Kalakuri Khinkali

Ingredients

• 2¼ lbwheat flourfor the dough, plus extra for rolling
• 1⅔ cupswaterice-cold; about 330 ml for the dough, the rest worked into the filling
• 1 tbspvegetable oilfor the dough
• 10½ ozBeefor veal; coarsely minced or finely chopped
• 10½ ozporklean; coarsely minced or finely chopped
• 3⅛ ozPork fatback fat or leaf lard, passed through the mincer
• 1Onionfinely chopped or minced
• 1⅓ ozcilantrostems minced, leaves finely chopped
• 1Green chilipassed through the mincer
• 2 clovesgarlicpassed through the mincer
• saltfor dough, filling and cooking water
• black pepperground, for the filling

Method

1. Knead and rest the doughKnead the flour with salt, the oil and most of the ice-cold water into a very firm, elastic dough. Cover it and let it rest for 20–30 minutes.
2. Mince the meat and aromaticsTrim the beef and pork, then pass them coarsely through a mincer or chop them finely by hand. Mince the onion, green chili, garlic, pork fat and cilantro stems as well, and mix everything thoroughly with the meat.
3. Season the fillingSeason the filling with salt and black pepper, then fold in the finely chopped cilantro leaves.
4. Stir water into the fillingGradually stir the remaining cold water into the filling until it's juicy but still holds together. This is the water that later becomes the broth inside your khinkali.
5. Roll out thin dough roundsDivide the dough into portions and roll each one out on a floured surface very thin, about 3 mm, into a round roughly 15 cm across.
6. Fill and pleat the khinkaliSpoon about 50 g of filling into the centre of each round. Gather the edge upwards in lots of small pleats, at least 18 if you can, twist the top into a little knob and cut off the excess dough.
7. Add khinkali to boiling waterBring a big pot of salted water to a rolling boil, add the khinkali and give them one gentle stir so nothing sticks to the bottom.
8. Cook and lift out gentlyCook the khinkali for about 8–15 minutes, until they float to the surface and are cooked through. Lift them out carefully with a slotted spoon so the dough doesn't tear and the broth stays inside.

Tips and variations

You can swap the pork for lamb, in which case season the filling only with ground coriander instead of fresh herbs. If you like, add some parsley and spring onion to the filling too. For an extra-elastic dough, start by kneading in just half the flour, then work in the rest in two stages, letting the dough rest after each addition; you can also roll each ball of dough out at least ten times. Stir the cooking water into a whirlpool before you drop the khinkali in so they don't stick together. A blackberry sauce goes nicely alongside, or pour a little cold water over them and serve allspice on the side. Either way, get them to the table hot, while the broth inside is still steaming.