced meat and wrap the edges on top like a bag. Boil khinkali for 15 minutes and serve with creamy sauce.

Khinkali is not just food, but a real symbol of Georgia; they treat this dish with great reverence. In some areas, khinkali are made smaller than dumplings, in others - the size of a soup bowl, with different fillings and spices used. Prepare khinkali according to different recipes, they are all unusual, bright and incredibly tasty!