Khinkali - what kind of dish and how to cook it?

Khinkali is a traditional dish of Caucasian cuisine. Georgia is considered the birthplace of this dish, but it is prepared with pleasure by the hostesses of Dagestan, Armenia, Abkhazia and many other countries. From this article you will learn how to prepare real Georgian khinkali. Photos of this dish will help you to properly decorate it and wrap the dough.

Classic dough for khinkali

This recipe will perfectly serve you, if you decide to cook dumplings or manti. To make a dough for it is very simple, and the set of products that you need is minimal. The recipe is described below.

• Sift through a sieve two glasses of white flour on a board or work surface of a table. Make a groove in the resulting hill, put in a teaspoon of salt and two tablespoons of vegetable oil.
• With one hand, start pouring a glass of iced water into the flour, and the second mix the dough. When you get a soft and homogenous lump, cover it with a towel and let it lie down for half an hour.
• When the right time passes, sift another glass of flour on the table and continue kneading the dough. Cover the blank again with a cloth and leave for another half an hour.
• Sift another glass of flour and knead a dough that does not stick to your hands. From it you can cook dumplings, manti or khinkali and enjoy your favorite dishes. This dough is suitable for any recipe.

Khinkali Georgian (with photo)

The requirements for the form and content of classical khinkali are quite strict. Firstly, for the filling you can use only lamb or goat, and secondly, the size of the khinkali must match the walnut, and thirdly, the wrinkles on the test should be at least twenty. Fortunately, the modern approach to cooking this dish has changed somewhat and has become much softer. Therefore, read how to cook khinkali in Georgian, and boldly get down to business.

• Sift through a sieve a glass of flour, pour into it half a glass of ice water, add salt and a spoonful of vegetable oil. Knead the dough, cover it with a towel and leave it for half an hour.
• 150 grams of lamb (can be replaced with low-fat pork) and 150 grams of beef grind with a knife. Add finely chopped onions, salt and water. Minced meat should be homogeneous in composition and elastic enough.
• In the dough, add another glass of sifted flour and mix all together for about ten minutes. After that, leave it for another half an hour under the cloth. When the right time passes, the dough should be divided into several parts.
• Each workpiece is thinly rolled on the table with a rolling pin, and then cut out circles with a diameter of 15 cm.
• In the center of each circle put a half tablespoons of ground meat. With two hands, form a bag from the dough by tucking the edges from above.
• Boil a half liter of water in a pan, dip the khinkali into it and cook until ready. It turns out such a beauty, as in the photo below.

Classic khinkali

This Georgian dish has much in common with the dumplings or manti we have known since childhood. For him, just the same prepared dough, meat filling, and the finished products are boiled in boiling water until ready. However, there are a number of differences that give a special taste to khinkali in Georgian. Recipe:

• For minced meat, grind with a sharp knife 350 grams of pork and 500 grams of beef. If you have a meat grinder with a large grill, then you can skip the meat and through it. Peel and grind three onions and five cloves of garlic. Mix the ingredients, add salt, pepper, hops-suneli and finely chopped greens (half-dill, parsley and cilantro) to them.
• Finished minced meat is well kneaded and add a lot of water to it - one and a half or two glasses. The filling should be juicy, moist and homogeneous.
• For the test, sift four glasses of flour, add salt and water. All the ingredients should be well mixed and leave to rest for a while under the towel.
• Separate the finished dough into pieces the size of a walnut, and then roll out each piece on a flour-poured table. You should get circles the size of a CD.
• Put on each cake a tablespoon (with a slide) of minced meat and tie the edges of the accordion, collecting them in the center.
• Boil water in the pan, add a little salt and put khinkali in it. Make sure that they are not stuck to the bottom and cook until ready.

Ready khinkali serve hot hot with Tkemali sauce or satsebi.

Kinkali with potatoes

This dish will appeal to those who abandoned meat or tries to reduce its use. You can cook it during fasting or unloading days. To make the correct khinkali, you will need:

• Knead dough from 400 ml of water, 20 grams of salt and one kilogram of wheat flour.
• Boil 500 grams of potatoes (along with the peel), and then clean it and rub it under a crust.
• Remove one large bulb from the husks, grind and fry until golden in vegetable oil.
• Mix the vegetables, salt them and mix.
• From the dough and fillings, form khinkali and boil them in salted water until cooked.

Serve the dish on a hot table with sour cream or tomato sauce and fresh vegetables.

Kinkali with cheese

Khinkali is not only a meat dish, as most people used to think. There are many original fillings, which give us its taste on the new side. Read how to make cheese khinkali (see photo below):

• Prepare an unleavened dough with a basic recipe.
• To make a filling, grate 500 gr of Imeretin cheese and 200 grams of suluguni on a large grater.
• Melt three tablespoons of butter, let it cool and mix with one yolk. Pour the resulting mixture of cheese, add salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients well.
• Roll out the dough and cut out the billets with a diameter of 12-15 cm. Place the filling in the center of each of them and trowel in the center of the edge.
• Boil the water in the pan and place the khinkali in it with the help of a noise, oiled.

After the products have emerged, they should be cooked for another 15 minutes. Do not stir them with a spoon, so as not to damage the dough. When khinkali are ready, place them on a plate and serve them to the table.

