Poltava dumplings have been heard about not only in Ukraine but also far beyond its borders. Dumplings have become a real symbol not only of the Poltava region, but also of the whole of Ukraine. Of course, there are a huge number of recipes and ways to prepare this dish. However, in order to enjoy real dumplings, you do not have to go to the capital of dumplings or have any special culinary skills, you can easily prepare them yourself. To begin with, we suggest you deal with the main questions: what are dumplings made of? And what kind of dish is this?
So, dumplings are boiled, less often baked, flour products made from unleavened dough, kneaded in whey, water or milk with the addition of eggs. According to the method of forming, Ukrainian housewives distinguish between “torn”, “plucked” and “cut” dumplings. You can cook dumplings in salted water, broth, milk. Boiled and drained unsweetened dumplings can be seasoned with cracklings, onion and carrot stew, sour cream or herbs. Sweet dumplings can be served with honey, sour cream, fruit or berry jam, jelly, compotes or compotes.
Dumplings were prepared on weekdays, on holidays, and for ritual dinners, such as wakes. This dish is easy and quick to prepare, quite nutritious and tasty, and, importantly, very versatile, as you can use different types of flour, cereals, vegetables, and fruits for cooking.
We have collected the most interesting and delicious recipes from Ukrainian housewives for preparing this dish.
Buckwheat dumplings
Buckwheat is respected and widely used in the traditions of Ukrainian cuisine, both in the form of groats and flour. Buckwheat flour is an excellent base for making dumplings.
For cooking, prepare:
- buckwheat flour – 2 cups without a slide,
- eggs – 2 pcs.,
- 100 grams of lard or bacon
- onion – 2 pcs
- water – about 0.5 liters + 250 ml
First, cut the lard into small cubes and put it in a saucepan and start frying. As soon as the lard starts to melt from the lard, add the finely chopped onion, mix and fry until golden brown. Add 1 cup of water to the finished frying and cook for 5-7 minutes.
To make the dough for dumplings, combine buckwheat flour with an egg, water and a pinch of salt and knead well. Roll out the finished dough and cut into small pieces. Dip the dumplings in boiling water with a frying pan and cook for about half an hour. Serve the dish with the broth, lightly sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs. You can also season the dumplings with sour cream.
Semolina dumplings
The dish will appeal to children and those who love sweets.
Ingredients:
- semolina - 1.5 cups,
- 1.5 cups whole cow's milk
- butter 0.5-1 tablespoon
- 1-3 tablespoons of sugar
- chicken eggs 2 pcs
- 1-15 bitter almond kernels
- 1 teaspoon salt
- zest of half a lemon.
Bring the milk to a boil, add butter and pour in the semolina, stir. Stir the semolina mixture until the mass becomes homogeneous and forms one large “dumpling”. The correctness of the manipulation will be indicated by the fact that the properly brewed and mixed semolina base should lag behind the walls of the pan. Leave the semolina to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, peel and grate the almonds, remove the zest from half a lemon. Combine all the dry ingredients (salt, sugar, grated almonds, lemon zest) and stir them. Add the sugar-govicha mixture and eggs to the slightly cooled semolina porridge, mix everything thoroughly. Take out the finished dough for dumplings in small portions with a teaspoon, use another spoon to form dumplings and dip them in boiling water, cook until the dumplings float to the surface, let stand for a few more minutes and remove them to a bowl with melted butter, shake well so that the dumplings are coated with butter and do not stick together. You can serve.
If the dumplings are to be a dessert dish, you can add a little more sugar, and if you don't add sugar and almonds, the dumplings will easily become a side dish. Also, unsweetened semolina dumplings can be cooked in vegetable or meat broth and served with it.
Cheese dumplings
Cheese dumplings taste like cheese dumplings, but they are prepared much faster, which is why this type of dumplings is sometimes called lazy dumplings.
For cooking you will need:
- 600 grams of sour milk cheese,
- 4 chicken eggs,
- half a cup of wheat flour,
- 100 grams of butter,
- wheat breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons
- sugar to taste.
We will start preparing cheese dumplings by rubbing the cheese well through a sieve, or you can use a blender or pass it through a meat grinder. We put the grated cheese in a makitra or bowl and add sugar, half of the prepared flour, 1/3 of the butter and salt. We grind all the ingredients until smooth. The next step is to introduce the egg whites that have been beaten into foam. We put the mixed dough on a work surface sprinkled with flour. We roll the cheese dough into a “sausage” about a centimeter - one and a half thick and cut it into small pieces-dumplings. Cook the formed dumplings in boiling water for about 15 minutes.
Remove the finished dumplings from the boiling water, pour over melted butter, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Enjoy!
Wheat dumplings with ham
Ingredients:
- wheat flour 2 cups
- egg 1 pc
- 1/3 cup water
- butter 3 tablespoons
- ham 100 grams.
Make a dough from flour, water, eggs and butter and shape dumplings from it. Boil the dumplings in salted water for 7-10 minutes. Put the finished dumplings in a sieve or colander and pour cold water over them, this manipulation will prevent the dumplings from sticking together. Then, put the finished dumplings and finely chopped ham in a frying pan, previously greased with butter, mix everything and send it to the oven for 5 minutes. The dish should be served hot.
