Khinkali (Georgian Soup Dumplings)
Big pleated dumplings twisted into a knot at the top, filled with beef and pork loosened with stock and butter and spiced with cilantro, chile, caraway, coriander and cumin, boiled so the filling turns to broth inside, then eaten by hand with black pepper.
Khinkali come from the mountains of eastern Georgia. The Georgian National Tourism Administration names Pshavi and Tusheti as the homeland, says the first khinkali were mutton served very hot for the cold winters, and that in the mountains they were made on Sundays and holidays as an offering to the sun, with 28 folds, one for each year of the solar cycle. Wikipedia credits the Mokhevians, Pshavians, Mtiuletians and Khevsurians, and notes a 13th-century legend that Mongol riders brought the idea. The mountain style is plain meat, onion, chile and cumin; the city style (kalakuri) adds parsley and cilantro.
The eating rules are half the fun. You pick one up by the knot, bite a small hole, sip the broth so it doesn't burst, then eat the rest and leave the tough knot (the kudi) on the plate, where it lets everyone count how many you ate. Wikipedia says forks are considered incorrect or childish. This recipe is from Carla Capalbo's book Tasting Georgia, printed by Saveur, with the Kazbegi-style stock and butter that make the broth.
Why it works the kitchen science
Liquid and fat in the filling
The stock and butter soak into the raw meat, then melt and steam inside the sealed dumpling, which is what turns the filling into broth.
A thick knot
Rolling the circles thinner at the edge and gathering the pleats into a twisted knot seals the top tightly, so the broth stays inside in the boiling water.
Step by step
- Step 1
Pulse the flour, eggs, salt and water in a food processor until a ball forms (in two batches if your processor is small). Knead on a lightly floured surface 4 to 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Put it in an oiled bowl and cover.
- Step 2
Mix the beef, pork, stock, onion, cilantro, melted butter, garlic, chile, savory, coriander, caraway, cumin and 1 tsp salt with a fork or your hands until the meat absorbs the liquid.
- Step 3
Cut the dough into thirds and keep two covered. Roll one about 1/4 inch thick and cut 2 1/2-inch circles; gather the scraps back into the dough. Roll each circle out to about 4 inches.
- Step 4
Put a packed tablespoon of filling in the center of a circle. Pleat the edge up around the filling all the way around into a pouch, then pinch the top where the pleats meet and twist it into a knot. Set it on a floured sheet and repeat.
- Step 5
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil with the bay leaves. Lower in about a third of the khinkali and stir gently with a wooden spoon so they don't stick.
- Step 6
Boil about 9 minutes, until they float, the dough is tender and the filling of one reads 160°F. Lift them out with a spider and repeat with the rest.
- Step 7
Serve right away, heavily peppered. Eat by hand: hold the knot, bite a small hole, sip the broth, then eat the dumpling and leave the knot.
Khinkali (Georgian Soup Dumplings)
Serves 6 · about 32 khinkali · 1 hr 45 min total
Dough
- 4 cups (18 oz) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup water
- Olive or canola oil, for the bowl
Filling
- 7 oz ground beef
- 7 oz ground pork
- 1 cup beef or pork stock
- 2/3 cup (3 oz) finely chopped white onion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp finely chopped medium-hot fresh chile, such as Fresno
- 1/2 tsp dried summer savory (kondari) or thyme
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
- 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, crushed
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus freshly ground black pepper
To cook and serve
- 2 bay leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Pulse the flour, eggs, salt and water in a food processor until a ball forms (in two batches if your processor is small). Knead on a lightly floured surface 4 to 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Put it in an oiled bowl and cover.
- Mix the beef, pork, stock, onion, cilantro, melted butter, garlic, chile, savory, coriander, caraway, cumin and 1 tsp salt with a fork or your hands until the meat absorbs the liquid.
- Cut the dough into thirds and keep two covered. Roll one about 1/4 inch thick and cut 2 1/2-inch circles; gather the scraps back into the dough. Roll each circle out to about 4 inches.
- Put a packed tablespoon of filling in the center of a circle. Pleat the edge up around the filling all the way around into a pouch, then pinch the top where the pleats meet and twist it into a knot. Set it on a floured sheet and repeat.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil with the bay leaves. Lower in about a third of the khinkali and stir gently with a wooden spoon so they don't stick.
- Boil about 9 minutes, until they float, the dough is tender and the filling of one reads 160°F. Lift them out with a spider and repeat with the rest.
- Serve right away, heavily peppered. Eat by hand: hold the knot, bite a small hole, sip the broth, then eat the dumpling and leave the knot.
Adapted from Carla Capalbo, Tasting Georgia, "Meat-Filled Khinkali Dumplings", Saveur (February 15, 2018). We double it (4 cups flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup water; 7 oz each beef and pork, 1 cup stock, 4 tbsp butter) and follow its method: a food-processor dough kneaded 4 to 5 minutes, rolled 1/4 inch thick, cut into 2 1/2-inch circles and rerolled to about 4 inches; a packed tablespoon of filling; pleated and twisted; boiled about 9 minutes in salted water with two bay leaves. Saveur gives no yield; our about 32 and 6 servings are estimates, and the 160°F check is ours. The 28 folds and the history come from the Georgian National Tourism Administration (above), whose own recipe uses 1 kg flour and 1 kg meat with cumin and parsley. Saveur. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Saveur says the filling needs fat: if your meat is very lean, add 2 more tablespoons of butter or oil.
- Georgia's tourism site shakes the pot by its handles while the khinkali boil and rinses them briefly with cold water so they don't stick.
- Georgia's tourism site also lists cheese, potato, mushroom and shrimp versions.
- Wikipedia says khinkali are eaten plain or with ground black pepper; no dipping sauce is needed.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- A proper khinkali has 28 folds. Folklore: the Georgian National Tourism Administration ties 28 folds to the solar cycle; other counts circulate (see What we could not source).
- Khinkali came from the Mongols. Disputed: Wikipedia calls the 13th-century Mongol story a legend; Georgia's tourism site and Wikipedia place the dish in the eastern Georgian mountains.
- Never eat the knot. Documented as Wikipedia's account: it is left on the plate, partly to count how many you ate.
- Never use a fork. Documented as Wikipedia's account: forks are considered incorrect or childish.
- Herbs belong in khinkali. Disputed: the mountain style is plain; the city (kalakuri) style adds herbs (Wikipedia); this recipe uses cilantro.
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