Kinkali with mushrooms

Khinkali is an integral part of Georgian cuisine. Usually they are served on the table with matzoni, cilantro and garlic, and eat exclusively by hands. Traditionally, Georgian khinkali with meat is prepared, but you can experiment with fillings and invent new tastes. For vegetarians we offer the following option:

• Stir until smooth, one kilogram of flour, salt and 350 grams of water. Knead the dough and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
• 1.5 kg of champignons rinse under water and cut into cubes. Fry the mushrooms until half cooked on vegetable oil (this process will take approximately 40 minutes).
• Separately fry until golden color 200 grams of chopped onions.
• Green parsley and cilantro finely chop, mix with mushrooms and onions, season with spices, salt and pepper.
• Dough thinly roll out a rolling pin, cut out circles from it and put a filling in the center of each.
• Form khinkali and boil them in salted water.

Remember that you can always prepare this delicious dish for future use. To do this you will need a freezer, cutting board and plastic bags. Ready khinkali spread on the board and put in the freezer. When the bags become firm, put them in bags and leave them in the cell until you need to prepare a dinner for the whole family again.

Kinkali with vegetables

Khinkali is a meat dish, which usually does not require additions. However, we suggest you to diversify your menu and cook khinkali with vegetables. For this we will need:

• Prepare khinkali with meat or buy ready-made in the store or cooking.
• Zucchini, two tomatoes and one onion cut into a cube and fry in vegetable oil.
• Add in the frying pan three chopped cloves of garlic, pepper and salt to taste.
• Mix the spoon of vinegar with two tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour the prepared mixture with vegetables, stir well and let it brew for about 30 minutes.

Hot khinkali served at the table with a garnish of vegetables and favorite sauce.

Sweet khinkali

Surprise your loved ones and prepare for them an original dish with an unusual filling:

• Mix a simple unleavened dough and leave it to one side under the towel.
• For the filling, cut the dried figs (300 grams) into four pieces. Soak it in water with dried apricots and prunes (300 grams each).
• In a separate bowl, soak 200 grams of raisins.
• After ten minutes, drain the water and dry the fruits.
• 150 grams of apples peel and seed, cut into cubes and sprinkle with sugar.
• 200 grams of walnuts chop in a blender or a coffee grinder. Add to them dried fruits and repeat the procedure.
• Mix the nut paste, apples, raisins and add the powdered sugar.
• Roll out the dough and make billets out of it, as for classical khinkali.
• From the dough and fillings, form bags, boil them in water and serve to a table with honey or pomegranate sauce.

Kinkali at home

The dish, cooked according to this recipe, turns out very tasty and juicy. Read how to cook homemade khinkali and get down to business with us:

• In a kilogram of minced meat, add one finely chopped onion, 200 ml of cream (15% fat), a teaspoon of nutmeg and salt. Stir all ingredients thoroughly.
• Knees fresh dough, roll it thin enough and cut out the same circles.
• In the middle of each piece lay a spoonful of minced meat and form khinkali. To do this, take the edge of the dough with one hand, and fold the second with an accordion. Try not to tear the dough, otherwise all the juice will remain in the pan.
• Boil khinkali in boiling water until cooked.

Balkharian Hinkal

As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, many Caucasian people love and are keen to cook khinkali. Georgian, Armenian and Dagestan dishes differ slightly from each other. This time we want to tell you how to prepare a dish of national Dagestani cuisine. How are khinkali cooked in the mountainous republic? The recipe with the photo can be seen below.

• Knead the dough from two glasses of flour, 100 ml of milk, 10 grams of yeast and 100 grams of butter. First, put the sponge, and when it increases, add the remaining ingredients to it and knead the dough.
• The finished dough should rise two times in a warm place, and only after that it is possible to proceed to the formation of the workpiece for hinkala.
• When the right time passes, dough the dough, sprinkle with cleaned and shredded walnuts (enough ten pieces) and grated cheese (200 grams).
• Roll the stock with rolls and cut into equal parts. Turn the dough so that it resembles a blossoming rose, and then put the finished pieces on the grill of a steamer or mantry.

Ready-made products serve hot with homemade tomato sauce.

Avar Hinkal

We suggest you prepare a national dish of Avars - another Caucasian people, not indifferent to khinkali. The recipe with the photo you can see below.

• To prepare the dough mix 20 tablespoons of flour, 200 grams of kefir, 300 grams of water, salt and a little soda.
• Knead the dough, roll it into a tourniquet and cut into squares 5 by 5 cm.
• In a saucepan, boil the meat broth, put the billets in it and cook them until ready (about six minutes).
• Take a slice of dough pieces and puncture each with a fork so that they do not settle and remain airy.

Serve hinkal with meat (lamb or beef) and with sour cream and garlic sauce.

Hinkal in Lezgin

This simple flour dish is prepared very easily from the simplest products. To make dinner for four people, you will need:

• Divide lamb into portions, pour them with cold water to cook until ready, periodically taking off the foam.
• While the meat is being cooked, mix the fresh dough with water and one egg.
• Roll out a two-millimeter-wide sheet and cut it into small squares. Khinkali is ready.
• Take the meat and lay it on the plates.
• Boil the dough in salted water until it is ready, and then remove it with a muffin.
• Prepare the sauce from tomato paste, water, spices, garlic, salt and pepper.

Meat, hinkal and sauce serve on a table in separate bowls.

Conclusion

The inviting aroma of khinkali will not leave your guests or relatives indifferent. Prepare them wonderful dishes and please new tastes as often as possible.