Pelmeni

Dumplings - Eurasian plate in the form of cooked products from unleavened dough stuffed with minced meat and potatoes, fish and much more. Filling the classic Russian dumplings made of 45% beef, 35% lamb and 20% pork with addition of various spices, onions and sometimes garlic. Can also be used meat bear, deer, elk, geese and fish, bacon, potatoes, cabbage. The dough is made from flour, eggs and water (less milk) .Pelmeni stored frozen and prepared immediately before use. They are placed in boiling water or meat, fish or vegetable broth, and boiled up until they float, and then another 2-5 minutes. The resulting dish is served with butter, sour cream, ketchup, vinegar, mayonnaise, milk or cream, mustard. Sometimes dumplings fried after cooking until golden, fried or raw dumplings until cooked. You can also serve dumplings with broth in which they are produced, in the form of soup.

Presumably, the birthplace of ravioli is China, where they were originally called Jiao Zi. From there they spread to Russia (dumplings) and Central Asia (chuchvara) and the Caucasus (dyushbara). This suggests that the Chinese border dumplings left with the Mongol conquest in the XIII century. Has a right to exist another version, on which the dumplings were known to the ancient Turks, together with them this dish has got to Central Asia and the Caucasus. This is indicated by the consonance of the names of the dishes - and chuchvara dyushbara. A similar dish is known in Lebanon, where small dumplings fried in oil first, and only then boiled in broth with herbs.

In the kitchens of many nations have similar dishes. In particular, in Italy there ravioli and tortellini, a China-jiao zi, Baoji and Wonton shui yao (known word Dim Sum, which in the West is often called Chinese dumplings, actually refers to the South China snacks at all), in the western regions of Russia - sorcerers in Jewish cuisine - kreplach, kitchens peoples of Central Asia, the Caucasus and South Korea also have analogues pelmeni (dumplings, khinkali, Mandi, pegodya).

The most important distinction ravioli from other similar types of food products is the thickness of the dough shell that is certainly done so thin as possible, and the number of fillings in the finished product significantly exceeds the amount of dough. This feature can easily be explained historically. The Russian people have borrowed dumplings Finno-Ugric peoples of the Urals, mainly engaged in fishing game and fish and collecting mushrooms and berries. These people lived in relatively inaccessible places, and if there is more than enough products used for the filling, flour for making dough was very small and it cost dearly. Therefore, the thin shell of dough and lots of toppings - it was originally a necessary measure, which has become the hallmark of dishes.

Also, the hallmark is the presence of ravioli savory toppings. This is different from dumplings that have no filling, or the classic dumplings, which may have a sweet filling.

Another feature is that the stuffing dumplings before cooking them, certainly crude, not ready-to-eat (meat, fish, mushrooms, raw potatoes, etc). Stuffing dumplings ready. For example, there are dumplings with potatoes, savory. Unlike them from ravioli with potatoes is that the filling for dumplings represents mashed boiled potatoes and fried onions. There are lots of recipes for savory dumplings, but in each of them pre-prepared stuffing or filling that needs no heat treatment as strawberries or cherries.

There are many theories about the origin of ravioli. One of them says that the Russian, master Urals, adopted the dish from the indigenous population, to which it got from the Tatars. In particular, Vladimir Dahl points out that the word "dumpling" comes from the Permian and Vogulsk words "drops" - ear and "nannies" - bread. Another version is based on the fact that in the days of antiquity there was a cultural exchange between neighbors - Eastern Slavs and Finno-Finns. One of the consequences of cultural exchange - the ancestors of the Russian perception of Finnish dish called "pelome" (Which means "bread ear"Which is their distinctive dish.

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