The idea that dumplings are a traditional dish of Russian cuisine, although dishes similar to dumplings exist in almost all cuisines of the world, has been rooted for a long time. Dumplings "came" to the Eastern Russian cuisine along the Siberian Route in the nineteenth century, hitting the Urals in the early fifteenth century, presumably from China. There are varieties of ravioli in the national cuisines of Asia, the Middle East and the north-western borders of Russia. They all differ in shape and size, but have a common technology of preparation: chopped meat of various kinds, vegetables, fruits, cheeses are wrapped in unleavened dough.
However, the filling can be completely different, even original in our traditional concept of dumplings. For their preparation in recent times often used fish and seafood. With what the peak of popularity of fish dumplings is connected, it is difficult to understand yet, because the influence of regional cuisines of the world, in which the predominance of fish dishes is due to geographical location, has nothing to do with it.
In any case, fish stuffing is a good option for dumplings, easier than meat, but no less satisfying. Considering the presence of iodine, phosphorus, polyunsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients in fish, it makes sense to think about how to make a tasty filling for everyone’s favorite dumplings, with what and in what form to serve them.
Fish dumplings - basic technological principles
As for all species, the technology of cooking fish dumplings consists of the following steps:
- Dough preparation;
- Preparing the filling;
- Manufacturing of semi-finished products (molding);
- Heat treatment (boiling, frying, stewing, baking in pots).
The dough for ravioli should have a strong and at the same time plastic texture, so that the semi-finished products are easily molded, and the dough sheath does not break during the cooking process. For the dough, the optimum ratio is 65% flour and 35% liquid, including eggs. After kneading, the dough should be covered and allowed to rest, so that the gluten of flour is sufficiently saturated with liquid, and it becomes plastic. Egg-based dough dries very quickly, has a stiffer texture and less plasticity than, for example, a pelmeni dough with added milk or choux. There are special recipes for dough dumplings: with the addition of oil, a small amount of yeast, fillers (vegetable juice or mashed potatoes, various spices). All these options can be cooked in your kitchen, not forgetting the correct proportion of dry and wet ingredients.
Take into account the moisture content of the filling, choosing a recipe for dough dumplings. For steeper dough, kneaded on eggs, a wet filling is suitable, and soft and plastic dough, with the addition of milk, use for filling with less juice. There are not many fillings, but the ratio of it and the test should be approximately the same, if you follow the technological rules.
The choice of fish for the filling depends entirely on personal preference. The only requirement for minced fish - the complete absence of bones, cartilage and rough skin. That is, for fish dumplings carefully prepared fish fillets. You can add chicken meat with neutral taste and aroma, mushrooms, vegetables, cheese to fish.
Sculpting semi-finished products is a very exciting activity to which you can attract the whole family. Such work will be very popular with kids, and will be useful for the development of fine motor skills of hands. There are dozens of options for manual figure modeling. In addition to the traditional dumpling in the form of an ear, you can try the methods of “artistic” modeling inherent in other national cuisines, or use special devices.
Dumplings are not only boiled and served with sauces, as an independent dish. They are added to soups, fried, baked in pots.
1. Broth with fish dumplings
Ingredients:
Eggs, canteen 3 pcs.
Flour 350 g
Salt
Salmon fillet 450 g
Boiled rice 100 g
Fresh dill 90 g
Bay leaf 3 pcs.
Onions, onion 120 g
Carrots 150g
Fish broth 1.8 L
Pepper
Muscat
Lemon 1/2 pc.
Butter 80g Preparation:
Beat the eggs into the foam, adding a pinch of salt. In the sifted flour, add the eggs and knead the dough. Set aside for forty minutes, covered with a napkin.
While the dough is ripe, prepare the stuffing for dumplings. Chop a small onion, half cooked dill, fillet. Combine the prepared components, add to them boiled viscous rice and butter. Stir and repel the cooked mince. Cover with foil and put the filling in the fridge for half an hour.
Thinly roll out the dough, not more than 0.3 cm in thickness. Divide it in half. One half put on the dumpling, evenly fill the grooves with filling. Put the second layer, moistened with water on one side, and lay on the filling, wet side down. Sprinkle the surface with flour and, using a rolling pin, glue the upper and lower layers of dough. Finished dumplings dipped in boiling broth and cook until the dumplings float to the surface.
Washed and peeled carrots, put in the broth whole together with the prepared onion. Vegetables should give the broth flavor and clarity. At the end of cooking, add bay leaf, pepper, nutmeg. Salt to taste. Strain the broth and bring to a boil again. Cook the dumplings in it. Add the zest and lemon juice, chopped dill, a little butter at the end of cooking.
2. Fish dumplings with potatoes in pots
Ingredients:
Water 220 ml
Eggs 4 pcs.
Flour 650 g
Salt
Fillet of hake, fried 550 g
Mashed potatoes, 200 g
Onion 270g
Pepper
Oil 200 g
Sour cream 180 g
Cheese, hard 70 g
Greens, chopped 50 g
Cooking:
Boiled hot potatoes and fried fish fillets grind with a meat grinder. Pass the shredded onions. Add it to the stuffing of potatoes and fish, mix the stuffing, season with spices, add 80 g of softened butter.
