Dumplings - general principles and methods of cooking
Galushki - a very popular dish in Ukraine, which is a “cushion” of unleavened dough. Outwardly, they are very similar to dumplings, but are prepared from a steeper and more dense dough. However, each nation has its own recipes for making dumplings, and they are all called differently. Only one thing unites varieties - the presence of eggs, flour, and often milk (cream) and butter in their composition. Many for flavor and specific taste add spices and herbs to the bulk, and some cuisines add chopped vegetables, cottage cheese, meat or sausages.
In most cases, dumplings are used as thickeners for soups, but they are also boiled in water or broth, fried with onions and served as a separate dish, they have no less taste value. The main secret of their preparation is to add butter and milk. It is these ingredients that soften the dough, making the dish much more juicier, softer and more airy.
In order to cook the dumplings, it is necessary to start a soft dough, cut it into strips, roll out of them bundles about 1.5 cm wide and with a sharp knife divide the bundles into equal squares. Although many prefer to cook the dumplings in the old fashioned way, splitting off small pieces of dough from a large layer and twisting them into various shapes. After cooking, the dough “pads” are dipped in salted boiling liquid (or soup) and boiled for about ten minutes until they float upward.
Dumplings - preparation of products
The scheme of cooking dumplings is extremely simple. As a rule, those products that are almost always available are used: flour with a high content of gluten (fine grinding), chicken eggs, milk and butter (you can use delicate creamy margarine, for example, “Generous Summer”).
Some recipes provide a much wider list of ingredients, so carefully study the recipe. So, all the products in the collection? So we give them to lie down, cool down after the refrigerator to room temperature and take up the preparation of the dough - the basis for dumplings.
Galushki - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Cheese Dumplings
Original cheese dumplings are prepared on the basis of hard cheeses "Gouda" and cheese, but if you cannot find the first grade, you can replace it with any other Dutch cheese. For a piquant flavor, add lightly ground nutmeg to the dough - literally at the tip of a knife. Such dumplings can be served as a separate dish or added to various soups.
Ingredients:
- 100 gr. Gouda cheese
- 100 gr. sheep cheese
- one egg
- flour
- one table. spoon semolina
- salt to taste
- nutmeg
- two melted spoons of butter
Method of preparation:
On a finely grated three, both types of cheese. Stir. Add egg, salt, nut, semolina, pour in melted butter. Knead the dough, roll the "bun" out of it and put it in the fridge, covered with cling film, for thirty minutes. From the cooled dough we roll sausages with a diameter of about 2 cm and cut them into even squares. The basis for a tasty and nourishing soup is ready. Cheese dumplings can also be boiled in water (broth) and consumed with fresh sour cream in a separate form.
Recipe 2: Apple Dumplings
Such flour "balls" are well combined with vegetable soups. Allowed their use in a separate form. As a sauce you can serve sour cream, whipped in a blender with sweet fruit. By the way, if you add cottage cheese instead of grated apples into the dough, you get equally tasty cottage cheese dumplings.
Ingredients:
- 100 gr. apples (without seeds)
- 100 gr. wheat flour
- four eggs
- 40 gr. of milk
- 30 gr. Sahara
- a pinch of salt
Method of preparation:
Fresh apples cleaned from the skin, seeds, rubbed grated pulp. The resulting slurry is mixed with preheated milk. Separately, beat the whites to a foam and gently mix them with the yolks, sugar (preferably fine) and salt. Combine apples and egg mass, add flour and knead soft dough. We form dumplings as described above and boil until cooked or add to vegetable soup (10 minutes before it is ready).
Recipe 3: Stuffed dumplings “In Poltava”
Stuffing flour products will be minced meat. Best to take the pork. The dish is served only in a separate form with gravy. Cooked stuffed dumplings by traditional cooking in a pan or steamed.
Ingredients:
- 600 gr. flour
- one or two eggs - 350 ml of kefir
- on the tip of the knife soda
- salt to taste
- for lubricating products - butter
- 500 gr. pork or minced meat
- two onions
Method of preparation:
In the sifted flour add kefir, egg, soda and salt. Knead the dough until elastic. We give him a "rest" for about an hour. In a pan, fry two onions, finely chopped. After it is fried, add the stuffing (you can make it yourself or buy it at the store), fry the meat until half cooked, add seasonings for meat, pepper, add some salt. Remove the meat from the stove and cool it.
Melted butter (for lubrication of finished products). Next, we make small cakes from dough, in the center of which we put a little stuffing. Strongly pinch the “bag”. So do with all products. Formed dumplings boil in salted water or steamed. A hearty, tasty lunch is ready. Enjoy your meal!
Recipe 4: Ukrainian dumplings (from wheat bread)
Bread for dumplings is suitable only fresh and soft. The crust is not placed in the dish, so cut it off from the pulp.
Ingredients:
- bread pulp 200 gr.
- two eggs
- 40 gr. fine sugar
- 50 gr. butter
- 150 gr. of milk
- salt to taste
- flour
Method of preparation:
Bread crumb knead hands with eggs, milk, sugar, salt and melted butter. Knead until smooth. We clean in a warm place for 30-50 minutes. Then we form dumplings from the base, roll them down abundantly in flour and boil in salted water (broth). These dumplings are very tasty to eat with Ukrainian borscht.
Dumplings - useful tips from experienced chefs
- When cooking soup with dumplings, the products sink a few minutes before the readiness of the dish, since they very quickly reach their readiness;
- In the process of heat treatment, dumplings increase in volume by two, three times, so they should not be made too large;
- Galushki, as a separate dish, goes well with sour cream or overcooked onions. Serve them only hot. Some people like to eat a dish with cracklings - pieces of fried bacon.