Dumplings with apples
Delicate dumplings with a taste of apples will not leave anyone indifferent. To prepare you will need:
- wheat flour 3 cups,
- whole milk ¾ cup,
- 8-10 apples,
- eggs – 4 pcs.,
- ½ teaspoon salt,
- sugar 1-2 tablespoons,
- butter 1.5-2 tablespoons.
Wash the apples, peel and core them. Chop the peeled apples into thin slices, you can use a grater. Add sugar, milk, salt and pre-beaten eggs to the apples, mix everything well and add flour in portions, knead a homogeneous dough. Take the finished dough with a teaspoon, thereby forming dumplings, and put it in boiling water, cook over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, the main sign that the dumplings are ready is when the middle of the dumpling is dry when cut in half. Serve the apple dumplings with melted butter.
Potato dumplings
For cooking, prepare:
- potatoes 500 grams,
- eggs – 2 pcs.,
- sunflower oil 1 teaspoon,
- butter 2 tablespoons,
- wheat flour 1 dessert spoon,
- salt to taste.
Peel the potatoes and boil them in salted water until tender. Mash and mash the finished potatoes until they are a smooth puree. Add eggs and flour to the slightly cooled mashed potatoes, adding salt if necessary. Mix everything well and form small dumplings from the dough. Cook the dumplings in salted boiling water for 8 minutes. You can serve these dumplings as a separate dish, garnished with cracklings, fried onions and/or fresh herbs, or as a side dish to the broth.
Baked dumplings with cheese
Baked dumplings with cheese are not quite a familiar variation of the dish, they are more like a cheese casserole, but the taste of this dish is different from the usual casseroles.
For cooking you will need:
- flour 3 cups,
- 200 grams of sour milk cheese,
- 100 grams of butter,
- sugar – 2 tablespoons,
- 4 eggs, 3 tablespoons sour cream.
First, prepare a stiff dough for dumplings, for this we use 3 eggs, all the prepared flour and a small amount of water. Roll out the kneaded dough with a rolling pin and cut into small squares. Boil the dumplings until cooked in slightly salted water. Throw the finished dumplings into a colander or sieve.
Next, add cheese previously rubbed through a sieve or passed through a meat grinder, 1 egg, sugar, melted butter, sour cream to the dumplings, mix everything well and spread the resulting mass into a greased heat-resistant form. Bake in a hot oven for about an hour.
Cut the finished dish into portioned pieces, drizzle with melted butter, and serve. You can serve these dumplings with honey or fruit jelly.
Kiev meat dumplings with mushroom gravy
Fragrant, nutritious and delicious dumplings with meat and mushrooms will appeal to true gourmets.
Ingredients:
For dumplings:
- Meat: beef - 300 grams, pork - 700 grams,
- onion – 3 pcs
- milk – 125 ml,
- egg – 1 pc.,
- sour cream 1 dessert spoon,
- 1 dessert spoon of breadcrumbs,
- butter 1 dessert spoon,
- potatoes – 500 grams,
- flour - 2 tablespoons,
- herring ½ carcass,
- vinegar 1 teaspoon
- salt, pepper, bay leaf to taste.
For the gravy:
- 200 grams of champignon mushrooms,
- flour - 1 tablespoon,
- sour cream – 1 tablespoon
- butter – 1 tablespoon,
- sugar 1 dessert spoon
Wash, peel and boil the potatoes until tender. Mash the finished potatoes into a puree. Remove the membranes and tendons from the meat, chop or pass through a meat grinder. Peel the herring and chop into small pieces. Peel and grind the onion until smooth. Combine the mashed potatoes, minced meat, grated onion, sour cream, milk, eggs, herring, melted butter, flour, salt and spices. Mix all the ingredients well until smooth. Form large dumplings from the finished meat "dough".
Roll the dumplings in flour and place in a single layer on the bottom of a saucepan. Pour water over the meat dumplings so that it slightly covers the layer of dumplings. Season with bay leaf, salt, add the onion and cook over moderate heat for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mash another onion with butter, add a little sugar, vinegar, sour cream and salt, mix everything and dilute with the strained broth that formed when cooking the dumplings. Pour this gravy over the dumplings again and continue to simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
While the dumplings are stewing, fry the mushrooms. Remove the finished dumplings from the gravy and place on a plate. Add the gravy from the dumplings to the mushrooms, mix everything and, if necessary, season with salt and spices. Serve the dumplings with the mushroom gravy. Delicious
Butter dumplings
Ingredients:
- flour - 3 cups,
- eggs -2 pcs,
- sour cream 1/3 cup,
- 1/3 cup water,
- butter – 2-3 tablespoons,
- salt 1 teaspoon.
To prepare the dough for dumplings, make a funnel-shaped depression in the sifted flour, pour in water, melted butter, and eggs beaten with salt. Knead a stiff, smooth dough. The consistency of the dough for dumplings should be stiffer than that for dumplings. Leave the well-mixed dough to “rest” for a while.
Roll out the finished dough and form dumplings. Cook the formed dumplings in salted water for 10-12 minutes. Drain the finished dumplings in a colander and place them on a heated frying pan with butter. Fry lightly and serve. You can add sour cream to the finished dumplings before serving. Another variation of the dumpling filling: instead of butter, you can use finely chopped and fried lard or bacon and fry the dumplings with cracklings.
These are Ukrainian dumplings, different in cooking technology, but still so delicious and familiar in taste.
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