Beat the eggs with water, salt the mixture and pour in the sifted flour. Knead the dough. Soak it and start making dumplings, as usual. Boil semi-finished products in salted water. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and place them in pots. Put 20 g of oil in each pot and 30 g of sour cream. Grate the cheese and sprinkle the surface of each serving of fish dumplings with it. Put in the oven, preheated to 180 ° C, bake the dumplings until golden brown.
3. Fish dumplings from choux pastry
Ingredients:
Fish mince 1.0 kg
Salt
Green onions 200g
White pepper
Egg 2 pcs.
Flour 700 g
Milk 180 ml
Cooking fat 50 g
Preparation:
In half the prepared flour, pour in the hot milk, whipping the mass with a whisk. Put the container on the fire, and with constant stirring, bring the dough to a thick creamy mass. Cool slightly and beat one egg. Salt to taste. Mix flour into the dough. The finished dough should be steep, but very plastic. Set aside the container with the dough to the side, covered with a towel or film.
Put the minced fish in a large container, add salt, chopped hands, pepper to it. Beat in the second egg and mix well. It is advisable to beat off the prepared stuffing well and keep it in the cold for at least half an hour.
Proceed to the molding of ravioli in any convenient way, observing the ratio of dough and filling in a ratio of 1: 1.
Boil five minutes, in boiling salted water for no more than five minutes. Put them with a slotted spoon in a bowl of ghee. To the oil, you can add pepper, lemon juice, spices, herbs.
4. Fish dumplings from color dough and canned mackerel with eggs
Ingredients:
Spinach 180g
Carrots 120g
Beet Juice 50 ml
Water 200 ml
Eggs, canteen 4 pcs.
Flour 1.3 kg
Salt
Mackerel in its own juice 960 g
Boiled eggs 7 pcs.
Lemon 1/2 pc.
Onion
White pepper
Cooking:
Sift the flour and, dividing into 4 parts, arrange it in prepared containers for kneading dough.
In the first bowl, pour in the beaten egg, salt, mashed fresh carrots; in the second - an egg, 100 ml of warm (35-40 ° C) water, beet juice;
in the third - the egg, salt, the remainder of the heated water;
In the last bowl add chopped spinach to the flour, ground with salt, and an egg.
Knead each part of the dough separately to obtain a uniform color.
Prepare the filling: put canned fish in a bowl with juice, add eggs, chopped onion, lemon juice. Grind the components of the filling with a blender.
Mold dumplings, boil, as usual, in salted water. Serve with mayonnaise or another sauce.
5. Fish dumplings with mushrooms in the oven
Ingredient list:
Dumplings 600 g
Champignons, royal 300 g
Salt
Flour 60 g
Egg 1 pc.
Leek - 180 g
Walnut kernels 50 g
Butter, melted 120 g
Sour cream 25% 150 g
Fresh chopped greens 100 g
Ground Allspice and White Pepper
Preparation:
Peel the champignons cut into plates, onions - half rings. Boil dumplings, and drain. Grease the baking mold. Put the dumplings in it. Sprinkle with onions and champignons. Bake for 10 minutes at medium temperature. Beat the egg with salt, add flour, sour cream, pepper, chopped nuts. Pour the fish dumplings with mushrooms and brown the dish. Decorate the dish with greens.
6. Fried fish dumplings
Products:
Water (35 ° C) 250 ml
Flour 600 g (including, 100 g per subfield)
Salt
Minced fish 700 g
Green and onions 200 g
Rosemary
Egg 1 1/2 pcs.
Garlic 30g
Tomato sauce, sweet and sour 160 g
Red pepper, hot
Coriander
Margarine 120g
Preparation:
In hot water, dissolve the salt and pour the solution into the flour. Prepare a steep dough, divide into 25 g pieces (dumplings should be large). Form thin circles. For each, put a tablespoon (no slide) minced. Glide the edges of semi-finished products. Optionally, use options curly modeling. Add minced garlic, hot pepper, coriander, salt and rosemary to the minced fish. Put margarine in a deep frying pan or other bakeware, add water and simmer the dumplings until the dough is ready, covered with a lid. During this time, the water will evaporate, and only fat will remain in the pot. Remove the lid, fry the dumplings. When serving, decorate with sauce, fresh herbs.
Fish dumplings - useful tips
When modeling, the dough dries quickly, so it must be covered, protecting it from weathering.
Do not re-freeze raw fish foods: this significantly reduces the quality and nutritional value of the product. If for some reason you need to postpone the preparation of fish dishes, and the stuffing is already defrosted, then it is better to drain or extinguish it, so as not to freeze. After heat treatment, the stuffing can be put into a container, tightly closed and put in a refrigerator.
Dumplings cooked for the future, significantly save the time of housewives, always help out, if you need to cook dinner in a hurry. Semi-finished products with fast dry freezing (-18 ° C) in a sealed package, store no more than 30 days. Of course, frozen dumplings can lie in the freezer even for a year, but remember that dough semi-finished products with a filling are a perishable product, especially if they include meat or fish. Do not re-freeze the dumplings.
